Racing: Cheltenham for Champleve

There were some nervous spectators at Lingfield yesterday as Champleve made his debut over fences. Martin Pipe's five-year-old had been backed from 20-1 to 12-1 for Cheltenham's Arkle Chase, but his backers need not have worried as Tony McCoy steered the French-bred home five lengths clear. His Arkle odds were immediately cut to 10-1.

The trainer Albert Davison was yesterday banned for six years by the Jockey Club after an investigation into the victory of Will I Fly at Leicester in November 1994 unearthed irregularities relating to the horse's ownership and registration.