Carberry decides not to appeal ban
Thursday November 19 2009
Watson Lake may not be the force of old, but he showed he is no back number when landing yesterday's Clonmel Oil Chase under Paul Carberry.
The 11-year-old, a Grade One winner five years ago, has played at the top table over fences for a number of years and was sent off at 13/2 to gain his first success of the campaign.
Noel Meade's veteran was at the head of affairs under Carberry and despite tiring in the testing conditions, he held on to score by just over a length from One Cool Cookie.
Winning jockey Carberry has confirmed that he won't be appealing a 30-day suspension he incurred following a failed breath test at Naas last month.
Although the 35-year-old feels the length of the suspension is severe, he is keen to put the episode behind him.
"While I feel the 30-day suspension over the busy Christmas period is harsh, I nevertheless respect the panel's decision and have therefore decided not to appeal," Carberry said. "Instead, I will try to use this period positively, so that when I return in January, I can be at peak fitness and riding at the top of my game -- as people deserve from me.
"I would, however, like to thank the very many people who have supported me over this period and who continue to support me, and, in particular, Noel Meade and his owners."
Meanwhile, Paul Nolan's mare Moskova came out on top in a thrilling finish to the EBF TA Morris Memorial Mares Chase. The 2/1 shot looked to have fluffed her lines when making a mistake at halfway, but she came back tenaciously under a power-packed Ruby Walsh ride to score by half a length from Hello Kitty.
Nolan said: "Super Ruby! After the mistake I thought she'd find it very difficult because we were worried about her fitness. She battled well to the line, though, and she is very tough."
SUCCESSFUL
Walsh was earlier successful on the Willie Mullins-trained Fionnegas (4/7), which maintained his unbeaten record in the INH Stallion Owners EBF Novice Hurdle.
The trainer said: "It's nice to see that he has retained his ability from earlier this season. The Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle at Navan is an option for him."
Mullins went on to complete a treble, as 4/1 chance Dorset Square landed the Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle, after which Florida Pal (4/9 favourite) justified his prohibitive odds in the bumper.
- Thomas Kelly
Irish Independent
