Racing:Ruby Walsh makes his first return to race-riding in Britain since being suspended under the new whip rules at Aintree when he heads to Wetherby for one mount tomorrow.
Walsh was suspended for five days by the Aintree stewards on Saturday having been deemed to have hit his mount, Edgardo Sol, once more than the permitted eight times after guiding him to a narrow victory in a novices’ handicap chase.
A furious Walsh indicated in the aftermath that his visits to England would become less frequent due to the stringent rules, and is due to have an appeal against the findings of the Aintree stewards heard next week.
But he will be back in the saddle in England when partnering Fistral Beach for Paul Nicholls in Wetherby’s bet365 Handicap Chase, and will also be in action at the Yorkshire track on Saturday, where his rides will include the Nicholls-trained Poquelin in the feature Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase.
Poquelin’s owner Andy Stewart, currently in Barbados, said: “I understand Ruby will ride Poquelin, which is great. The Charlie Hall should be one of the highlights of the day on Saturday and hopefully it will give everyone something to talk about rather than the whip.
“I haven’t actually seen the race when Ruby got suspended in at Aintree, but I have been told plenty about it. One of the main problems with the rule is that it does not leave any room for discretion for the stewards.
“You can give a horse a peach of a ride and get up by a nose and get suspended for it and that can’t be right.”