David Reynolds, owner who punched Kieren Fallon, faces lengthy ban

David Reynolds, the owner who landed a punch on Kieren Fallon after his horse was hampered in a race at Lingfield on Saturday, faces being banned from the sport for up to a year. Reynolds was escorted from the racecourse by security staff after the incident in which he landed a punch on Fallon, the impact of which, according to the trainer Brett Johnson, "made a noise so loud you could have heard it in the weighing room". A stewards' inquiry was held into the fracas by the race-day officials, who forwarded the details of the incident to the British Horseracing Authority. The inquiry found that although Fallon's mount Elna Bright had interfered with Reynolds' horse The Scorching Wind, the interference was deemed to be accidental and caused by another horse. BHA disciplinary staff will now have to determine under which rules to charge Reynolds, but he seems most likely to be charged with bringing racing into disrepute and violent or improper conduct, the latter offence carrying a penalty range of a "warning off" of between one and 12 months and a fine of up to £12,000. Reynolds, who has a total of three horses in partnership with a fellow owner, Chris Watkins, could not be contacted yesterday but reportedly acted on impulse after his horse, the well-backed favourite, had been hampered in an incident in which Fallon's mount Elna Bright was struck into after mid-race scrimmaging. "I apologise to the owner and trainer, but not to Mr Fallon," he told the Racing Post, who he had contacted after the incident. Fallon was also keeping a low profile yesterday, but told Stuart Williams, the trainer of The Scorching Wind, that he was not intending to take the matter any further and hoped it could be dealt with by the same racing authorities who have been a thorn in Fallon's side in recent years. Brent Johnson, Elna Bright's trainer, confirmed that the horse had returned to his stables with an injury that will require at least a couple of months' rest. "It's not the end of the world because we were planning to give him some time off anyway and I hope he'll make a full recovery, but it was a valuable race and we thought he had a good chance," he said. "It was something I never thought I'd see happen. The thing was the guy landed a hell of a punch on Kieren, but he just stood there and it didn't even budge him. It would have knocked me off my feet. It made a noise so loud you could have heard it in the weighing room. "I don't know what will happen next, but my horse's owner Mr [Peter] Crane was also hit in the incident and I'm sure he will want something done about it."