Racing: Lancer investigation close to a conclusion

The hearing set out a timetable for the case against trainer Shaun Keightley and jockey Pat McCabe over the running of Red Lancer, unplaced in a seller at Wolverhampton in October 2003.

The pair were charged last summer with breaching the Rules of Racing and over their relationship with the warned-off London tailor Chris Coleman.

But the charges were subsequently altered by the Jockey Club and reissued to focus upon the alleged role of Keightley in the case and the allegation that he instructed McCabe not to ride the horse on its merits.

The Jockey Club panel directed that the inquiry should commence on 12 December, with the hearing expected to last three to four days. A further pre-inquiry hearing has been scheduled for 2 November.

l Golden Quest, runner-up in Thursday's Goodwood Cup, will miss the rest of the season after fracturing a knee. Mark Johnston's four-year-old also won at the meeting on Tuesday. Johnston said: "We hope he will make a full recovery." Golden Quest had been a leading fancy for next month's Ebor Handicap at York.