Controversial Ellaat returns to win at Gowran

Ellaat returned to familiar settings at Gowran today as Charles Byrnes' gelding put a deeply controversial May course defeat behind him, with success in the concluding Join The Gowran Park Racing Club Handicap.

Ellaat was suspended for 60 days and trainer Byrnes fined E6,000 following his controversial May 10 run with rider Gearoid Brouder — initially suspended for 21 days, later testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine, from a sample taken that very day.

News of the positive test — and the resulting four year suspension of Brouder's license by the IHRB, emerged in July and prompted Ellaat's owner Cathal Byrnes to vent his frustrations on RacingTV.

Today Ellaat (morning 7/1, SP 4/1) returned to Gowran under not-to-be-forgotten winning jockey Sean Davis who was returning to the saddle for the first time since February.

Davis, a breeze-up consignor who holds a trainers' license, was recording his first winner since June 2022 and today went the distance with a hard-fought success on Ellaat.

After the race trainer Byrnes said “he ran well over hurdles in Listowel and the ground is the key to him, he loves that ground. We thought it was plenty short today but the ground made up for it.

“He can go back over hurdles but wouldn’t want winter heavy.

“He’s in again as a reserve at Navan on Wednesday so we’ll see.”

Quotes from Alan Magee