Jockey banned after 'appearing to ease his mount prematurely costing 1st place'
The 5lb claimer was partnering the Eric McNamara-trained in a 2m5½f handicap chase at Roscommon on Tuesday evening.
O'Brien rode Gaelic Des Chastys to finish fifth in a handicap hurdle at Killarney last month and the horse was sent off the 100-30 favourite for Tuesday's race.
After jumping the last fence in the lead, the jockey used his whip twice on the run in, but didn't use it in the last 50 yards and the Martin Brassil-trained It's Never Simple got up to win by a short head at odds of 16-1. Gaelic Des Chastys hit an in-running low of 1.07 on Betfair.
The stewards spoke to O'Brien after the race "concerning where he appeared to ease his mount prematurely costing him first place".
The jockey, who tasted victory at the Galway Races last week on the Harry Rogers-trained Cleopatra's Needle, said he felt that Gaelic Des Chastys "was not running on for use of the whip".
The stewards found O'Brien in breach of rule 212A (iv) (a) in that he "stopped riding, costing him a better place". He was handed a 14-day suspension, with the stewards also ordering him to forfeit his riding fee.
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