Fairyhouse card hinges on 8am inspection

A decision on whether Saturday's Fairyhouse meeting can go ahead will be made at 8am, when track officials get an update on the progress of Storm Brian.

An eight-race Flat card is due to start at 1.35pm but strong winds are forecast and speaking on Friday evening racecourse manager Peter Roe said: "We'll be making a decision early in the morning when we get an update from the Met Office.

"The safety of everyone will be the deciding factor, if the forecast remains the same."

Should the meeting be cancelled it is likely to be rescheduled for Tuesday, October 24.

Haydock called off on Friday

Haydock's meeting on Friday has been called off after recent heavy rain.

Track officials had planned to assess conditions on raceday given the wet forecast but took the decision to cancel the card on Thursday afternoon following heavy rain.

With Haydock off, racing on Friday in Britain now comes from Fakenham, Newcastle, Redcard and Wincanton.

O'Nell banned for 21 days for whip offences

Group 1-winning rider Dane O'Neill has been banned for 21 days after being referred to the BHA for whip offences.

Second jockey to leading owner-breeder Hamdan Al Maktoum, O'Neill was found in breach of whip rules after riding Thammin at Kempton this month and was subsequently referred to British racing's ruling body as it was the rider's fifth offence that warranted a suspension of between two and six days within the previous six months.

An inquiry took place at the BHA's London offices on Thursday morning when the 42-year-old, who won the 2015 Commonwealth Cup on star sprinter Muhaarar, was handed his punishment.

Seven days of his ban have been deferred until January 15 and O'Neill's suspension runs from October 27 to November 15.

O'Connell facing spell out of action

Brian O’Connell is facing a long spell on the sidelines having undergone surgery on Wednesday for a shoulder injury sustained in a fall at Tramore on October 5.

Speaking on Thursday O’Connell said: "I had surgery in Dublin to reattach ligaments and tendons to my right shoulder and I’m going to be out of action for about two months.

“I had five rides following the fall at Tramore while awaiting the results of an MRI scan and when the results came back I had to have surgery.”

O’Connell, who has ridden ten winners this season, achieved his biggest win when landing the Grade 1 Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown in Februart 2014.

Duke has no regrets after sale of Warm The Voice

Brendan Duke has expressed his satisfaction about being able to repay the faith instilled in him by Jim and Jackie Bolger after the sale of their promising two-year-old colt Warm The Voice, who will continue his racing career in Hong Kong after being snapped up recently.

Warm The Voice, a winner of three races and a fine third behind Saxon Warrior in the Group 1 Beresford Stakes at Naas on his final start in Ireland, has been purchased for an "extremely generous sum of money", according to Duke.

He said: “It has filled me with an enormous amount of pleasure to be able to repay the faith that Jim and Jackie Bolger have placed in me.

“They didn't put me under any pressure to sell the horse, but I received a very generous sum of money for Warm The Voice, and after considering the offer for 20 minutes, I said yes.

“It was a business decision and I have no regrets. We received the type of sum that we felt matched our high opinion of the horse.”