Horse Racing: Johnny Murtagh will try to fill a rare Group One blank when he rides Notable Lady in the Curragh's Phoenix Stakes this weekend but the former champion jockey has had to pass up a shot at Saturday week's Arlington Million.
Murtagh has decided not to appeal the three-day whip ban he picked up at Fairyhouse on Wednesday night, a suspension that rules him out of the multi-million-dollar Arlington festival.
Murtagh had been booked by French-based Richard Gibson to ride Tripat, a Group Three winner at Chantilly in early June, in the Million and had also been on standby to ride Dermot Weld's Evolving Tactics in the Secretariat Stakes. However, yesterday afternoon Murtagh ruled out an appeal. The suspension was given for excessive use of the whip on the Tony Martin-trained Rick.
The Turf Club vet reported the horse was bruised and swollen after the race and four significant whip marks had been made. The ban also rules Murtagh out of Leopardstown on Sunday week.
Murtagh has never won the Phoenix Stakes, Europe's first Group One of the year for juveniles, but will try and rectify that on the Neville Callaghan-trained filly Notable Lady on Sunday.
Aidan O'Brien, who has won the race for the last five years and has nine of the 12 entries left in, indicated a quartet of horses that could fly the Ballydoyle flag.
O'Brien said yesterday: "One Cool Cat, Old Deuteronomy, The Mighty Tiger and Devil Moon are all possibles." The ground at the Curragh was described as "good" yesterday and there are no plans at the moment to water.
Three Valleys remains a red-hot favourite for the Phoenix Stakes but his trainer, Roger Charlton, has decided against running Deportivo in the Group Three Phoenix Sprint.
Jockey Richard Hughes will instead switch to the Richard Hannon-trained Bonus.
Other cross-channel raiders at the weekend include the Mick Channon-trained Caldy Dancer and Barry Hills's Lucky Pippet in the Debutante Stakes. Hills could also run Chancellor and Private Charter in the Royal Whip Stakes.
It's an all-National Hunt card at Kilbeggan this evening, where Barry Geraghty looks a significant booking for Blame The Ref in the beginners' chase.
This one fell at Fairyhouse but made up for that somewhat with a decent fourth to Banasan at the Galway festival. Geraghty could also score on Simply Da Best in the opener.
Geraghty is on the Sligo bumper winner Rocking Annie in the mares maiden hurdle but this one will do well to cope with Shersha. Sean Treacy's runner is having just a second start over flights - the first yielded a fourth to Royal Mirage at Thurles in April - and the balance of her flat form will make her hard to beat here. Michael Hourigan looks to dominate the handicap chase and Central Billing, looking for five in a row, may be the answer.
