Robbie Dunne granted seven-day extension to appeal against 18-month ban

Robbie Dunne has been granted a seven-day extension to appeal against his 18-month ban for bullying and harassing fellow jockey Bryony Frost, the BHA has confirmed.

Last month the disciplinary panel found Dunne, 36, guilty of four breaches of rule (J) 19, in that he engaged in conduct prejudicial to horseracing in Britain by subjecting Frost to bullying with “deepening spitefulness” between February and September 2020.

Dunne was originally given seven days from the publication of the disciplinary panel’s written reasons for his suspension to appeal, but an extra week has been granted following the release of the report last Thursday.

Robbie Dunne was banned for 18 months after being found guilty of bullying Bryony Frost

In an update on Monday, the BHA said: “Following an application on behalf of Robbie Dunne, the disciplinary panel has agreed to extend the deadline for Mr Dunne’s decision on appeal to January 20, 2022.”

The three-person disciplinary panel found Dunne guilty on December 9 on the four most serious charges brought against him by the BHA, handing down a penalty of an 18-month suspension from riding, with the last three months suspended.

Written reasons for finding Dunne guilty, and for the suspension he was given, were published last Thursday, with the report running to nearly 11,500 words.

Read panel's damning verdict on Robbie Dunne's bullying of Bryony Frost

As part of the summary explaining its decision, the panel wrote: “The matters proved were consecutive, occurred over six months, as time went by deepening in spitefulness, and consequently the words and acts achieving the increasingly chilling effect upon the victim which Mr Dunne intended.

“As well as falling foul of the regulations as pleaded, such behaviour, from someone who presented himself as one of the elders of the sport, setting standards and allegedly offering wise counsel to junior jockeys was hypocritical.”

Dunne’s legal team indicated an appeal was a strong possibility on the day of the verdict. The rider's legal team has been contacted for comment on the appeal and the application for an extension.

Read this next:

Robbie Dunne rode in a 'deliberately intimidatory' manner against Bryony Frost

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday