McCoy hit with three-day ban

Champion jockey Tony McCoy was suspended for three days by the stewards at Warwick yesterday for his use of the whip.

McCoy will be on the sidelines on March 25, 26 and 27 after being found guilty of using his whip with excessive frequency on Kohinor in the Ken Bridgwater Memorial Mares Only Maiden Open NH Flat Race.

The Oliver Sherwood-trained Kohinor, who went off the 2-1 favourite, was beaten a head by Fenney Spring (5-1) after a sustained battle in the straight in the two-mile test.

Stipendiary steward Simon Cowley said: “The stewards found that Tony had hit his mount 16 times over the last two furlongs, and they took into account that Kohinor was a filly having only her third run.”

McCoy, a top-priced 11-2 third favourite to be leading jockey at this week’s Cheltenham Festival, was unhappy about the decision and said: “It is annoying. You get done for trying too hard.”

And he took a side-swipe at the bad publicity racing has had in the media recently, adding: “They ought to show the film on Sky News and News at Ten to show racing is not all bad. We are trying to win races!”

McCoy, who earlier rode a winner on Mark Equal in the Stan James Novices’ Handicap Chase, leads nearest rival Richard Johnson by 20 in the jockeys’ title race.