Murtagh free to take Arc ride

Johnny Murtagh and Colm O’Donoghue will be free to ride in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday week despite both being hit with seven-day bans following a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel hearing.

Aidan O’Brien was also handed a £5,000 (€6,281) fine as the trio fell foul of the ’team tactics’ rule in the Juddmonte International Stakes won by Duke Of Marmalade at Newmarket last month.

Although the raceday stewards found no breach, subsequent investigations by the BHA called into question a move by O’Donoghue aboard Red Rock Canyon.

All three declined to comment after the hearing in central London, but BHA public relations manager Paul Struthers said last night: “As all parties have seven days from the receipt of the panel’s reasons to appeal, it would be in appropriate to comment on proceedings.

“However, I would like to stress that in reaching their conclusions the panel made clear that there was no attempt to cheat, simply that the breaches occurred due to ignorance of the details of the rule in question.”

Although the dates for the riders’ suspensions have yet to be announced, Murtagh and O’Donoghue would be free to ride at Longchamp as no Flat racing takes place in Britain that day.

Having elected to take an early lead in the Group One International, O’Donoghue manoeuvred his mount out to his left at the four-furlong marker thus allowing Murtagh a clear passage aboard stablemate and 4-6 favourite Duke Of Marmalade.

O’Donoghue admitted he was guilty of a breach which states: “a rider shall not make a manoeuvre in a race in the interest of another horse in common ownership...whether or not such a manoeuvre caused interference or caused his horse to fail to achieve the best possible placing”.

The rule covering such a manoeuvre was amended in March 2007 following an similar inquiry six months previously where Ballydoyle were exonerated from any wrong-doing in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

Although not clear of the exact nature of the rule, O’Brien passionately stressed to the panel that he was “paranoid” about the use of pacemakers following the QEII inquiry.

He said: “We use pacemakers to make an even gallop and not to hinder or favour any other horse.

“The last thing we want is to win any race anywhere if it was unfavourably won. We would prefer not to win any of those Group Ones if they were won unfavourably and they would not mean anything to us.”

The panel heard how Murtagh and O’Donoghue discussed the International beforehand while walking the course, and O’Brien replied “absolutely not” when asked if he had been party to any decision made about Red Rock Canyon moving off the rail.

Murtagh claimed to have told his colleague that “when you are getting tired don’t get in my way”.

After the race, he was quoted by a Sunday newspaper as saying he had instructed O’Donoghue to move off the rail at the four-furlong marker to let him through, but Murtagh told the panel those comments were “jazzed up in the heat of the moment”.

The panel ruled that the conversation between the two riders resulted in Murtagh breaching Rule 220 in that he acted “in a manner which in the opinion of the BHA is prejudicial to the proper conduct of horseracing in Great Britain.”

In light of O’Donoghue’s breach, the panel ruled that O’Brien had failed to give adequate instruction to his jockeys regarding team tactics but that there was no question of cheating.