Barry Geraghty to appeal against 30-day ban
The Gold Cup-winning jockey was hit with the suspension - which is due to begin on April 17 and would rule him out of riding at the Punchestown Festival - after finishing second aboard the Tony Martin-trained eight-year-old in the www.limerickraces.ie Handicap Hurdle.
Acting under Rule 212, which governs running and riding, the stewards were of the opinion Geraghty had failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures to obtain the best possible placing, banning him for 30 days, with the horse prevented from running for 60 days and Martin fined 3,000 euros.
Geraghty said: “I will be lodging an appeal and I now just have to wait on a date for it. That’s all I have to say.”
* Former Cheltenham Champion Bumper winner Moon Racer is set to return to action at Punchestown later this month.
Minor setbacks have prevented him from running since last year’s Festival success, meaning he did not make it to last month’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
Trainer David Pipe said: “He continues to please me at home and he will now head for the Punchestown Festival at the end of the month where he will contest the Champion Bumper.
“We just ran out of time to get him to the Cheltenham Festival and the Punchestown race is open seven-year-olds so it seems like the most logical step for him. Tom Scudamore rode him in a gallop last week and he was very happy with him.
“He is likely to be joined in Ireland by a few others from the stable.”
