Keane ruled out of Goodwood by 14-day whip ban

Colin Keane’s recent suspension for breaching whip usage rules at Sandown will see him sidelined for the prestigious Qatar Goodwood Festival.

Keane’s Suspension and Its Impact

It’s unfortunate but it’s my own fault

C T Keane

Colin Keane is set to miss the Qatar Goodwood Festival after being suspended for 14 days for using his whip over the permitted level at Sandown last week. The jockey has not long been retained by Juddmonte as their first choice jockey and was aboard their colt Windlord when he won the Gala Stakes at the Esher track on Friday.

Keane used his whip eight times in the closing stages of the contest, a count permissible in Ireland but not in England as the limit in Britain is six strikes in Flat contests. The British Horseracing Authority’s whip review committee has fined him £350 and suspended him from July 22 to August 4, a spell that will see him miss Sussex Stakes ride aboard Field Of Gold — with whom he won both the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Speaking at Sandown on Saturday, the rider said: “I’m so used to eight (strikes) as it is at home, I just have to abide by the rules here. That’s the only way I can put it, I know six is the amount over here but when I was in a ding-dong battle, I suppose it just went out of my head unfortunately.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s my own fault.”