A JOCKEY’S worst nightmare came true and stewards were forced to intervene after a ‘sickening’ end to this race.
Poor conditional jockey Elizabeth Gale picked up a huge 28-day ban after failing to ride out to the line on a horse ‘that would’ve won’.
Gale’s disastrous finish came as she mistook the half furlong pole for the finish post.
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In agonising footage, she is shown rising from the saddle believing she has won – only to be overtaken by 25-1 outsider The Bold Thady.
By the time Gale gets going again on 15-2 Catuaba it’s too late and she is beaten by a head in the 2m7f handicap hurdle at Worcester.
The stewards report read: “Elizabeth Gale, the rider of Catuaba, placed second, beaten by head, had appeared to stop riding shortly from half a furlong out.
“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.”
Punters who backed the horse were rightly up in arms over the flashpoint.
One said the finish was ‘sickening’ to watch while another moaned: “That was inexcusable.”
Although many also pointed out that this was not the first time a jockey has got the finishing line wrong at Worcester.
Some punters called for a change at the track, with the half-furlong pole tricking jockeys into thinking it marked the end of the race.
This is the fourth time in recent weeks that controversy has flared up over jockeys finishing off races.
James Doyle was fortunate to escape a ban at Windsor when he appeared to stop riding 5-6 favourite No Retreat.
The Wathnan jockey claimed the horse got spooked by the finish line after he lost out to Hollie Doyle on Brave Call.
While fellow Flat rider Callum Shepherd got his ban for failing to ride out overturned.
Apprentice rider Alec Voikhansky wasn’t so lucky, though, as he got the same 28-day ban Gale received for this ride.
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