Another jockey mess

[Sheerluck Holmes]

What seems to be goign on recently? Tramore, Southwell and now this is at Fakenham;

O'Regan lands 14-day ban for early finish at Fakenham Walk of shame: Denis O'Regan feels the wrath of racegoers after riding a finish too early on Harringay by Tony Elves
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DENIS O'REGAN became the latest jockey to make a major blunder and incur the wrath of punters as he rode a finish a circuit too early on 5-2 chance Harringay at Fakenham on Thursday. O'Regan, 25, was booed by racegoers as he returned after the beginners' chase. The stewards handed him a 14-day ban that will prevent him from riding a number of high-profile horses for his boss Howard Johnson, including Inglis Drever in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham later this month. O'Regan, who is banned from January 25 to February 7 inclusive, had made an assured start to his career in Britain and had attracted the attention of Harringay's trainer Henrietta Knight and David Pipe, for whom O'Regan rode Tamarinbleu to win the Boylesports.com Gold Cup at Cheltenham last month. The jockey looked shellshocked on his way back to the weighing room and remaining tight-lipped throughout the afternoon, saying only: “No comment, and this is not the time to ask.” The incident comes hot on the heels of two other high-profile instances of jockey error. At Southwell last week, four of the five riders in a handicap ignored a recall flag resulting in a void race that cost bookmakers hundreds of thousands of pounds. And at Tramore on New Year's Eve all 14 jockeys riding in a handicap chase either rode a finish or pulled up their mounts with a circuit to race. O'Regan, who came to Britain to ride full time last autumn, was making his first visit to Fakenham, but had walked the course before racing and accustomed himself to the layout of the course. Cathedral Rock had made the running with O'Regan happy to settle Harringay, who was matched at 6-4 in running on Betfair, four or five lengths off the pace, but he decided it was time to push the mare into the lead after the 11th and soon set up a clear advantage.				However, having taken the next, he then raced past the winning post rather than going out on to the final circuit, and halfway up the run-in looked around to see the rest of the field jump a fence. He subsequently pulled up. After Cathedral Rock, the 13-8 favourite, had come home a distance clear of Shouldhavehadthat in the race proper, O'Regan was greeted by loud booing from the crowd as he brought his mount past the stands, with one racegoer screaming: “Go back to school!” The stewards found him in breach of rule 156 (ii) and gave him the maximum 14-day penalty for the offence. The chairman of the stewards' panel, William Wales, said: "That was the maximum that the raceday stewards could have given him, otherwise we would have had to refer him to the BHA." However, Knight, who was also makingher first visit to the course, was supportive of the rider. She said: “He walked the course and we discussed the race in the paddock and he's absolutely shattered. He's a very talented person and it's his first time here and I can't hold it against him. “Mick Fitzgerald said it's happened here before, and that in whatever race you ride in you have to add a winning post to each race.” Knight added: “I have never seen her go so well in a race but at least she is all right after the race. We're allhuman and all make mistakes. “I have spoken to her owner Rita Vaughan and she is completely understanding.”

[alexmac]

Re: Another jockey mess Seems to be happening every week at the moment...!