De Boinville and Queally shake hands after start argument
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 12 Mar 2026
Nico de Boinville and Declan Queally appeared to reconcile after their clash before the start of the opening race at the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday.
De Boinville and Queally exchanged words as they tried to secure a position close to the tapes at the start of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, with Queally later submitting a complaint to the British Horseracing Authority.
Both riders appeared in the weighing room at Cheltenham on Thursday and shook hands before speaking to ITV Racing.
“All sorted. It was the heat of the moment and all is forgiven, best of luck to Nico in the future,” said Queally.
De Boinville added: “I appreciate Declan and wish him the best. Big thanks to Davy Russell for sorting us out.”
The matter is still being investigated by the British Horseracing Authority and De Boinville had earlier denied allegations of racial abuse.
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, he said: “It’s an ongoing investigation, the stewards are gathering all the evidence they can from the video footage.
“From my point of view, I deny all of the allegations against me. I can categorically say that there weren’t any racial slurs or anything like that. Let’s let it play out.”
The BHA’s inquiry into the complaint by Irish amateur jockey Queally against De Boinville will conclude after the Cheltenham Festival.
A BHA spokesperson said: “The process of gathering evidence will continue over the course of the coming days and will involve speaking to jockeys and reviewing broadcast footage.
“This process will take some time and will therefore not be concluded during the Festival.”
Speaking at Cheltenham on Thursday, Queally said: “The BHA are dealing with it, so we’ll go from there.
“It was heated down there, we’re sportspeople and as was said this morning, tempers can rise. But we’ll see what the BHA say.
“I told the BHA what was said so that’s all I’m saying. It was very heated and I could see how competitive it was. There was a lot of swearing.
“I was where Nico wanted to be and unfortunately what happened, happened. Everyone has cooled down now, hopefully it can be resolved and we can put the matter behind us.
“I can appreciate how much pressure everyone is under, things can be said that are not meant to be said, I can appreciate that.”
Both riders commented on television directly after the race and Queally added: “Everyone would like to put this stupid matter behind them. If I hadn’t been caught after the race when when blood was still up there might have been nothing about it.
“Nico’s blood was up at the start and probably shouldn’t have said what he said but I think people should enjoy the Cheltenham Festival rather than the media swarming around me, it’s a silly thing.
“There was effing and blinding, there was a racial comment thrown, I’ve told the BHA but I’d prefer to enjoy my day.”
The BHA announced plans for a full review of the Festival starts once the meeting has finished and Queally feels it is an issue that needs to be addressed, adding: “The starts are a mess across the board and the whole thing got heated yesterday.”
Queally was one of four jockeys along with Jack Kennedy, Danny Gilligan and Darragh O’Keeffe to receive a ban as they “had not approached the tape at a walk or a jig-jog thereby causing a false start, resulting in a standing start.”
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