11.30am Geraghty free to ride at Punchestown festival
Tony Paley: Barry Geraghty had his 30-day ban for his ride on Noble Emperor at Limerick in early April thrown out after a lengthy appeal on Monday night, freeing the jockey up for the Punchestown festival next week.
The Gold Cup-winning jockey was hit with the ban after finishing second aboard the Tony Martin-trained eight-year-old in a handicap hurdle on April 3, a race won by Velocity Boy, who made all having opened up a big advantage on the field from an early stage.
The Limerick stewards were of the opinion Geraghty had failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures to obtain the best possible placing, banning him for 30 days, with the horse prevented from running for 60 days and Martin fined €3,000.
Martin appealed against his fine and owner JP McManus the horse’s 60-day ban, with those appeals also successful as the appeal board agreed to overturn the original verdict and exonerate all parties, after a hearing that lasted over three hours.
Geraghty argued at the Irish Turf Club that he would have been more likely to finish fifth than second had he tried to go with Velocity Boy and that the horses that had tried to go with the winner had paid the price.
Tuesday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
How pleasing to see three properly competitive cards on turf this spring Tuesday. The only difficulty, as ever, is finding a winner, so I’ll just fortify myself with a glance at this table before pressing on.
As was mentioned in this space last week, Dr Richard Newland has his small string flying along just now, so I quite like the 3-1 about his Express Du Berlais (3.10) in the staying chase at Ludlow, even though that doesn’t seem, at first blush, much of a price in a 12-runner handicap. Newland got this one at the beginning of the last winter and, as is his wont, got a couple of quick results out of him before putting him away and improving him some more.
Now seven, Express Du Berlais achieved a career peak when hacking up at Market Rasen recently. This drier surface is excellent news for him and he should be hard to beat under a 7lb penalty.
In the following handicap hurdle, 9-2 is fine about Towering (3.40), who beat a big field at Cheltenham in October and appears to have been given the winter off so as to be saved for better ground. He was fifth at Cheltenham in a hot handicap when last seen in November, finishing a head behind a horse who is now a stone higher in the weights.
An outsider at Brighton tonight has caught my eye and not just mine, since there has been money for Parisian Pyramid (5.20). The 10-year-old is back with Lee Carter, for whom he won twice in 2014, and is now back down to a mark 8lb below the most recent of those successes. The grey didn’t show much when last seen in November but he has never won on the all-weather. At the 20-1 that remains in one place, I’ll take my chance that he can do better back on turf today.
Tipping competition, day two
Our winners so far:
Monday
Perfect Pasture 14-1
Carre Noir 7-1
Englishman 7-1
And our leader is:
jamesstod +13
… who had both the 7-1 winners and therefore has a one-point lead over kingklynch, Copshaw and Bacciodilupo, who found Perfect Pasture and are on +12.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.40 Ludlow, 4.00 Kempton, 4.30 Kempton.
This week’s prize is a copy of Timeform’s ‘Horses To Follow’ for the new Flat season, featuring 50 animals picked by Timeform’s team of experts, with plenty more to read in the features section at the back, including Irish horses to follow and ante-post tips. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today but you will start on -3.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
