Appeal joy for Swinburn
15/09/2005 - 14:12:48Fairmile has been awarded last week’s Sodexho Prestige Handicap Stakes after trainer Walter Swinburn successfully appealed to the Jockey Club.
Swinburn contested the decision of the Sandown stewards not to give the 10-furlong race to his runner after first-past-the-post South O’The Border appeared to interfere with the short-head runner-up Fairmile.
The local officials judged any interference by the Shane Kelly-ridden winner to have been accidental and left the placings unaltered.
However, after hearing evidence from Swinburn, Kelly and Fairmile’s rider Adam Kirby, as well as viewing the race, the disciplinary panel found South O’The Border had drifted left causing Fairmile to lose valuable momentum.
Given the narrow winning verdict, the panel decided to reverse the placings.
