• Horse’s exit removes prospect of unwanted sideshow
• Only six British horses out of 34 currently guaranteed run

The prospect of unwanted sideshow at next month’s Grand National ended on Tuesday when Monbeg Genius, the horse owned by Doug Barrowman and Michelle Mone, was taken out of the race at the latest declaration stage.

Monbeg Genius was reportedly bought by Mone for £80,000 as a second wedding present for her husband in November 2020 and is officially owned by Barrowman Racing Ltd. The couple have been the subject of intense media scrutiny, and more recently an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), over their links to the company PPE Medpro. The firm was awarded government contracts worth £202m during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the government has initiated proceedings to recover £122m, plus costs, after some of the equipment is said to have fallen below the expected standard.

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• Tributes paid to Mark Bradstock, who has died aged 66

Thunder Rock provided Sean Bowen with his biggest success since returning from injury in the Premier Chase at Kelso. Bowen – who has seen his lead at the top of the jockeys’ championship eroded and then passed by Harry Cobden – has struggled for winners since his return to action but victory on one of Olly Murphy’s stable stars will have done him the world of good.

Given a patient ride, Thunder Rock grew in confidence as the race progressed, as Minella Drama, Aye Right and Elvis Mail tried to stretch things. Grand National fancy Monbeg Genius struggled to get on terms and when Thunder Rock went cruising on by as they turned into the straight, it was clear he had no more to give.

Witness interviews conducted as part of corruption investigation into company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone

Corruption investigators examining potential criminal wrongdoing in the awarding of multimillion pound contracts during the Covid crisis have interviewed Matt Hancock and Michael Gove as witnesses.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is investigating PPE Medpro, a company that won £200m in contracts and with which the Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her husband, Douglas Barrowman, were involved.