Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
RSPCA PLEA AFTER RUSSELL PUNCH BAN
THE RSPCA yesterday called for jockeys to face “stiffer punishments in the future” after Davy Russell was given a four-day ban for punching Kings Dolly in the head at Tramore last month.
The 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner originally received a caution for the offence, committed before the start of a race at the Co Waterford track on August 18, but faced a retrial after the initial punishment was deemed “unduly lenient”.
And the 38-year-old was handed a four-day suspension by the Irish Turf Club’s appeals board.
Chairman Joseph Finnegan stressed the need to recognise “the seriousness of this offence” – but took account of the “strain and pressure” the affair had placed on Russell and his family in downgrading the revised sentence of an “appropriate” five days to four.
Giving his reaction to the ban, RSPCA equine consultant David Muir said: “Davy Russell has had two weeks of bad press while this has dragged on and in this case – and in these circumstances – I’m satisfied it is the correct punishment.
“But I would like to see stiffer punishments in the future, because it is totally unacceptable for a horse to be punched in the head.
“I’m not after hounding a jockey, but he lost his temper – I’ve seen idiots do this kind of thing before – and it was unacceptable.
“Any organisation that deals with animal welfare could never support punching a horse in the head or the neck.
“There is a clear line between what is right and what is wrong, and punching a horse in the head is wrong.”