Whitsbury trainer David Elsworth is to seek a swift annulment to a bankruptcy ruling made against him earlier this month, his solicitor confirmed today.
The popular trainer, best-known for his association with famous grey Desert Orchid, celebrated his 1,000th career winner at Salisbury last week.
Under Elsworth`s guidance, Desert Orchid won the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup and four King George VI Chases.
Elsworth also won the 1988 Grand National with Rhyme N`Reason as well as enjoying great success on the Flat with horses like In The Groove, Indian Ridge and more recently, Lear Spear and Persian Punch.
However, he was made bankrupt and his personal assets frozen in the High Court by the Inland Revenue on August 9.
Salisbury solicitor Richard Griffiths, of Griffiths & Co, said: 'David has had a long-running issue with the Inland Revenue but he has always had sufficient funds to settle the matter.
'He regrets that the Inland Revenue chose the bankruptcy route to force the issue and he did not appreciate how draconian such a measure can be.
'It has been established that the Inland Revenue are the sole creditor and matters have now been resolved.
'We will seek an early hearing in order to get the bankruptcy annulled.'
In the meantime, Elsworth`s training licence is not under threat, Jockey Club officials have confirmed.
Public Relations Officer John Maxse explained: 'Our concerns are for the well-being of the horses and staff and we are quite happy with the situation.
'Mr Elsworth is a salaried trainer, paid by David Elsworth Racing and the company`s assets have not been frozen.
'He is seeking to annul the judgement and we`ll continue to monitor the situation.'
