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Michelle Mone's £80k gift horse cleared to compete in £1million Grand National

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Michelle Mone with husband Doug Barrowman at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival (Image: Getty Images)
Michelle Mone with husband Doug Barrowman at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival (Image: Getty Images)

Michelle Mone's Grand National gift horse Monbeg Genius has been cleared to run at Aintree.

The status of the chaser, bought for £80,000 in 2020 by the embattled entrepreneur as a second wedding present for husband Doug Barrowman, had been uncertain since the freezing of £75million of assets controlled by the couple last month.

PPE Medpro, a company fronted by Barrowman, is being investigated by the National Crime Agency over government contracts worth more than £200m to supply personal protective equipment which were awarded through a so-called 'VIP lane' during the pandemic.

The company is also being sued by the Department for Health and Social Care.

The BHA sought to establish whether the Jonjo O’Neill-trained horse was covered by the court order obtained by the Crown Prosecution Service.

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Monbeg Genius has not run since finishing third at Newbury in December but on Tuesday was given an entry in the Grand National ahead of the weights publication next week.

The BHA said: “Having been made aware of a restraint order on a number of assets belonging to Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman, the BHA liaised with relevant parties in order to understand the potential implications this had for their involvement in racing.

“Following these discussions, the BHA can confirm that horses in the ownership of Barrowman Racing Ltd are not affected by the restraint order and are therefore permitted to continue to race.”

Jon Lees

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