Will be followed up.”The incident occurred shortly before a mares handicap hurdle in which Russell was aboard Kings Dolly. Kings Dolly arrives at speed and nearly falls over the hurdle, at which point Russell lifts his right hand and thrusts it forward at the horse’s head. “This is news to me,” said Roger McGrath, the County Waterford-based trainer of Kings Dolly, who eventually finished eighth. But a more recent case in Ireland suggests a longer punishment if Russell is indeed found to have hit his horse. Russell is one of the most admired and respected of jump jockeys, which is why considerable shock greeted the airing of the footage.

Source: The Guardian August 19, 2017 18:03 UTC