Colin Phillips
At the Start
From the Racing Post site :
Keiran Burke; in winning form aboard Rude Health, may hang up his boots
CONDITIONAL jockey Keiran Burke is threatening to quit riding after being banned for seven days for marking Outside Investor, runner-up in the finale at Newton Abbot, the ban triggering his 14-day deferred suspension.
Astonishingly, Burke had been told by the BHA only on Monday morning that a three-day whip offence incurred in an Arab race at Newbury on Sunday, which he was told by the racecourse stewards would activate the deferred ban, was a mistake.
However, any feelings of relief the rider possessed on arriving at the track proved temporary, as the deferred suspension kicked in anyway when he was handed a seven-day ban for marking Outside Investor - trained by his boss Pat Rodford - down the shoulder in the 2m3f handicap hurdle.
A dejected Burke said: “This is getting ridiculous. They might as well take my licence away for good, as it seems I cannot do anything right. I may as well pack it all in, as this will do my career absolutely no good.
“I was told earlier that the Newbury deferred suspension did not count as it was an Arab race. Well, that is fine, but once again the damage had been done anyway as it was released to the press and then printed in the Racing Post.”
Also in bother with the stewards was Eamon Dehdashti, who beat Burke and Outside Investor on the Gary Brown-trained Deltic Arrow. The vet reported the ten-year-old to have returned marked with the whip.
Dehdashti was referred to the BHA for the offence, the Newton Abbot stewards having found that he'd used his whip with excessive frequency, causing the horse to be marked in an incorrect place.
Stewards' secretary Richard Westropp said: “Keiran Burke and Eamon Dehdashti were both reported by the vet to have wealed their mounts.
“In Dehdashti's case it was decided that he had used his whip over 30 times and marked the horse in the wrong place, and the stewards found that he should be referred for the offence.
“In Burke's case, they found he had marked his mountdown the shoulder and the video recording of the race showed that his use of the whip was consistent with the marking.”
Before his three rides on Monday evening, the second of which was a 16-1 winner for Nigel Hawke in the shape of VintageFabric, Burke had eerily foretold the afternoon's events, when telling the Racing Post about the Newbury debacle.
“This is getting me more and more annoyed as it goes along," said Burke. "I have got three rides today and I'm worried about riding them to the best of what I can, because I know damn well the stewards will be watching me all day. It's going to be really hard work today.”
Burke, who had initially consulted Kevin Darley at the Professional Jockeys' Association about possibly appealing the Newbury ban, added: “It does not do my career any good having it written in the paper that I'll have to serve another two weeks.
“After all the bad publicity I've had before, I'm trying to get back on track again and then I get that when the stewardsare completely wrong. It isn't very good, is it?"
The jockey was given a 40-day whip suspension in March, 14 days of which were deferred, to be activated in the event of him reoffending within six months.
The Newbury stewards were under the impression that Sunday's offence activated Burke's deferred ban - and produced a press statement to that effect - but the u-turn came on Monday morning following examination of the rulebook at Shaftesbury Avenue.
BHA spokesman Paul Struthers said: "Keiran Burke will serve the three days of that suspension.
"Had it been an offence in a normal race, then the deferred ban would have been triggered, but I've just spoken to the disciplinary department, and they wouldn't add them on for an Arab race.
"The stewards got it wrong, and it was just a misunderstanding on their part.”
Struthers added: “If a jockey had a deferred suspension hanging over them, and they picked up a ban overseas, we wouldn't tack it on then either. We would tack it on only for a ban under the rules in Britain.”
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Couple of things that strike me, Eamon Dehdashti hitting his horse THIRTY!!! times, and the fact that the offence by Burke on Sunday has been ignored, implies that it is OK to lamp the life out of an Arab..........Niiiicccce.
Burke banned for 24 days
Andrew King and Graham Green
CONDITIONAL jockey Keiran Burke is threatening to quit riding after being banned for seven days for marking Outside Investor, runner-up in the finale at Newton Abbot, the ban triggering his 14-day deferred suspension.
Astonishingly, Burke had been told by the BHA only on Monday morning that a three-day whip offence incurred in an Arab race at Newbury on Sunday, which he was told by the racecourse stewards would activate the deferred ban, was a mistake.
However, any feelings of relief the rider possessed on arriving at the track proved temporary, as the deferred suspension kicked in anyway when he was handed a seven-day ban for marking Outside Investor - trained by his boss Pat Rodford - down the shoulder in the 2m3f handicap hurdle.
A dejected Burke said: “This is getting ridiculous. They might as well take my licence away for good, as it seems I cannot do anything right. I may as well pack it all in, as this will do my career absolutely no good.
“I was told earlier that the Newbury deferred suspension did not count as it was an Arab race. Well, that is fine, but once again the damage had been done anyway as it was released to the press and then printed in the Racing Post.”
Also in bother with the stewards was Eamon Dehdashti, who beat Burke and Outside Investor on the Gary Brown-trained Deltic Arrow. The vet reported the ten-year-old to have returned marked with the whip.
Dehdashti was referred to the BHA for the offence, the Newton Abbot stewards having found that he'd used his whip with excessive frequency, causing the horse to be marked in an incorrect place.
Stewards' secretary Richard Westropp said: “Keiran Burke and Eamon Dehdashti were both reported by the vet to have wealed their mounts.
“In Dehdashti's case it was decided that he had used his whip over 30 times and marked the horse in the wrong place, and the stewards found that he should be referred for the offence.
“In Burke's case, they found he had marked his mountdown the shoulder and the video recording of the race showed that his use of the whip was consistent with the marking.”
Before his three rides on Monday evening, the second of which was a 16-1 winner for Nigel Hawke in the shape of VintageFabric, Burke had eerily foretold the afternoon's events, when telling the Racing Post about the Newbury debacle.
“This is getting me more and more annoyed as it goes along," said Burke. "I have got three rides today and I'm worried about riding them to the best of what I can, because I know damn well the stewards will be watching me all day. It's going to be really hard work today.”
Burke, who had initially consulted Kevin Darley at the Professional Jockeys' Association about possibly appealing the Newbury ban, added: “It does not do my career any good having it written in the paper that I'll have to serve another two weeks.
“After all the bad publicity I've had before, I'm trying to get back on track again and then I get that when the stewardsare completely wrong. It isn't very good, is it?"
The jockey was given a 40-day whip suspension in March, 14 days of which were deferred, to be activated in the event of him reoffending within six months.
The Newbury stewards were under the impression that Sunday's offence activated Burke's deferred ban - and produced a press statement to that effect - but the u-turn came on Monday morning following examination of the rulebook at Shaftesbury Avenue.
BHA spokesman Paul Struthers said: "Keiran Burke will serve the three days of that suspension.
"Had it been an offence in a normal race, then the deferred ban would have been triggered, but I've just spoken to the disciplinary department, and they wouldn't add them on for an Arab race.
"The stewards got it wrong, and it was just a misunderstanding on their part.”
Struthers added: “If a jockey had a deferred suspension hanging over them, and they picked up a ban overseas, we wouldn't tack it on then either. We would tack it on only for a ban under the rules in Britain.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couple of things that strike me, Eamon Dehdashti hitting his horse THIRTY!!! times, and the fact that the offence by Burke on Sunday has been ignored, implies that it is OK to lamp the life out of an Arab..........Niiiicccce.
