Cheltenham Festival 2026: Nico de Boinville denies racist abuse of Irish rider Declan Coeli

Nico de Boinville has “categorically” denied using any “racist slurs” towards Irish rider Declan Coeli during the opening race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival.

The English rider has been accused of “mistreating” the amateur rider before the start of Wednesday’s novice race, which was postponed due to a false start.

Quially later told The Racing Post, external He had received “repeated racist abuse” from his rival.

The Irishman, riding I’ll Sort That, and de Boinville, riding Innocence Law, can be seen exchanging words at the start line, but the Englishman denies any wrongdoing.

De Boinville told BBC Sports Extra: “It is an ongoing investigation.

“Moderators are collecting all the evidence they can from all the video footage.

“From my point of view, I deny all the accusations against me.

“I can say categorically that there were no racial slurs or anything like that. Let’s just let it happen.”

It appeared that Kweli (37 years old) fell from his horse before the start of the race and had to be examined by a doctor. He has been given the all-clear for the race, along with Ballyvad, who was kicked before the race and was assessed by a vet in a chaotic few minutes.

A number of false starts to planned rolling starts took the horses to a standing start at the strip – leaving riders scrambling for position.

“Being abused by an English rider, Nico de Boinville, was not very nice,” Queli, who finished fifth in the race, told ITV Racing before entering the weight room after the race.

“I’m an amateur. I come here and ride the bike in front of my kids. It’s terrible.”

When told of Queli’s comments about the difficult start to the race, de Boinville replied: “Maybe he should look in the mirror.”

Legendary jockey AP McCoy said Queally “has as much right to be there as anyone else” while Robbie Walsh said the starting system “hasn’t worked for 20 years”.

“It’s 2026,” Walsh told ITV. “How has no one invented a ribbon that rolls in front of horses?

“The tape had to be in front of them when they went to the track and it had to be moved in front of the horses.

He added, “We can send missiles to track fighter planes in the Gulf, but no one can design a flying tape.”

“That’s the joke.”

BBC Sport asked British Horseracing about the ongoing process: “The evidence gathering process will continue over the coming days and will include speaking to jockeys and reviewing broadcast footage. This process will take some time and therefore will not be completed during the Festival.”

In the meantime, De Boinville will clearly continue riding and will be on Impose Toi in the Stayers’ Hurdle and the impressive Jonbon in the Ryanair Chase.

However, Kweli was initially suspended for one day for misconduct.

He was among four riders found to have violated the rules.