O'Brien's suspension reduced to five days Championship leader Donnacha O’Brien has had a seven-day ban reduced to five by the appeals body of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. The jockey received his original punishment from the Galway stewards on August 3 after he attempted to weigh out without any harness attachment on his back protector prior to the ride on Queen Iseult in a mile-and-a-half fillies’ maiden. O’Brien appealed the decision on the grounds he felt had been unfairly treated for this offence. Evidence was heard from the jockey and his father, trainer Aidan O’Brien. The appeals body also considered a transcript of the original evidence and the recommended penalty structure used by the raceday stewards. The appeals body accepted that the breach had occurred as a result of a genuine error and without intention to cheat the weigh out system. The appeals body noted there ought to be a review of the ability to take account of factors, such as an intention to cheat on weight, inadvertence, and whether the attempt to weigh out involved an absent or unapproved body protector or, as in this case, a missing crotch strap, when imposing penalty. O’Brien’s amended ban will begin on Saturday.
