The Referrals Committee Mr. Laurence McFerran (in the chair), Mr. N.B. Wachman and Mr. N.P. Lambert convened at the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), Co. Kildare on 16th December 2019 to consider the referral of Mr. F. Maguire (Rider) by the Stewards at Punchestown on 8th December 2019.
On the day, following the running of the The Old House, Kill (Pro-Am) INH Flat Race the Stewards wished to interview Mr. F. Maguire, rider of Jungle Junction, placed second, concerning his use of the whip in the latter stages of this race. As the rider was unavailable to the Stewards as required under Rule 229 (v) they referred the matter of his unavailability and his use of the whip to the Referrals Committee.
Evidence was heard from Mr. Maguire. The Referrals Committee also viewed footage of the race.
In his evidence, Mr. Maguire accepted that he had used his whip 10 times in this race with his whip hand off the reins but argued that two of the strikes did not warrant consideration by the Stewards. He also accepted that he used the whip without giving his mount time to respond in the closing stages of the race. Mr. Maguire furthermore explained that he was not available to the Stewards for the enquiry as he had left the weighroom to go schooling.
Mr. Andrew Coonan, representing Mr. Maguire, also made a number of submissions on his behalf.
Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee found Mr. F. Maguire to be in breach of Regulation 10.3(g) and 10.3(i) in that he had used his whip with excessive frequency and without allowing his mount time to respond. Considering his record in this regard they imposed a suspension of two days. They also cautioned Mr. Maguire under Rule 229(v) for failing to be available to the Stewards for an enquiry on the day.
The cases were presented by Mr. Liam Walsh, Stipendiary Steward & Ms. Cliodhna Guy, Head of Legal, Licensing & Compliance. Mr. Maguire was represented by Mr. Andrew Coonan, Solicitor, Coonan Cawley Solicitors, Naas, Co. Kildare.
Suspension Dates: 31st December and 1st January.