Jockey hit with 50-day ban for failing to pull up fatally injured horse at Galway on Sunday

Trainer Norman Lee has described Sole Pretender as a "special little horse" and does not blame Robbie Geoghegan for the death of his stable star, despite the Galway stewards imposing a 50-day ban on the 7lb claimer for failing to pull up the injured nine-year-old on Sunday. 

Sole Pretender was sent off a 15-2 shot for the Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase and, while Geoghegan did not make any attempt to ride a finish on him after the last, he did not pull him up and dismount. The ten-time winner was put down shortly after passing the winning post having suffered a fracture below his fetlock joint. 

Geoghegan told the stewards he "felt his mount was not moving correctly at the time but was unaware the injury was as serious as it turned out to be". The stewards found him in breach of rule 216 by failing to pull up and dismount a lame or injured horse as soon as reasonably possible to do so and suspended him for 50 days. 

Lee, despite losing the best horse he has trained, felt the punishment was not proportionate. He said: "I thought it was harsh on Robbie. He loved that horse as much as anybody and did plenty of work on him over the years. I used to ride him out almost every day myself but any day I didn't Robbie would. 

"It wasn't Robbie's fault. He just didn't realise the extent of the injury. He didn't know what was happening underneath him and didn't realise he was so injured. He didn't go very wrong straight away."

Sole Pretender won a bumper, six hurdle races and three chases from his 27 starts and earned over €200,000 in prize-money. His biggest success came in the Grade 3 Grimes Hurdle in 2021 and he won a Listed handicap chase at Killarney last month under Geoghegan. 

Lee paid tribute to Sole Pretender, saying: "He was a special little horse. It was so tough for everyone to take and was horrible to watch. It's a hard game at times. This horse will be a major loss to us.

"He had some form when you looked through all his runs. He was probably the best horse trained in the west of Ireland, there can't have been too many horses rated 151 over here. He was a credit to his owner. 

"He picked him up for 20 grand and he went on to win over 200 grand. We're only a small yard and he was such a special horse for us to have. He won seven feature races and we'll never have another one like him."

Read this next:

Apprentice Iqbal Khan handed ten-day ban for excessive use of the whip on ride that attracted social media furore

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.