Racing: Irish jockey Seamus Heffernan was last night cleared of riding to "team tactics" on Ivan Denisovich in a controversial race for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot last month.
The stewards ruled that Heffernan had forced Frankie Dettori out wide on Librettist on the home turn in the Group One contest won by Ivan Denisovich's stablemate George Washington on September 23rd.
He was found guilty of improper riding in the light of Instruction H1 headed "Pacemakers (Team Tactics)", the first time the rule had been invoked since it was brought in as a result of concerns raised following 2003 Shergar Cup.
Following the track inquiry a war of words erupted between Dettori and winning trainer Aidan O'Brien.
But while concluding that Heffernan had been guilty of careless or improper riding, Tim Charlton QC, chair of the Disciplinary Panel of the Horseracing Regulatory Authority ruled "there had been no separate breach of Instruction H1.
"The Panel was not persuaded that Ivan Denisovich was entered as a pacemaker or ran as a pacemaker, but it did conclude that Mr Heffernan's ride needs criticising and will apply the appropriate penalty flowing from that.
"The Panel is considering a breach of Rule 153 but have not decided whether that is careless or improper riding. A ban appropriate to the breach of Rule 153 will be applied and the Panel hope to make an announcement on that tomorrow or Thursday."
O'Brien and Heffernan were in London with a heavy legal team, headed by John Kelsey-Fry QC, while Dettori also appeared as a witness for the HRA.
The hearing - including deliberation time - lasted four hours and both the HRA and the Ballydoyle team presented a spirited argument.
The HRA argued that Heffernan had "sacrificed Ivan Denisovich's race" and had acted improperly to benefit those on the inside, namely George Washington, and that Dettori on the outside had suffered.
But Heffernan said he kept wide from the rail in search of better ground and was pushed even wider, causing interference with Dettori, when twice bumped by Araafa.
O'Brien and his team explained that Ivan Denisovich was a better horse on better ground and that the jockey was instructed to race wide on fresh ground to give the horse every chance.
After deliberating, the Panel found this to be the case and that the serious charge of "Team Tactics" lobbied against the jockey was unfounded.
They were also at pains to suggest that at no point was O'Brien implicated and they did not think the trainer had handed out instructions to Heffernan to ride in favour of his stablemate, sent off the 13-8 favourite.
O'Brien was animated and impassioned during the hearing on the back of the charges facing his jockey, but he and Heffernan missed the judgement after leaving the central London building shortly before 9pm to catch a flight back to Ireland.