Veteran jockey Séamus Heffernan faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a 24-day ban from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) over his use of the whip on Jersey Stakes winner Thesecretadversary at Royal Ascot.
The BHA’s whip review committee imposed the penalty for using his whip on the Fozzy Stack-trained colt three times more than the permitted total of six and not giving the horse time to respond.
Heffernan, will begin the BHA suspension on July 20th and it runs until August 12th, ruling him out of the Galway festival.
However, before that, the 53-year-old rider, a four-time Irish Derby winner, is set to start a 14-day suspension next Friday for breaching ‘non-trier’ rules at Limerick earlier this month.
Heffernan was banned and trainer Tony Martin fined €3,000 after Eben Zaabeel finished third in a handicap. Neither has appealed the penalties. The horse was suspended from racing for 60 days.
