Robbie Colgan© Photo Healy Racing
Jockey Robbie Colgan has been successful in his appeal against a 21-day ban imposed by the Ballinrobe stewards after finishing second on Definite Earl last month.
Definite Earl never travelled early in the race but stayed on for pressure, passing beaten horses and running on into second place, beaten two and a half lengths.
The stewards on the day decided Colgan did not make sufficient effort and banned him under Rule 212, while trainer David Broad was fined 2,000 euro and the horse banned from running for 60 days.
A hearing held at Punchestown racecourse heard from Colgan, Broad and Davy Russell, who rode Definite Earl on a previous occasion. Film of the race was viewed in conjunction with footage of a previous race which Definite Earl took part in at Limerick on March 14th, 2015.
Colgan said his instructions were to jump off behind, get the horse settled and to do his best. He said he knew the horse well and had ridden him on six or seven previous occasions. He described the horse as being quirky and referred to the fact that, while he is a good galloper, he does make jumping errors.
In his evidence Broad referred to the mistakes Definite Earl made throughout the race and said he thought the horse would only have finished fifth as they turned out of the back straight, he could not believe Definite Earl had finished second and the owners were full of praise for the ride.
The Appeals Body concluded that the evidence was not sufficient to prove any offence and therefore allowed both appeals.
