RACING: Frankie Dettori will miss the last two days of York's prestigious May meeting next week after picking up a four-day suspension for a whip offence on Al Moughazel at Doncaster yesterday.
Al Moughazel was beaten a short head by Welenska in a thrilling finish to the Doncaster Racecourse Sponsorship Club Conditions Stakes in which the third horse, Scottish River, was a similar distance away.
The flap had broken away from Dettori's whip at some stage and, inquiring into his use of it, the stewards decided that he had used it with "excessive frequency without allowing his horse time to respond".
He will be sidelined on May 15th-18th inclusive and so misses the Wednesday and Thursday of York, while he would have likely to have been at Newbury's Juddmonte Lockinge meeting on the following two days.
On Sunday he won the Sagitta 1,000 Guineas on Saeed bin Suroor's Kazzia at Newmarket, and he said philosophically: "It is unfortunate that I will miss some of York, but I will not be appealing - some days you are lucky, some days you are not." And when asked if the whip breaking cost him the race he added: "I don't know if it made any difference to the result really, but it did not feel comfortable when I was using it."
Another former champion Pat Eddery will miss the whole of York after being suspended for five days for a whip offence on Snowfire, runner-up to Kazzia.
Meanwhile, Golden Nun can pick up the winning habit and continue trainer Tim Easterby's impressive record of success with juveniles by landing the opening Joseph Heler Cheshire Cheese Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes at Chester today.
The old maxim of following course specialists was never more true than when applied at Chester and the same advice applies to trainers and horses alike.
Easterby has saddled two juvenile winners from three runners in recent years and Golden Nun suggested she had enough ability to win a race like this with a creditable performance behind New Foundation on her Warwick debut last month.
Expected Bonus looks an interesting runner in the Victor Chandler Chester Vase over an extended mile and a half. Being by Kris, the three-year-old might not be expected to stay much beyond a mile but trainer Barry Hills has an amazing 51 per cent record at the Cheshire track and would not be running his charge over this trip for the good of his health.
Expected Bonus holds a short head verdict over Right Approach at Kempton last season and although the reputation of the Queen Elizabeth's horse received a severe mauling at Sandown last week it still might pay to take a chance on the Hills' charge to give the trainer a repeat success in the event.
