'I missed the only thing that mattered' - Tom Marquand loses interference appeal

Tom Marquand has lost his appeal against a three-day careless riding ban imposed by stewards after partnering the German-trained Rocchigiani to victory in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Connections of the chief sufferer of the incident, the Norwegian-based Hotline Bling, described Marquand's riding as "dangerous" and argued his actions had potentially cost their horse finishing better than fifth.

The Scandinavian Rules Committee has since gone on the record to say that Hotline Bling would not have been promoted in any of its three jurisdictions, which all adhere to the same Category 1 rules on interference as the vast majority of the racing world outside North America.

The BHA case, presented by Charlotte Davidson, rested heavily on Marquand's original submission to the Goodwood stewards, which made no mention of Rocchigiani taking a step to his right unbidden by his rider.

Rocchigiani and Tom Marquand on their way to victory at GoodwoodCredit: Edward Whitaker

In the hearing conducted on the day, Marquand had denied making a manoeuvre to his right other than to follow the elbow of the rail, a line of argument he maintained in the appeal.

However, he told the independent disciplinary panel that as soon as he reviewed the footage when being driven home, he could see more clearly that Rocchigiani had momentarily come off a straight line and that he had reacted instinctively to correct him back to his left.

Marquand said: "My reaction is not even 0.2 of a second after he stepped in. That's a subconscious reaction. You can't think that fast. Because it was a subconscious reaction, it didn't stay with me in the inquiry."

Cross-examined by Davidson as to why he made continued reference in the original inquiry to not knowing James Doyle and The Wizard Of Eye had moved into the gap on the rail to the inner of Hotline Bling, Marquand said: "As soon as I sat down to watch, it was obvious he was irrelevant. My horse stepped in. If James Doyle is not there, Mr Martinez [Manuel Martinez, jockey of Hotline Bling] still gets interfered with."

During a later exchange with the BHA counsel, Marquand said: "I'm appealing because all I missed [in the inquiry] was that my horse stepped in. As soon as I got in the car and watched the replay I thought, 'Oh my God. I missed the only thing that mattered'."

At the end of a hearing that lasted well over two hours and which was dominated by close scrutiny of video footage and technical argument over Marquand's body position and his mount's change of lead leg, the three-person panel determined that the rider had indeed made a deliberate manoeuvre to his right and was not, as he and his counsel Rory Mac Neice argued, simply reacting to his mount's decision to step to his right.

Tom Marquand with Arc-winning trainer Peter Schiergen after Rocchigiani's victory at GoodwoodCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Panel chair Patrick O'Mahony said in summary: "A significant factor in the evidence is that there was no mention of any involuntary movement by the horse stepping in, notwithstanding the considerable amount Mr Marquand had to say during the original stewards' inquiry.

"Looking with great care, particularly at the video footage, but taking into account all evidence, we find that he did make a manoeuvre to his right when he was not sufficiently clear.

"We recognise that he made steps within a very short space of time to correct matters but nonetheless we conclude on the balance of probabilities that this was careless riding."

The original penalty of three days falls in the middle of the suggested range and in addition to the day of the hearing, Marquand will miss August 12 and 15.

Members can watch a replay of the race and incident here

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