Danny Gilligan has been handed a one-day suspension for causing misconduct at the start of Tuesday evening’s National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase during the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. The event was delayed after two false starts, with officials identifying Gilligan, riding Will Do, as the cause of the second false start due to his failure to walk or jog the horses to properly initiate the race.
This incident marked Gilligan’s third ride of the day; earlier, he finished 14th aboard Dee Capo in the Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase and secured eighth place with Koktail Brut in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Will Do ultimately finished 11th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase.
Gilligan’s busy schedule continues with four rides planned for Wednesday: Skylight Hustle in the Turners Novices Hurdle at 3:20 pm, Western Fold in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at 2 pm, Conflated in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at 3:20 pm, and his final ride of the day in the Debenhams Jonny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase at 4:40 pm.
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On Thursday, Gilligan is slated to ride Place De La Nation in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
He was not alone in facing disciplinary action on Day One of the Festival. Conor Stone-Walsh was suspended for two days for careless riding in the same final race. Riding Iceberg Theory to a fifth-place finish, Stone-Walsh caused interference by drifting left-handed toward the rail, impeding Donagh Meyler on Backersackme, the race favourite, and subsequently forcing Sam Twiston-Davies on Guard the Moon to check his mount. Both Backersackme and Guard the Moon were pulled up due to the incident.
An official inquiry confirmed that the interference occurred after the first fence entering the bend. The stewards' statement said: “Stone-Walsh was suspended for two days for careless riding as he allowed his mount to drift left-handed towards the rail when insufficiently clear of Meyler, who had to take a check, which resulted in Twiston-Davies also having to take a slight check against the rail.”