Shark Hanlon ban to begin in December pending appeal after application to have it deferred until April is rejected

Shark Hanlon's ten-month licence suspension will take effect on December 1 pending appeal after an application to have the ban deferred until April was rejected by an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board referrals committee.

The King George-winning trainer was handed a ten-month ban last week and fined €2,000 for transporting a dead horse in an open trailer attached to one of his branded lorries, with the carcass fully visible to the public. The incident occurred in June and footage was widely shared on social media, prompting the referrals committee to label his conduct as "grossly negligent" and "injurious to the good reputation of the sport" as it handed down the sanction.

Hanlon has an opportunity to apply for the final five months to be suspended provided he adheres to certain provisions, including not knowingly participating in any training-related activities or gallops and not issuing instructions to any jockey or other trainer.

An application was made on behalf of Hanlon by Whelan Law Solicitors to defer the effective date by five months on account of the "extent of Mr Hanlon’s business and the difficulty of making specified alternative arrangements within the deferral period".

However, the committee reaffirmed the start date as December 1, noting that "there was nothing in his circumstances to differentiate them from those of other trainers put in the same position by similar decisions in other cases" and "to defer a sanction of five or ten months duration for well over six months would tend to have the effects suggested by the IHRB and would disproportionately dilute the effect of the withdrawal sanction".

The IHRB confirmed Hanlon has lodged an appeal against the severity of the ban.

Read more here

Shark Hanlon 'surprised and disappointed' at ten-month suspension over transport of dead horse in open trailer 

Shark Hanlon apologises for 'any distress' caused after transit problem exposes dead horse  

Shark Hanlon ruling might have divided social media - but legal heavyweights add real substance to these decisions 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.