Akehurst complains

Reg Akehurst is to address his concerns over the "inconsistent handicapping" of his horses to the British Horseracing Board's senior handicapper, Geoffrey Gibbs. The Epsom trainer is angry that his Bimsey, who finished fourth to Chief's Song in the William Hill Handicap Hurdle on Saturday, was raised a total of 16lb by the BHB's assessor Phil Judge for his reappearance win at Aintree.

The trainer's ire was compounded by Judge allotting Bimsey a 4lb rise in the handicap on top of his original hike in the weights of 12lb, while Chief's Song went unpenalised for his defeat of Putty Road.

n Ray Cochrane, who bruised his foot when Nijo escaped from the stalls at Wolverhampton on Saturday, will return early in the New Year. It had been feared originally that the rider had broken a bone.