RACING: Christy Roche confirmed yesterday that Bannow Bay will not run again this season after picking up a knee injury. "He has not been quite right and we were taking various X-rays until we discovered this problem," the Curragh trainer said.

Bannow Bay finished runner up to Baracouda in last year's Stayer's at the Cheltenham Festival but his two starts this term failed to add to his career total of nine victories. The last of those was at Navan a year ago. One horse that will be probably travelling to the UK this weekend is Emotional Moment who has been heavily backed ante-post for the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury.

"Some telephone hotline tipped him up. The owners had something on but nothing to cut the price like that. He is well and is more likely to go than not to go," trainer Tom Taaffe said yesterday. "But the weather might cause problems yet. How often has Newbury been called off. The fall back would be the Red Mills at Gowran," he added.