Andrea Atzeni overturns four-day careless riding ban on Giavellotto in Yorkshire Cup

Andrea Atzeni has been successful in his appeal against a four-day careless riding ban for his winning ride on Giavellotto in the Yorkshire Cup. The jockey had been deemed to have caused interference – which he did not dispute – to fourth-placed Quickthorn, ridden by Oisin Murphy, by the raceday stewards at York.

In an appeal heard by the BHA's disciplinary panel on Wednesday Atzeni claimed the interference was accidental, and that he took all reasonable action to straighten his mount. He argued his mount's movement was sudden and unexpected and that he could take no more action than to put both of his hands on the reins.

As the panel watched replays from many angles, Murphy, who was called as a witness by Atzeni, said: "It was only after Mr Atzeni made contact with the whip that his horse began to shift towards my line, and literally in two strides the horse has stepped in remarkably. Immediately after the interference Mr Atzeni's horse begins to straighten – both hands have gone back on the reins."

Charlotte Davison, making the case for the BHA, claimed that Atzeni failed to take reasonable steps to stop the ongoing interference between his mount and Quickthorn.

She said: "It's Mr Atzeni's case that the interference was accidental and he states that by putting both hands on the reins and moving his body position, he has clearly and demonstrably taken reasonable steps to straighten his horse. The BHA say that is not what can be seen on the footage and what in fact can be seen is once his hands return to the reins he pushes his horse forward for a number of strides, making no efforts at all to straighten his mount."

Andrea Atzeni: "I did the best I could"Credit: Edward Whitaker

Atzeni, who was represented by Rory Mac Neice, felt the reason for Giavellotto's move to his left was due to a change of lead legs, something highlighted in the replays. He said: "Around the two-furlong pole he changed lead legs to his left and I felt he was leaning that way, so to correct him I pulled my whip through to my left hand to keep him straight.

"He'd been running for ten to 12 seconds straight, so I pulled my whip through to my right for encouragement. When I went to pick my stick up he changed leads again quickly. When I felt him going left quite sharply, which I did not expect him to as he gave me no warning and it happened so quick, I tried to correct him straight away.

"I put my hands on both reins within two strides probably – I don't think I could have been quicker. I didn't even have time to switch my whip and I thought I daren't pull my whip through because that would mean my hands being away from the reins for a stride and I wanted to keep him straight. I did the best I could."

In allowing the appeal, chair Sarah Crowther KC said: "We find that all reasonable steps were taken by Mr Atzeni in the circumstances and that the interference was accidental. Our view is that the initial movement to the left by his horse was not foreseeable and happened so quickly that there was nothing that he could have done to avoid it."

Atzeni's ban was due to run from Sunday, June 4 to June 7.  The jockey is still in line for an eight-day ban, from June 8 to June 15, having been found by the BHA's whip review committee to have used his whip without giving his mount time to respond, and using it in the incorrect place, during that same winning ride. 

Read these next:

'It's nice to be back' - Marco Botti revels in Giavellotto's shock success in Yorkshire Cup 

Jimmy Moffatt blasts social media abusers after jockey banned for riding finish a circuit early 

Subscribe today and get set for a sizzling summer of Flat racing with 50% off your first three months 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.