The Referrals Committee Mr. Laurence McFerran (in the chair), Mr. M.C. Hickey and Mr. N.P. Lambert convened at the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), Co. Kildare on 2nd September 2019 to consider the referral of K.J Manning (Rider) by the Stewards at the Curragh on 23rd August 2019.
On the day, following the running of the Sycamore Lodge Equine Hospital Maiden, the Stewards wished to interview K.J Manning rider of Vocatus, concerning his use of the whip in the latter stages of the race. Mr. Manning accepted that he had three previous breaches of Regulation 10 since the new Whip Regulations came into effect. Having considered the riders acceptance of his disciplinary record in relation to Regulation R10, the Stewards pursuant to Regulation R10.6 referred the matter to the Referrals Committee for consideration.
Evidence was heard from Mr. Manning and J.S Bolger (Trainer). The Referrals Committee also viewed footage of the race.
In his evidence, Mr. Manning accepted that he had used his whip 10 times during the race. He stated that he felt his horse had every chance of winning the race inside the final 200 yards but his mount was running off a straight line and therefore he had needed to use his whip to keep his horse straight.
In his evidence, Mr. Bolger also confirmed that the horse does have a tendency to run around off a straight line during his races and it was his belief that Mr. Manning had used his whip on two occasions as a corrective measure.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee found Mr. Manning to be in breach of Regulation R10.3(g) in that he had used his whip with excessive frequency. Considering his record in this regard the Committee imposed a six day suspension.
The case was presented by Cliodhna Guy, Head of Legal, Licensing & Compliance.