Kevin Brogan successfully overturns careless riding ban following low sun incident

Jockey Kevin Brogan has successfully appealed against a seven-day ban for careless riding after an independent disciplinary panel on Thursday deemed his movement that caused a fellow rider to unseat was accidental in a race heavily impacted by low sun.

Brogan, champion conditional jockey last season, had been suspended by Doncaster stewards after his mount Dr Sanderson clipped heels with Great Ocean and resulted in Danny McMenamin being unseated in the closing stages of a 2m3½f handicap hurdle this month.

The race had been significantly impacted by the bypassing of all hurdles in the home straight due to low sun, with horses required to move on to the chase course and back again, a process Brogan described as "quite challenging".

However, Charlotte Davison, representing the BHA, said bypassing obstacles was not unusual and that 28 meetings had been impacted by low sun this season before Doncaster. She argued Brogan did not need to manoeuvre left around the bypassed hurdle in the way he did and "could have checked his horse, stayed straight and waited".

Rory Mac Neice, representing Brogan, said jockeys had been forced to "navigate a narrow and tortuous route" because of the low sun and there had been "general bunching" as a result.

Brogan supplemented that assessment by saying that if he had taken his eyes off the horses in front of him during the bypassing "there would've been a good chance my horse would've clipped heels [with them]".

Danny McMenamin: was unharmed in the fall at DoncasterCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Evidence was also provided by McMenamin, who was unharmed in the fall. He said his horse had momentarily tried to go right as the horses in front of him went left to go around the hurdle, an action that contributed to the clipping of heels. "It was a difficult race for jockeys and horses," he added.

The appeal was allowed by the three-man disciplinary panel, with chair James O'Mahony outlining how the additional time they had been given to view the incident during the two-hour hearing had enabled them to reach the conclusion compared to the necessarily shorter hearing conducted by stewards at Doncaster.

O'Mahony continued: "Low sun is notorious and a very difficult situation in National Hunt racing and lots of people have tried different things to deal with it. Nevertheless, when it changes the whole race allowances have to be made. The riders were required to take a lateral course – there was no option to ride straight. This appeal must be allowed."

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