OWNER JAMES Ferry has lodged an appeal against the Turf Club Referrals Committee decision to ban his horse Cybersnow from racing for two years after they decided earlier this month that the horse had run at a “flapper” meeting in Co Donegal last June.
The Turf Club body concluded that Cybersnow had run as “Man About Town” at Magheraboy on June 28th last year and so banned him from racing. They also disqualified him from placings in four subsequent races, including victories at the Galway festival and Killarney.
Ferry has appealed that decision and also the disqualifications. At the original hearing, the owner was cleared of any wrongdoing. No date has yet been set for the appeal.
This evening’s Tipperary meeting sees the Ger Lyons-Keagan Latham team bring the pair of Cosmic Breeze and Ghetto Gospel out again just four days after they won handicaps at Navan.
Both horses carry 5lb penalties and should still be major contenders in their respective races.
The beautifully-bred Meow, a daughter of Storm Cat and Airwave, failed by just a short head to Moment Of Weakness on her Dundalk debut and should show the benefit of that in the five-furlong maiden, while Johnny Murtagh can also score in the opening maiden on the Gowran runner up Eskimo.
John Oxx’s Bass Rock has the two-year-old form to easily land the three-year-old maiden but the officially forecast firm ground hardly looks ideal for a son of Pivotal. Instead Oxx may have to wait for the last to score with Alaia whose Gowran debut was boosted at the weekend by Crazy Days.
In other news the leading amateur Katie Walsh received a special recognition award at the National Hunt awards which were held at the weekend. Also at the event, her brother Ruby was named leading rider for the sixth year running while Willie Mullins won the trainer’s award for the fifth year in a row.
All the President's jockeys
JOHNNY MURTAGH and Ruby Walsh will captain teams in a two-race Flat versus Jumps jockeys’ challenge at Leopardstown at the end of the month. The series has been put in place to celebrate the 25th birthday of the President’s Gaisce Awards and will take place on Sunday week.
“This will be a celebration of the Presidents Awards which ask young people to set and achieve personal challenges, something that our jockeys exemplify in their daily work,” said Leopardstown’s manager Tom Burke yesterday.
The two races will be part of a card that also includes the Ballycorus Stakes and the Saval Beg Stakes. Eight riders will be on each team and Walsh will be a non-riding captain as he continues his recovery from a broken arm.
“Some people will be coming racing for the first time and hopefully they’ll be bitten by the racing buy,” Murtagh said yesterday.
Murtagh’s team will include Pat Smullen, Fran Berry and Kevin Manning while the jumps side will have Barry Geraghty and Davy Russell, amongst others.
