John Hammond's week began with a magnificent success for Montjeu in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Chantilly-based trainer scored another victory at the Turf Club yesterday when his £15,000 fine for the non-appearance of Montjeu in the Champion Stakes was cut to £6,750.
Montjeu was a high-profile defection from the Leopardstown September highlight in favour of the following day's Prix Niel at Longchamp.
The acting stewards at Leopardstown were not satisfied with Hammond's explanation for Montjeu's non-appearance and fined him almost two-and-a-half per cent of the Champion Stakes prize-money fund.
That was considerably more than the one per cent minimum that stewards can fine in the circumstances but Hammond got the fine reduced to that one per cent level on appeal to the Appeals and Referrals Committee yesterday.
The Turf Club chief executive Cahir O'Sullivan later explained: "The committee concluded that Mr Hammond had made every effort to keep Leopardstown racecourse, the Turf Club and the public fully informed and on that view, the one per cent fine was more appropriate. "On the day at Leopardstown, the acting stewards had to decide if his explanation was reasonable but the panel today had the advantage of hearing Mr Hammond's explanation directly from his own lips."
Hammond, in Ireland for the Goffs Sales, said he was very pleased with the outcome and added: "It was a very fair hearing. At the time, I tried to play it dead straight with everyone but I was not at Leopardstown and I was able to explain the circumstances better today."
Today's Irish racing is at Downpatrick where a six-race card looks competitive enough to keep the punting fanatics happy. The shrewd punters, though, are likely to wait for the bumper, where Indian Glen travels from John Berry's Co Wexford stable with a first-rate chance.
The six-year-old ran a blinder at Listowel when beaten only a head by Michael Hourigan's smart mare Sly Empress. It was only in the last strides that Indian Glen gave way and that looks a level of form that the rest of these will struggle to match.
Those that lost fortunes on Gordi at the Galway festival will be looking at the former Queen's Vase winner with some interest in the opener and talent-wise he would be impossible to oppose.
However, Gordi does not strike me as a natural jumper of hurdles and the value could be the Listowel bumper winner, Bodies Pride, who has a nice fifth to Stage Affair over hurdles to his credit. Paul Carberry can return to winning ways after a frustrating period with injury, courtesy of a double with Prosperous Penny in the Moses Hunter Handicap Hurdle and Minister's Cross in the beginners' chase. Daragh O'Donohoe is on stand-by to ride third favourite Spunkie in next week's Newmarket Cesarewitch.
