Aintree winner Laafi has been disqualified and jockey Patrick O’Brien banned for 28 days after exceeding the whip limit.
O’Brien, an Irish 5lb claimer, rode Laafi to victory in the 2m½f conditional and amateurs’ handicap hurdle on the second day of Aintree’s National meeting. However, he was found to have used his whip four times above the permitted seven strikes after the second-last hurdle.
Laafi Loses Aintree Win
Laafi’s disqualification marks the first instance in ten months of a winning horse being disqualified due to whip-related offences. The last occurrence was in June when Flat handicapper My Dream World was disqualified from the Queen Mother’s Cup Handicap at York.
The Aintree contest, worth £25,720 to the winner, will now be awarded to Melon, ridden by Toby McCain-Mitchell and trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.
As a result of the ruling, O’Brien has been handed a 28-day ban, set to run throughout May and ending on June 4.
Other Jockeys Penalised
Toby McCain-Mitchell, rider of Melon, was also found to have breached whip rules, using his stick twice above the permitted level after the second-last flight. McCain-Mitchell has received whip bans three times within the last six months and was referred to the Judicial Panel.
In total, five jockeys received whip bans at the Grand National meeting. Jonjo O’Neill Jr and Darragh O’Keeffe each received two bans across the three days.
- O’Neill was suspended for eight days for using his whip once above the permitted level on National runner-up Iroko.
- This followed a six-day suspension for Friday’s premier handicap hurdle win on Wellington Arch, again for exceeding the whip limit.
- Darragh O’Keeffe has been sidelined from May 2-May 9 due to two rule breaches.
O’Keeffe was judged to have used his whip incorrectly on Koktail Divin in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase and on Hiddenvalley Lake in the Liverpool Hurdle.
Harry Skelton received a three-day suspension for using the stick down the shoulder in the forehand position with his hand off the reins when winning on Mr Hope Street in the Freebooter Handicap Chase.
O’Brien’s Successful Season
The ruling places a dampener on what has been a successful season for O’Brien. He secured a first Cheltenham Festival success last month in the Martin Pipe on Air Of Entitlement and is enjoying a career-best winning tally of 21 successes in Ireland.