Buick appeals against six-week ban for reckless riding in Hong Kong

William Buick on Monday lodged an appeal against the severity of a six-week ban after pleading guilty to reckless riding aboard the sixth home Pakistan Star in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.

The 30-year-old angled his mount out at an acute angle when not clear of the Andre Fabre-trained race favourite Waldgeist, ridden by Pierre-Charles Boudot, in Sunday's contest. The market leader and Red Verdon were severely checked in the incident, which compromised their chances of victory.

Buick was suspended for six weeks and fined HK$20,000 (£2,000/€2,240).

In their report, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's stewards said: "In assessing the penalty, the stewards took into consideration Buick's guilty plea but also his actions had seriously compromised the safety and welfare of those horses and riders to his outside and had significantly impacted upon the chances of both Waldgeist and Red Verdon in this race."

It's the second occasion Buick has been charged with reckless riding in a Group 1, coincidentally with Boudot and Fabre again the victims.

Buick received a 30-day ban by French stewards following his ride aboard Highlands Queen in the Group 1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly in June 2016.

Back then he was adjudged to have caused the Fabre-trained filly Armande to knuckle with Boudot hitting the turf 250 metres from the finish.

French stewards banned Buick for an automatic 15 days for causing Boudot's fall and gave the Norwegian-born rider an extra 15 days for behaving offensively towards officials.

Buick rode nine Group 1 winners across seven countries during 2018, most notably the Derby aboard Masar in June.

His suspension will start on December 17, running through to January 28.

The only other suspension from Hong Kong’s international meeting also came in the Vase with Zac Purton hit with a three-meeting ban for his ride aboard the winner Exultant.

Zac Purton wins the Hong Kong Vase on Exultant (right), but like William Buick, he was also suspended for his actions during the raceCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

Purton crossed runners before the first turn when insufficiently clear of eventual third Eziyra, causing three other runners (Salouen, Red Verdon and Latrobe) to be steadied.

The winning rider's suspension runs from December 19 until December 27.

Hong Kong Vase result

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