Andrea Atzeni to miss Guineas meeting after losing appeal against six-day ban

Andrea Atzeni will miss the Guineas meeting at Newmarket next weekend after his appeal against a six-day ban picked up at the course on the final day of the Craven meeting was unsuccessful.

Had the suspension been reduced to four days, or less, Atzeni's ban would have been deferred, meaning he would have been in the frame to ride the likes of Qipco 1,000 Guineas favourite Qabala, promising Wood Ditton winner UAE Jewel, and Qipco 2,000 Guineas hope Emaraaty Ana.

The 28-year-old was banned by stewards after they found him guilty of using the whip on four occasions in the wrong place aboard the Alan King-trained Beringer, who won a mile handicap on the Rowley Mile.

The appeal, held at BHA headquarters in London on Friday, was heard by a disciplinary panel comprising Patrick Milmo QC, Yvonne Mee and former trainer Jenny Pitman.

BHA interim head of regulation Andrew Howell presented the regulator's case, using video evidence to identify the four offending strikes, all of which occurred inside the final two furlongs.

Howell said: "It is argued that strikes four, five, six and seven aren't on the horse's quarters. Mr Atzeni's arm isn't extended and the whip can be seen running down the back of the runner's number cloth."

While accepting the charge of improper use of the whip, Atzeni, who was represented in his appeal against the severity of the penalty by solicitor Rory Mac Neice, sought a 'proportional' two-day reduction to the ban on the grounds he was trying to correct the four-year-old from hanging left and it was only by accident that he made contact with the winner's midriff.

Following a 30-minute deliberation, the panel, while accepting Atzeni's mitigation, found in favour of the raceday stewards and upheld the six-day punishment. The rider misses May 2-7.

Atzeni said: "I'm disappointed I'll miss Guineas weekend but it can't be helped now."

Mac Neice added: "Andrea accepts the findings. The rehearing was heard by an independent panel, and they've come to the decision they've come to."

Eyewitness comment

Andrea Atzeni's solicitor Rory Mac Neice said on behalf of his client that the prospect of missing the Guineas meeting should not be taken into account by the panel when considering the penalty, a request which was met with praise by panel chair Patrick Milmo QC.

The jockey had ridden Mot Juste to finish runner-up in the Nell Gwyn, but the fact is her stablemate Qabala ran out an impressive winner – under David Egan – to rocket to the top of the Qipco 1,000 Guineas market, and Atzeni would have at least been in the mix to ride her at Newmarket had he been able to get his ban reduced to four days, or less, from six.

Plenty of appeals are successful and there have been rumblings of discontent – and, at times, very strong criticism – over some of the decisions reached by raceday stewards since the new stewarding model was introduced and the honorary system, widely considered to have served racing well, disbanded.

However, this appeared an occasion where the verdict of the raceday stewards was sound. As Atzeni himself had said beforehand, he had nothing to lose, and he had a case, but ultimately his team couldn't have been confident. Justice was served here.

Tom Ward

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