IRISH JOCKEY GETS 3YR BAN FOR TAKING COCAINE Robinson latest rider suspended from saddle for Class A drug use
IRISH horse racing continues to be plagued by cocaine use after another jockey was slapped with a lengthy ban for using the Class A drug.
Dylan Robinson was suspended from the saddle for three years after a urine sample tested positive for cocaine at Galway last October.
The drug has become a huge problem in the sport with 14 jockeys now banned for using it in the past four years.
Waterford man Robinson accepted he was in breach of the rule, but admitted he “could not remember the events from the night in question” and “did not remember taking any substance”.
The Referrals Committee said it accepted the jockey’s “great remorse” and that the incident was a “one-off ”.
But due to the seriousness of the situation and the fact he “compromised the safety of other riders by riding with cocaine in his system”, a three-year suspension was handed out with effect from January 1.
It comes after amateur jockey Conor Murphy was handed a five-year ban in January with the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board calling the problem “unacceptable for racing”.
Cocaine use among jockeys first caught national attention in November 2017 when Irish Grand National winner Ger Fox and amateurs Roger Quinlan and Danny Benson all tested positive at the same Galway meeting.
Robinson has ridden 40 winners over jumps, including for Michael O’leary’s Gigginstown House Stud, and is based with leading trainer Henry De Bromhead. He rode the biggest winner of his career to date when steering Ornua to a Grade Three success at Roscommon last October.
The committee said yesterday because of “exceptional circumstances and mitigating factors”, they would consider a “partial suspension of the penalty”, which would allow Robinson to ride again from January 1, 2020.
But only if he shows “positive engagement with medical and associated matters at the time”.
The jockey said he would co-operate fully with whatever requirements the Referrals Committee laid down so as he could get back to riding.
Robinson has not ridden on the track since December 29 and will miss out on any part in this month’s Cheltenham Festival where he finished second in the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle last year.
Year Robinson could return to saddle after consideration