Kildare-born rider Barry Heffernan was hit with a ten day ban for using his whip with excessive frequency and unnecessarily after springing a 16-1 surprise aboard Pat O'Leary's Snow Shine in the Annagassan Maiden Hurdle at Dundalk last evening.
Heffernan (25), whose last winner in the plate was recorded at Wexford in December 1998, was also instructed to attend the apprentice school (R.A.C.E) after he persisted with his whip when holding an unassailable lead over Silver Frontier on the run-in to the two-and-a-half mile contest.
' I have worked with Pat (O'Leary) since I came home from abroad and I wasn't taking any chances looking around as I had never ridden a winner for him.' said Heffernan, who notched up six wins on the flat during a two year stint in Germany before returning home over two years ago.
Chateau Line, a winner over seven furlongs at the Galway Festival last year, heads for Ballybrit again next week after making every yard a winning one in the hands of Declan McDonogh in the nine furlong Jimmy Murray Celebration Handicap.
'I was hopeful if things went right and she put it in. The blinkers made a bit of a difference,' said Frank Berry, who trains the daughter of Paris House for the Dublin-based Glassdrummon Racing Syndicate.
Eddie Ahern, successful aboard Noel Meade's filly Alyska in the Milgrove Maiden, was denied a double later aboard locally-trained Kharshani when Pat Shanahan and Lucky Bet got up close home to score for Curragh trainer, Irene Oakes.
'Pat said after riding the horse to finish 2nd at Killarney over 1m3f to bring her back in trip and it paid off tonight. She's in a handicap at Galway next Wednesday and hopefully she'll take her chance,' said the winning trainer.
In a night where the layers enjoyed the better of the exchanges, punters had to wait until the concluding bumper for the first favourite to oblige when Philip Rothwell's newcomer Indalo Grey scored under Ian Amond.
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