Jockey handed 28-day ban after easing down at wrong post
Elizabeth Gale appeared to have the race in the bag until she mistook the half furlong pole for the finish line and was beaten by a head at Worcester
A young jockey has paid a heavy price for mistaking the winning post in a race she was set to win.
Claiming rider Elizabeth Gale, 22, was riding 15-2 chance Catuaba in a handicap hurdle at Worcester on Wednesday evening. She took up the lead at the fourth last obstacle and was still a length in front of her nearest rival after the last.
Yet with half a furlong to run, she suddenly stopping riding, appearing to think she had just scored her tenth career victory, only to see 25-1 shot The Bold Thady go past.
By the time Gale realised her error and started to push again, it was too late as Catuaba finished second, beaten a head.
The jockey was summoned before the stewards to explain what had happened and they meted out a hefty penalty.
“After being interviewed and shown recordings of the incident, Gale was suspended for 28 days for failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to obtain the best possible placing on a horse that would have finished first,” the report said.
Catuaba’s trainer Charlie Longsdon told Sky Sports Racing: “The worst thing is she’s given him the best ride I’ve seen that horse [been given]. He’s not a straightforward horse. He’s not always the most genuine.
“She’s stolen the race turning in and then that happens. I feel gutted for her. It’s a genuine mistake, but she’s got to take her punishment. Some people say it’s happened a few times here before and maybe we should take the half-furlong pole away, but there’s no excuses.”
Gale recorded her only victory of the season so far on Catuaba in July and landed her biggest success last October in a £35,000 handicap chase.
She became the latest rider to receive a 28-day ban for failing to ride out to the line in recent weeks with Alec Voikhansky collecting the same suspension at Bath in August.
Callum Shepherd, who was found guilty of the same offence at Kempton, successfully appealed against an 18-day ban.
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