Suspended jockey Sam Weatherley’s ‘cavalier’ break before fatal fall an ‘unfortunate habit’ – judgment

The jockey suspended for a “cavalier” move just before Taiki Yanagida’s fatal fall was developing an “unfortunate habit” of trying to force a run on the home straight.

But Sam Weatherley, 23, has met with Yanagida’s family to express “his concern and sorrow” over the outcome of the August 3 race at Cambridge Jockey Club, a judgment says.

Weatherley abruptly turned his mount Jack Hammer out around the 250m mark “in an attempt to force its way into a run/gap that did not exist”, the adjudicative committee of the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) found.

He hit Goodo Jo hard enough to push the horse into the path of Yanagida’s mount, Te Atatu Pash, which fell.

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Yanagida, 28, landed on the track and couldn’t be avoided by the following horse, Nantucket. He died in Waikato Hospital six days later.

“Of course, Mr Weatherley did not intend there to be a fall or other consequences from what he did,” the committee wrote. “But he displayed a cavalier attitude indifferent to the consequences that would occur.”

Weatherley was suspended for nine weeks after a late September hearing at Te Rapa Racecourse found he had ridden recklessly.

As an aggravating factor, a similar move on the same day had attracted a suspension of seven national riding days, the written judgment notes.

“In his immediate prior ride … he shifted his mount out to create a gap about 300 metres from the finish to ‘force a run when not sufficiently clear’ – crowding other runners.”

“This … attracts the comment that this was becoming an unfortunate habit.”

That breach was Weatherley’s seventh in the previous 12 months, the judgment says, and part of a very poor record including several cases of forcing runs in the home straight.

Yet Weatherley thought he saw a gap opening in the moments before Yanagida was injured, he said.

“Nine times out of 10, or 99 times out of 100 it’s gonna happen,” he said in a recorded interview with race officials that was played at the hearing.

However, nearby horses didn’t move as he expected “and it just didn’t happen”.

Three people gave evidence in support of Weatherley, including one who said they’d expect any jockey in his position to have done the same.

Another said the contact between horses was an “every day” occurrence in racing and Weatherley was “not even careless”.

Race officials saw things differently, with one saying Weatherley used his mount as a “battering ram” and nearly knocked Goodo Jo off its feet.

The adjudicative committee ruled there was no legitimate gap for Weatherley to take.

Weatherley’s lawyer, P Cornege, noted mitigating factors, including that Weatherley was genuinely remorseful and had met with Yanagida’s family and “expressed his concern and sorrow”.

He’d also faced harsh judgement and criticism on social media, and elsewhere.

Weatherley’s nine-week suspension was to start at the end of October 1 racing and finish at the end of racing on December 3.