But Victorian Jockeys Association chief executive Matthew Hyland, on behalf of Poy, said it was not necessary to factor deterrence into the penalty.
“This is a once-in-a-career sort of error,” Hyland said. “We never see anyone make this mistake twice.”
Jockey Michael Poy.Credit:Getty Images
Poy said there were other mitigating factors at play. The day prior, he had taken Mother’s Day off after losing his mother earlier this year. He said he hadn’t planned to ride at Kyneton, but his manager had booked him for one ride that was a winning chance.
The ride on Dente was then a late pick-up on the morning of the race.
The stewards said the jockeys were reminded at the barriers by attendants that the race was over 2828 metres, but Poy had told stewards in their inquiry that he had not heard that.
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Poy also added that he had bought a house seven months ago and had other financial commitments that would be severely impacted by the two-month suspension, which equated to $55,000 in lost income. Most importantly, he emphasised that he would be remembered by punters as “the jockey who went a lap early”.
“I’m definitely guilty, I’m not saying I’m not,” he said.
“The biggest deterrence is when you go out for breakfast and people don’t remember you for the jockey who won a group race or the jockey that had ridden 300 winners or the jockey that finished his apprenticeship the quickest of anyone in his year. They ask me, ‘are you the jockey who went a lap early?’”
In dismissing the appeal, Judge John Bowman said he had sympathy for Poy, however the two-month penalty “seems to be a fair and reasonable one in all the circumstances” and was consistent with the precedent set in the McLeod case in 2002.
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‘Dramatic act of negligence’: Jockey who forgot last lap fails to have ban overturned
Source: Philippines Alive
