Davids Lad won the Irish Grand National in 2001

A meeting on Monday ended with the Irish Turf Club's Appeals & Referrals Committee upholding the ban given to the nine-year-old following a race at Naas on 23 February.

Stewards found the racecourse had been used as a training ground and that the rider, Timmy Murphy, had made insufficient effort in the Paddy & Helen Cox Memorial Newlands Chase.

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Davids Lad was last of the seven finishers behind Arctic Copper in the two-mile contest when a 14-1 chance.

Trainer Tony Martin, who was fined 1000 euros, was unhappy at the result of the appeal, saying: "I don't know what's going to happen, we'll have to seek further advice".

Their last possible avenue would appear to be appealing the decision in the Irish courts.

You don't get too many rides in the National as good as Davids Lad Jockey Timmy Murphy

"I'm very disappointed with the decision particularly as there was a lot of evidence about the horse's problems in coping with the bad ground," added Martin.

Jockey Murphy, who was handed a seven-day ban following the incident, was philosophical about the decision of the appeals committee.

"It was worth a shot at least because there was so much to lose," he said. "It's the owners as much as myself that I feel sorry for.

"You don't get too many rides in the National as good as Davids Lad."

Davids Lad had been 14-1 second favourite for the National before bookmakers took him out of the betting following the decision by the Naas stewards.