British jockey suspeded for whip use at Ascot

Top British jockey James Doyle was suspended seven days and fined approximately $16,000 for excessive use of the whip at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday, a penalty that will prevent him from riding in Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, and the Melbourne Cup in Australia on Nov. 4.

Jockeys Richard Hughes and Joseph O’Brien were suspended for riding infractions at Ascot on Saturday, but received lesser penalties and can ride at Santa Anita even though their suspension dates include Nov. 1. Hughes and O’Brien were suspended for four and two days, respectively, and can defer one day of suspension to a later date and ride the Breeders’ Cup program, according to Robin Mounsey, media manager for the British Horse Racing Authority.

Doyle’s suspension begins on Nov. 1 and covers seven days of British flat racing, through Nov. 8. There is no flat racing in England on Nov. 2. Doyle is not eligible to defer any days of his suspension because his penalty is more than four days, Mounsey said on Saturday.

Doyle, 26, was cited for use of whip for his winning ride on Noble Mission in the QIPCO British Champions Stakes. Doyle did not have an extensive book of mounts for the Breeders’ Cup, but was scheduled to ride Willing Foe for Godolphin Racing in the Melbourne Cup.

O’Brien, the son of leading Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, was suspended two days for his ride on Ruler of the World in the Champions Stakes. Ruler of the World, who finished last of nine behind Noble Mission, was ruled to have interfered with Pether’s Moon in the Champion Stakes. O’Brien’s suspension covers racing on Nov. 1 and 3.

Hughes, the leading rider in England by winners, was cited for excessive use of the whip on Night of Thunder in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Night of Thunder finished second. Hughes was suspended for four racing days in Britain– Nov. 1, and Nov. 3-5.