Racing: Fitzgerald loses appeal

Mick Fitzgerald today lost his appeal against suspension and will miss Saturday’s Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup.

The jump jockey appeared before the Jockey Club disciplinary committee this morning in an attempt to reduce or overturn a six-day ban he was handed at Cheltenham the weekend before last.

But after a hearing the committee decided that the suspension - which starts today - should stand.

That rules Fitzgerald out of the Newbury showpiece, in which he had been set to partner Ad Hoc after the withdrawal of his originally intended mount Marlborough.