Heavy fine for Jefferson Trainer Malcolm Jefferson and jockey Derek Byrne were severely penalised today for a breach of the non-triers` rules. Jefferson was fined stg£1,000 and Byrne suspended for 14 days over the running and riding of Stamparland Hill at Huntingdon on March 14th. In addition the horse is banned from racing for 40 days. Jefferson was incensed at the decision and is considering lodging an appeal. 'The jockey just rode a bad race and I don`t know why they involved me at all,' he said. The punishments were meted out after Jefferson and Byrne appeared before the Jockey Club`s disciplinary committee in Portman Square, London. Stamparland Hill, a 14-1 chance, had attracted the attention of the stewards after making eyecatching late progress to finish fifth in a maiden hurdle. Byrne, who was legally represented, told the panel that the six-year-old was a difficult ride. He said he had run too freely on previous outings and after being impeded at the start the jockey decide to hold the horse together. He then ran on through beaten horses in the closing stages of the race. But after taking evidence from a vet and a British Horseracing Board handicapper the panel found Byrne in breach of rule 158. They decided that the jockey had failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures to gain the best possible placing on his mount. The length of the suspension takes into account a previous breach of the same rules by Byrne in the past 12 months. Jefferson was in breach of rules 155 (i) and 155 (ii) in that the horse was adjudged not to have run on its merits and that Jefferson had not given adequate instructions to Byrne. The trainer said: 'I don`t want to say too much as I`m probably going to appeal. 'I`m not interested in the fine, I`m just annoyed that they are saying I broke the rules when the horse was there to do his best.' In another inquiry, trainer Barry Murtagh was fined stg£600 after Resin King failed a dope test after finishing second at Ayr last November. He was found not to have kept detailed records of the horse`s treatment programme as required by the Jocky Club.
