BHA apologises after listing Lossiemouth with incorrect weight for Cheltenham's Unibet Hurdle on Saturday

Returning Triumph Hurdle winner Lossiemouth will carry 3lb less than initially advertised in Saturday's Unibet Hurdle (3.00) at Cheltenham after a mistake was published at the weights stage.

Rich and Susannah Ricci's five-year-old was initially listed as carrying 11st 3lb when the weights were published on Tuesday, but the BHA confirmed on Friday that an incorrect penalty had been added to Lossiemouth and she should actually be carrying 11st.

The mistake seemingly arose due to an incorrect application of a Grade 1 penalty. According to the race conditions for the Grade 2 contest, a penalty for winning a Grade 1 since September 30, 2022 is worth 6lb, although this is halved if the victory came in novice or juvenile company. Lossiemouth, who also benefits from a 7lb allowance given to fillies and mares, has raced exclusively in juvenile hurdles and has not been seen since last season's win at the Punchestown festival.

Lossiemouth: initially listed as carrying 11st 3lb in the Unibet HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann

A BHA spokesperson said on Friday morning: "Due to an error at the weights stage, we can confirm an incorrect penalty was added to Lossiemouth in the 3.00 at Cheltenham tomorrow. A weight amendment has been published and she will now carry 11st. We apologise to anyone affected by this error."

The mistake occurred in a race on which ante-post betting has been available since entries were made on Monday, with Lossiemouth a best-priced 5-6 favourite on Friday morning.

Trained by Willie Mullins, she has four rivals to overcome on a spectacular Trials day card, with last season's Mares' Hurdle runner-up Love Envoi and Elite Hurdle winner Rubaud heading the opposition.

The Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF), the body representing punters in Britain, said it understood there may be frustration from some bettors if they have backed runners in the race ante-post, but that it was a positive that the error had been spotted before the day of the race.

HBF member George Ryley said: "We haven't seen or heard from other punters a great deal on the subject. The fact it's been picked up in plenty of time before the race is something that we view as a positive. These things happen and it would have been far more serious if it had happened on the day, or after the race.

"Some people may have had an ante-post bet and there is a chance they will have got better odds on Lossiemouth with the weights published as they were — or taken her on given the weight she was published as carrying — and there is some understandable frustration with that. However, we understand that there can be human error and it's good that it has been corrected in time."

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