IRISH JOCKEY DECLAN Lavery’s controversial Cheltenham ban has been overturned by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
The amateur rider was slapped with a 10-day suspension after coming third on board Jerrysback in the National Hunt Chase at last week’s Festival.
One of only four to complete a race which began with 18 in the field, Lavery was penalised for continuing “in the race when it appeared to be contrary to the horse’s welfare”. He was one of three riders in the race to receive a penalty.
Former champion jockey AP McCoy was among those to hit out at the BHA for their ruling, referring to it as “a disgrace” and “undefendable”.
Lavery subsequently appealed the ban and was “very relieved” when today’s ruling was revealed.
“I was delighted with myself to get him [Jerrysback] round,” he told At The Races.
“He nearly fell a couple of times, but I was delighted to get him round and when they called me back in and give me 10 days, it sort of took the buzz away.”
In a statement, the BHA say they respect the findings of the appeals’ panel, but stand by the stewards who made the decision at the time.
“The BHA accepts the findings of the independent Disciplinary Panel in today’s appeal hearing.
“It is the view of the BHA that the Rules should be a proactive and preventative measure to avoid horses being put into a position of avoidable risk, and the stewards on the day acted in accordance with this. However, the finding of the Disciplinary Panel was that the current construct of the Rules indicate that the rider was not in breach of Rule (D)45.3.2. We will await their written reasons before commenting further on this issue.
“Stewards have to make immediate decisions in the midst of a sporting event. That is why an independent appeals process exists which offers a fair process for challenging stewarding decisions. A range of incidents happened during this race which the stewards had to consider. The other decisions have not been challenged at appeal.
“The Panel were also clear that the requirement of the Rules to pull up tired horses has primacy over the requirement to achieve the best possible placing, and that it is no justification to continue on a horse to finish placed in a race if doing so would be contrary to the horse’s welfare.
“This rule is 20 years old and was agreed by all groups in our sport who are represented on our Rules Committee. It has been invoked a number of times in recent years. It continues to be an important rule that demonstrates our commitment to protect the welfare of our horses.
“We thank Mr Lavery for the way he has conducted himself since the incident, and also trainer of the horse Philip Hobbs.”
Lavery is back in action at Fairyhouse tomorrow, where he is required for ‘schooling’ duties.
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here: