Flat jockey Danny Grant has effectively been given a six-month ban by the Turf Club following a failed drugs test.

The rider tested positive for metabolites of cocaine on the first day of the 2014 Irish flat season. The matter was heard by the Referrals Committee in August but the findings were not published before today.

In his defence Grant claimed that the positive test result was caused by ingesting herbal tea he bought online to treat a long-standing skin condition.

Noting the mitigating factors but taking into account that Grant had failed a drugs test in 2009, the Referrals Committee imposed a two-year ban on the jockey but suspended the final 18 months of the penalty on the condition that he makes himself available for testing throughout the two-year period and does not fail another drugs test.