A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Binocular to face Hurricane Fly

BINOCULAR will clash with Hurricane Fly at Punchestown next month after connections confirmed the seven-year-old is on course for the Champion Hurdle on May 6th.

Trained by Nicky Henderson Binocular was forced to miss his defence of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, won by Hurricane Fly, as treatment for an allergy had not cleared his system in time. He could only manage a disappointing fourth at Aintree last time out.

Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus, said: “Binocular is heading to Punchestown for the Rabobank Champion Hurdle, all being well. He is fine after Aintree, he is in good form and we couldn’t be happier with him.

“Nothing came to light after Aintree, so we can’t put a finger on exactly what happened there. He ran a good race but just didn’t pick up perhaps as well as he should have, but he has come out of it good and hopefully he will go to Punchestown.”

Fallon ban reduced but he will miss Guineas meeting

KIEREN FALLON will miss the Guineas meeting at Newmarket later this month, despite being partially successful in his appeal against a 10-day suspension.

The jockey was originally sidelined between April 27th-May 6th after the local stewards found him guilty of not riding out to the winning line aboard Sukhothai in a handicap at Kempton on April 13th.

Fallon had his appeal heard at the British Horseracing Authority headquarters yesterday morning, and although the disciplinary panel downgraded his suspension from 10 days to seven, he will be banned from April 27th-May 3rd.

The news confirms Fallon misses the ride on Ed Dunlop’s big 2,000 Guineas hope Native Khan, whom he guided to an impressive comeback victory in the Craven Stakes.

Fallon’s lawyer was disappointed the suspension was only partly upheld, but feels the fact the ban was reduced justifies Fallon’s decision to challenge the suspension, and it does allow him to ride at the Chester Cup meeting.

Fame And Glory for Ascot

AIDAN O’Brien’s multiple Group One winner Fame And Glory features among 15 entries for the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot on Wednesday.

The five-year-old made a successful seasonal return in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan last Sunday and could step up to two miles at Ascot with a view to a tilt at the two-and-a-half-mile Gold Cup, which O’Brien has won four times with the legendary Yeats.

Among potential opposition next week is Jeremy Noseda’s Theology, last seen placing seventh in the St Leger at Doncaster.

LAST year’s Investec Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Workforce continued preparations for next month’s scheduled comeback with a spin under Ryan Moore yesterday.

Trainer Michael Stoute is planning to start the four-year-old off in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on May 22nd before targeting the premier middle-distance events around Europe and the world.

Jockey out of intensive care

JOCKEY Peter Toole has left intensive care as he continues to recover from his fall at Aintree on Grand National day. The 22-year-old suffered bleeding on the right side of his brain when Classic Fly fell at the first fence in the Maghull Novices’ Chase.

He was taken out of a medically induced coma last Thursday and is in a stable condition. He has been moved from the intensive care unit to the high dependency unit within the Walton Centre in Liverpool.

Irish racing gets Breeders' Cup boost

OFFICIALS at the Breeders’ Cup have announced four of Ireland’s Group One contests have this year been selected as part of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Challenge series.

Winners of the Curragh’s Pretty Polly Stakes, Moyglare Stakes and National Stakes, as well as the winner of Leopardstown’s Irish Champion Stakes, will all earn automatic starting berths into a corresponding race at Churchill Downs in November.

Five of Britain’s Group One contests – Ascot’s King George VI Stakes, the QEII, Newmarket’s Fillies Mile, the Dewhurst Stakes and the Nunthorpe at York, are all “Win And You’re In” races.

As part of the benefits for challenge winners, the Breeders’ Cup will pay the entry fees of all challenge winners into the championships and provide a travel allowance of €14,000 to the winning connections.