The weekly TRC industry digest - a round-up of the international racing news from the past week.
Landmark court victory for paralysed rider
Europe: Former jockey Freddy Tylicki has won his High Court action after a judge ruled fellow rider Graham Gibbons was responsible for the 2016 Kempton fall that left him paralysed from the waist down.
Tylicki, 35, was seeking £6 million damages, claiming Gibbons’ riding had been responsible for the 4-horse pile-up that left him confined to a wheelchair. The amount of compensation by 39-year-old Gibbons’ insurers will be for the two sides to negotiate but is likely to be below the original claim for £6m.
Judge Karen Walden-Smith, who heard evidence from two former champion jockeys, Ryan Moore and Jim Crowley, made sure to clarify that her judgment would not set a precedent “within horseracing or in sport generally”.
In a written judgment, Judge Walden-Smith said, “In this case, the actions of Mr Gibbons riding Madame Butterfly on 31 October 2016, colliding with Nellie Deen mounted by Mr Tylicki, were not mere lapses of concentration or inattentiveness.
“The actions of Mr Gibbons were, for the reasons I have found and based on the detailed evidence I have scrutinised, undertaken in reckless disregard for the safety of Mr Tylicki. In the circumstances of this particular race, I have therefore found that liability has been made out.”
Reacting to the ruling, Tylicki said, “I am of course delighted by today’s judgment and the court’s confirmation that, contrary to the views of the BHA stewards, my fall at Kempton Park on 31 October 2016 was caused by the reckless riding of Graham Gibbons.
“Today’s result has finally provided me with closure and I look forward to putting this all behind me and moving on with my life.
“I hope though that this judgment acts as a reminder that competing in a dangerous sport like horse racing is no justification for competing with a reckless disregard for the safety of your fellow competitors.”
Troubled Oisin Murphy hands in his licence
Europe: British champion Oisin Murphy has relinquished his riding licence to focus on rehabilitation after a breach of coronavirus protocols.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) released a statement on Thursday revealing that Murphy had breached protocol in September 2020 and three charges were later issued. A hearing in front of an independent disciplinary panel arranged for this month was postponed after submissions from Murphy's legal team regarding his welfare.
The 3-time British champion, who won an historic victory aboard Japan’s Marche Lorraine in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last month, was involved in two racecourse incidents relating to alcohol during 2021, including failing a breathalyser test at Newmarket in October.
In a joint statement, the Irishman said, “On returning from abroad last September in 2020, I failed to follow the Covid protocol set out by the BHA. In breaking these rules, and attempting to mislead the BHA, I’ve let my governing body down, along with trainers, owners, staff, sponsors and family, for which I wish to apologise.”
Qatar Racing, Murphy’s main employers, asked for the jockey to be given “space and time”.
Ward-Ramsey dispute takes another turn
North America: The ongoing legal dispute between trainer Wesley Ward and owner-breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey over allegedly unpaid training bills took another twist when a Jessamine County, Kentucky, judge vacated the order he made on December 9 that allowed Ward to sell 14 horses in training at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.
Instead judge Hunter Daugherty ordered Ken Ramsey to pay £1 million into escrow as Wesley Ward was barred from selling his horses. Ward claims that he is owed nearly $1 million in unpaid training bills and initially filed his suit against the Ramseys in March.
Daugherty’s emergency order states, “Following entry of the court's order of sale, the supplement to the Keeneland January 2021 Horses of All Ages Sale has been released. It does not include the horses which are the subject of the Court's order of sale, which means the horses, their pedigrees, and past performances will not appear either in the catalogue or the supplement for the sale.
“As a result, permitting the horses to be sold under such circumstances will cause substantial damages to defendants.”
Ward’s attorney, Graham Morgan, said, “We have our security for our claims. We’ll withdraw the horses from the sale now that we have been paid that money.”
Ascot names its new chief executive
Europe: Vivien Currie has been named as the chief executive at Ascot Racecourse, succeeding Guy Henderson, who will retire on June 30, 2022, following his eighth Royal Meeting as CEO.
Currie, a chartered accountant, spent 12 years with Ernst & Young before taking executive roles within Scottish football. She has been CEO of Hamilton Park Racecourse since 2008, during which time the business has developed a wider commercial focus, diversifying into the award-winning, multi-faceted events business that it is today.
“I am delighted to have been chosen as the next chief executive of Ascot Racecourse and to be joining the team for what will be a very exciting year ahead,” she said. “This role is a culmination of all the experiences I have had in my professional career to date and I am looking forward enormously to working with Guy in the build-up to Royal Ascot in June.”
Currie is a second former Hamilton executive to ascend to a high-profile job in British racing, following former Hamilton racing manager and clerk of the course Sulekha Varma, who is now clerk of the course at Aintree, home of the Grand National.
Two crowns for Rachael Blackmore
Europe: Irish jump jockey Rachael Blackmore has been voted this year’s BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year, just 24 hours after winning the 2021 RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award in Ireland.
The 32-year-old became the first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six winners, which included the Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle. She capped her outstanding season off by becoming the first female rider to win the Grand National at Aintree with victory on Minella Times in April. No other woman had ever finished in the first two of the famous steeplechase.
Topping an online public vote for the BBC award, Blackmore beat off competition from
Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, American football quarterback Tom Brady, world tennis #1 Novak Djokovic, Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, and F1 world champion Max Verstappen.
Blackmore said she was “overwhelmed” at taking home the prestigious RTÉ honour, and joins Barry Geraghty, in 2003, and AP McCoy, a decade later, as racing's only winners of the national accolade since its inception since 1985.
Death of Thunder Gulch breeder Bailey
North America: U.S. racing is mourning the passing of owner/breeder Jerry Bailey, who died at the age of 78 due to complications from pneumonia that followed a 2-week battle with Covid-19,
Bailey earned a veterinary degree at the University of Minnesota before moving to South Florida, where he was a racetrack practitioner for seven years. He became a successful pinhooker and breeder in 1987.
An early success, alongside Ken Ellenberg, was Thunder Gulch, bought for $40,000 at the 1993 Keeneland July select yearling sale and sold a year later for $120,000. The colt was sold to Michael Tabor and, under handling of D Wayne Lukas, he won the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Bailey and Ellenberg also pinhooked G1 winners Deputy Commander, Yes It’s True, Honour And Glory and Twist Afleet.
Maryland breeders rally round
North America: The Maryland Horse Foundation will host an online stallion season auction on January 3-7, featuring no-guarantee seasons for 20 Maryland-based stallions.
“We are grateful to the Maryland stallion community for generously supporting the auction again this year,” said Jordyn Egan, MHF director of development. “Purchasing a season is another great way to support the Maryland Horse Foundation’s projects and programs.”
Elsewhere In racing …
Far East: Two of the highest-rated horses in the world are due to clash on Sunday in the $6 million Arima Kinen at Nakayama, the joint richest race in Japan (with the Japan Cup). World #14 Efforia and #25 Chrono Genesis, last year’s winner, head a field of 16 for the last major race in the world in 2021. More here
Europe: Paul Struthers has decided to step down as the CEO of the Professional Jockeys Association. More here
Middle East: Sheikh Mohammed has been ordered by the High Court in London to provide a British record sum of more than £554 million to settle a custody battle with his ex-wife, Princess Haya, over their two children. More here
North America: California Chrome’s trainer, Art Sherman, will be honoured by Santa Anita Sunday on the occasion of his retirement at the age of 84. More here
Europe: Horse Racing Ireland is restoring prize money to close to its 2019 level in its budget for 2022. More here