Rab Havlin has been banned for 21 days following his ride on Stowell behind winning stablemate Polling Day at Lingfield on Wednesday.
John & Thady Gosden's horse drifted from 8/1 to 16/1 before the off for the Sky Sports Racing HD Virgin 535 Novice Stakes with Polling Day going off 2/9 favourite under Frankie Dettori and the latter established a big lead in the straight.
The runner-up made inroads on the leader, though, without being asked a serious question, and was beaten just a head at the line.
Initially the stewards didn't include anything in their report but an enquiry was held and Havlin received a 21-day suspension. The closing stages and stewards' report are below...
BHA report:
An enquiry was held into the running and riding of STOWELL, ridden by Robert Havlin and trained by John & Thady Gosden, which, after breaking well, was settled behind the leaders for the majority of the race, before being urged along under an apparently tender hands and heels ride rounding the final bend and up the straight to finish second, beaten by a diminishing head. The rider and the trainers’ representative were interviewed and shown recordings of the race; the Veterinary Officer reported that two post-race examinations of the colt failed to reveal any abnormalities. The rider stated that his instructions were to settle the colt and ride him to obtain his best possible position. He added that STOWELL was a fragile type who had a high knee action, and that John Gosden had instructed him to ride the colt hands and heels and not to use his whip. Havlin stated that he was happy with his position in behind the leaders but added that the pace had slowed at half-way which he felt had not benefitted the colt. He added that upon entering the final bend he was caught on the heels of SCAMPI, after which he switched to the inside and the colt ran on well inside the final half furlong. He further stated that, in his opinion, the winner was idling in front and therefore it appeared that STOWELL had finished faster than he actually had and that in time, the colt would likely benefit from racing on turf with ease in the ground. The trainers’ representative stated that he was happy with the ride and that it accorded with the instructions given and that they were very pleased with this, STOWELL’s first run. Havlin was suspended for failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to ensure STOWELL obtained his best possible placing, in that after getting a clear run in the straight, the colt had not been asked for a sufficient effort. Taking into account how well STOWELL ran on up the straight despite being tenderly ridden, and the diminishing distance that the colt was beaten, Havlin was suspended for 21 days.
