Cochrane latest to join banned

Ray Cochrane joined the growing list of riders who will miss all or part of Glorious Goodwood next week when he was banned for seven days yesterday.

He became the latest victim of the Jockey Club's clampdown on riders commit three riding offences in a season. Along with Pat Eddery, Cochrane will miss the entire five-day meeting after being suspended from this Saturday until 29 July by the Club's disciplinary committee for careless riding at Sandown earlier this month.

The committee ruled that "through misjudgement" he had failed to prevent his mount, Bedside Mail, causing interference. A dejected Cochrane said after the hearing: "There's nothing you can do or say that will do any good. I think seven days is severe."

Cochrane's only firm Goodwood booking had been for Elfland in the Stewards' Cup. He now joins such as Eddery, Michael Kinane, George Duffield and David Harrison, who have been forced to miss some of the summer's richest races.

In all there are 11 jockeys who will be unable to ride on the opening day of Goodwood because of suspension. More names may be added today when Darryll Holland and Lindsay Charnock appear before the committee, having committed their third whip offences of the season.

The number of cases of interference looks set to rise this year with 49 offences committed during the first six months of 1995, compared with a total in 1994 of 77.