ERIC and Conor McNamara have won their appeals against stiff penalties they received from the stewards at Clonmel two weeks ago.

The father and son were found guilty under the “non-triers” rule, following a sixth place finish for their horse, Mount Ferns, in a two-mile novice handicap chase won by Luminous Light.

Conor McNamara was suspended for 40 racedays, Eric McNamara was fined €6,000, and the horse was suspended from running for 90 days.

The appeal was heard on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board told The Irish Field on Thursday that the appeals had been allowed and more details would be published in due course.

Hanging badly

Eric McNamara was not present at Clonmel for the race and was represented by David O’Riordan, who said the instructions were to jump off mid-division and to come with a late run. O’Riordan added he was satisfied with the ride, as the horse was hanging badly right.

Conor McNamara confirmed the instructions given and said he was generally happy with the way the race went, however, his mount started hanging badly going down the hill and turning into the straight. He elaborated that the horse was extremely difficult to ride at this point and he could not even ride the horse out to the line. He concluded by saying he had forgotten to make a report at scales that the horse was hanging.

Having viewed the recording of the race and considered the evidence, the acting stewards at Clonmel were satisfied that both rider and trainer were in breach of Rule 212A(i) by deliberately or recklessly causing or permitting a horse to run other than on its merits. However, their decision has now been overturned.