The Appeals Body, Mr. Robert Dore (in the chair), Mr. Anthony Byrne and Mr. M.C. Hickey convened at the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board on Wednesday, 5th March 2023 to consider the appeal of Shane Foley (Rider) following the decision of the Raceday Stewards at Naas on Sunday, 26th March 2023.
Following the running of the Irish Racing Writers Madrid Handicap, the Raceday Stewards found Mr. Foley in breach of Rule 214 in that he had ridden carelessly and having considered his record in this regard they suspended him for three racedays.
The grounds of appeal lodged by Mr. Foley was that the Stewards on the day erred in their decision.
At the Appeal Hearing, evidence was heard from Mr. Foley, rider of Panic Alarm. The Appeals Body also watched a recording of the race.
In his evidence, Mr. Foley stated that his mount had given him no indication throughout the race that he would shift left at any point. Mr. Foley said that he had used his whip twice and the horse had continued straight but on the third occasion drifted left, at which point he corrected him immediately. He said that his mount had moved across only slightly but it appeared worse as Semblance Of Order, ridden by Chris Hayes, had been green throughout the race and shied away from Panic Alarm. He also added that Duke Of Leggagh hung right, as reported by his rider Nathan Crosse and that Paddington, ridden by Ryan Moore, had also moved right at this point.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee confirmed Mr. Foley was in breach of Rule 214 in that he had ridden carelessly. However, due to mitigating circumstances they varied the sanction to two racedays.
The case was presented by Mr. Michael Daly, IHRB Regulatory Legal Advisor
Suspension Dates: 11th and 12th April