Top horse racing trio found guilty of racing rule breach

On September 29, 2008 by

A hearing in London last week judged that jockeys, Colm O’Donoghue and Johnny Murtagh, and trainer Aidan O’Brien, breached the rules of racing at Newmarket on the 23rd of August. During the Group One event, O’Donoghue, who was riding Red Rock Canyon, made a manoeuvre that benefitted another horse in common ownership.

O’Donoghue moved Red Rock Canyon off the rail in the last 1200 metres of the race, which encouraged Johnny Murtagh to take the gap. Murtagh and his horse, Duke of Marmalade, went on to win the event. As a result of this, Murtagh was punished for breaking Rule 220 (iii), since he displayed behaviour that went against the proper conduct of horse racing.

O’Donoghue freely admitted during the inquiry that he made the manoeuvre to benefit Murtagh but claimed that he had no idea that this was against racing regulations. Trainer, Aidan O’Brien, was found guilty of giving inadequate instructions concerning the official racing rules.

The two jockeys were punished with seven-day riding bans by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), whilst O’Brien was handed a £5,000 fine. The length of the riding bans will leave both O’Donoghue and Murtagh free to compete in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in early October.

Following the inquiry, the British Horseracing Authority appeared surprisingly keen to play down the severity of the incident. Paul Struthers, spokesman for the BHA, stated that

Criticism mounts towards Jockeys’ Association

On September 22, 2008 by

The Professional Jockeys’ Association has been heavily criticised recently following accusations of neglect. Mark Coumbe, an apprentice rider, broke his back after a horrendous fall at Kempton on the 30th of July. The 25 year old jockey was treated for over an hour by ten paramedics after a shocking five-horse pile-up which fatally wounded his mount, Towy Girl.

Last week, he spoke of his shock and disappointment at how the PJA have treated him since this incident. According to Coumbe, nobody from the PJA has contacted him since the day after his fall. The young jockey had to spend two weeks in hospital before being allowed home in a body brace and was lucky not to have been paralysed for life.

The PJA have arranged for Coumbe to see a consultant in order to assess when the body brace can be removed but the impression remains that this is too little, too late. Coumbe has expressed his sadness at the situation, saying that he was "shocked and disappointed" by the fact that the PJA had not got in touch to see how he was. Knowing that they cared would have been particularly welcome when he was flat on his back in hospital "unable to move or eat

More in the offering for Hogmaneigh

On September 18, 2008 by

This article is about Hogmaneigh, a talented sprinter who looked to be bang in form after his recent win at Doncaster.

Source : welikeabet