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The Appeals Body, Mr John McGuire (Chair), Mr Anthony Byrne and Mr John Murphy convened at the offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board on Tuesday, 16 June to consider the appeal of Ricky Doyle (Rider) against the decision of the Raceday Stewards at Punchestown on 7 June 2026.
On the day following the running of the TRM Supporting Every Stride Handicap Hurdle, the Raceday Stewards found Mr Doyle, Rider of Morell River, in breach of Rule 214 in that he had ridden improperly. Having considered his clean record in this regard, the Raceday Stewards suspended Mr Doyle for seven racedays.
The grounds of appeal lodged by Mr Doyle were that the Raceday Stewards erred in their decision.
At the appeal hearing, evidence was heard from Mr Doyle and Ethan O’Sullivan, Rider. The Raceday Stewards also watched a recording of the incident.
In his evidence, Mr Doyle said he reacted on instinct and for his health and safety as Mr O’Sullivan’s mount was drifting left after the winning post which he feared might force his own mount to veer violently left towards the horse gate. Mr Doyle added that it was not intentional to be aggressive and referred to the video evidence to show that there was no argument between himself and Mr O’Sullivan. Mr Doyle also outlined that he had only two previous breaches of careless riding since taking out a licence in 2011 and it wasn’t in his nature to ride in such a manner but he just reacted for his own safety.
In his evidence, Mr O’Sullivan confirmed that his saddle slipped just after the winning post as his mount hung left and he was putting his weight on the right side.
Having considered the evidence, the Appeals Body allowed Mr Doyle’s appeal against the finding under Rule 214 and directed the return of the appeal deposit, however, the Appeals Body considered an application made by the IHRB pursuant to Rules 19A(6)(iv) and 19C(6) and determined that the evidence disclosed a breach of Rule 272(i). The Appeals Body found that Mr Doyle's conduct did warrant consideration under Rule 272(i). Having regard to Mr Doyle's acceptance of his conduct and his clean record in this regard, the Appeals Body imposed a fine of €250.