Declan Queally and Nico de Boinville
Declan Queally and Nico de Boinville

Declan Queally and Nico de Boinville shake hands following Cheltenham Festival spat


Declan Queally and Nico de Boinville settled their argument on Thursday, 24 hours on from a very public spat concerning issues at the start of the Turners Novices' Hurdle.

Irish amateur rider Queally accused Nicky Henderson's stable jockey de Boinville of verbally abusing him in a heated exchange prior to Cheltenham Festival's day-two opener, in which de Boinville's mount Act Of Innocence went on to finish second and Queally's horse I'll Sort That was a close fifth.

De Boinville told ITV Racing's Matt Chapman in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's race that his Irish counterpart should "take a look in the mirror" when it was put him that Queally had not been impressed by his words or actions, but on Thursday it appeared the disagreement had been cleared up.

Both jockeys were filmed shaking hands in the Cheltenham Weighing Room live on ITV, as Queally said: "All sorted... [it was] just a heat-of-the-moment battle. All is forgiven and best of luck to Nico in the future."

De Boinville responded by saying: "I appreciate Declan and wish him the best. A big thanks to Davy Russell for sorting this all out."


Cheltenham Festival coverage