Trish Dunell
Veteran rider Grant Cooksley will take no part in the busy Christmas-New Year racing period after being suspended for 16 race days following an incident at Ruakaka back on November 16 which resulted in a fall.
Cooksley admitted a charge of careless riding in that he permitted his mount So Glorious to shift inwards early in the home straight when insufficiently clear of Shafiq Rusof’s mount Boundtobehonored which clipped heels and fell, with Tantalising, ridden by Danielle Johnson being brought down as a result.
While both horses escaped injury, Johnson, who was third on the national jockeys’ premiership at the time, suffered multiple fractures to her collarbone, while Rusof suffered fractured ribs.
Cooksley will be able to resume riding after the conclusion of racing on January 8.