Jockeys hit by Hexham bans

Conditional jockeys Gary Berridge and Ciaran Eddery were left counting the cost after each picked up a seven-day ban at Hexham.

The pair were suspended after taking the wrong course in the Transcend (Hair & Beauty) Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase won by Bay Magic.

On the run to the fifth fence at a junction of two separate sections of the course, Berridge’s mount Lindajane was in the lead on the inside but instead of turning left he elected to head straight on up the hill and pushed Hailstorm and Star Councel out with him.

Eddery, who is with his mount Red Rampage’s trainer Norman Mason, was on the outside of the other three and had on the face of it appeared to be taking the wrong course of his own volition.

They will be sidelined from November 17 - 23, and stewards’ secretary Nicky Vigors said: "Gary Berridge’s mount clearly took the wrong course and carried the other the other two out.

"It was his first ride on the chase course here and he admitted that he had only walked part of it."

He added: "It appeared as if Ciaran Eddery had not made any effort to take the correct course and went that wrong way by his choice and both riders were found to be in breach of Rule 156 (iii)."

Berridge went on to win the following bumper race on Silken Pearls for his guv’nor Len Lungo, who said of the earlier incident: "The boy told me that his goggles had misted up and he could not see where he was going. But a lot of jockeys have done the same thing at the same place."

Eddery asked for a film of the incident and is considering an appeal, as he explained: "Vinnie (Keane on Star Council) was screaming to Gary not to push him out - I could see what was happening and I just could not do anything about it but keep straight on.

"If I had tried to go left I would have hustled and bustled the horses on the inside of me and that would have been dangerous."