Grand National winner banned from 2024 race for breaching whip rules

Ryan Mania, the jockey who won the Grand National on 66-1 chance Auroras Encore in 2013, has been ruled out of this year's big race. He was given a 14-day whip ban.

Mania would have been set to ride another long shot, Empire Steel, trained by Sandy Thomson, at Aintree.

Empire Steel, who won a Kelso handicap chase with Mania in February, was due to run in both the £1 million Grand National on April 13 and the Topham Chase the day before, also at Aintree.

However, the BHA's Whip Review Committee suspended Mania from April 2 to 15 after finding he had broken the whip rules while finishing fifth in a handicap hurdle at Newcastle.

The committee found that only three jockeys broke the whip rules at the Cheltenham Festival.

Amateur jockey John Dawson also got a 14 day ban after his winning ride on Sine Nomine in the Cheltenham Foxhunters.

Dawson was found to have used his whip twice more than the seven stroke limit after the second last fence. He was also fined £275 because of the value of the race.

Mark Walsh, J P McManus's retained rider in Ireland, was given a seven day suspension (April 3 to 9) for using his whip in the wrong place on Triumph Hurdle winner Marjborough.

This sentence follows on from the four days Walsh received last week for the same offence on Fact To File, the Brown Advisory Chase winner.

The other whip suspension from the event was given to Patrick Mullins who received an eight day ban for his ride on Embassy Gardens in the National Hunt Chase.