Cercene

Gary Carroll has received a 14-day suspension and a £5,800 fine after being found to have used his whip eight times when partnering Cercene to victory in last week's Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, twice above the permitted level. Carroll revealed to the TDN on Sunday that he was still on a high after the daughter of Australia provided him with a breakthrough success at the top level, but this sting in the tail will now see him suspended from July 4-17, inclusive, with the penalty being doubled due to...

Gary Carroll has admitted to still being on a high after landing the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot aboard Joe Murphy's Cercene (Australia) and revealed that the breakthrough success at the highest level was made even sweeter given it came for the Fethard-based trainer who has been one of the rider's biggest supporters down through the years.  No trainer has supported Carroll quite like Murphy. The pair are operating at a 10 per cent strike-rate since they first teamed up together back in 2009. There have been 1,077 rides and...

ASCOT, UK -- It was a day when so many of those engaged at Royal Ascot were thinking also of a great man gone away in Ireland. Kevin Prendergast would undoubtedly have revelled in the splendid results for some of his fellow Irish trainers on Ascot Heath as they in turn paid tribute to him. And there was even a winner for his old friend Awtaad, the last of the trainer's Classic winners, whose son Ethical Diamond triumphed in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes after another, Ascending, had won Tuesday's...

ASCOT, UK -- Plaudits have rightly been dished out to popular 70-year-old trainer Joe Murphy, who notched his first Group 1 victory in sensational style when Cercene outpointed the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Zarigana to land the Coronation Stakes. Appropriately enough for a daughter of Derby winner Australia, the filly is owned by Queenslander Shane R Stafford, who is now based in Ireland.  Stafford, who describes himself as "just a boy from the Bush", said as he was about to be called up to collect his trophy from the...