Murtagh fails in Eclipse appeal

Johnny Murtagh has failed in his bid to have a five-day suspension he picked up at Royal Ascot overturned, meaning he will miss the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown next week.Murtagh was handed the ban by the Ascot stewards who found him guilty of careless riding aboard Kayf Aramis in the Ascot Stakes. The ban runs from July 1-5 inclusive and means he misses the ride aboard intended Eclipse participant Rip Van Winkle.Murtagh said: "I'm a little bit disappointed as I thought I had a good case. I'm obviously very disappointed by the fact that it means I'll miss the Eclipse."He added: "When I was given five days for the original incident I was blown away, I thought maybe two or four days and if it was that I'd have taken it on the chin, maybe they are stricter in England. I'll just have to make sure it doesn't happen again."The hearing lasted two hours and Murtagh lost his £500 deposit. Murtagh was represented by Rory Mac Neice at the British Horseracing Authority's headquarters in London for the appeal, which started at 9.15am.Sitting on the other side of the table was jockey Martin Dwyer, whose mount Ermine Sea was squeezed up on the rail by Kayf Aramis turning for home.Following numerous video replays, Murtagh argued his mount had "just stepped in" after he changed his hands to get hold of his horse and that the incident "was over in two strides".Murtagh's penalty comes under the careless riding rules but there is a break in the rulebook for offences deserving punishment of between two and four day bans and more serious contraventions of five to nine days.Unusually, Mac Neice chose to mention in his summing up the fact Murtagh could miss the Eclipse if banned for more than four days - where there is no exemption to ride in Group One races.Although he pointed out it was of no relevance to the panel's verdict, he described it as the "800lb gorilla in the corner".