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'I'm ashamed': Aussie jockey suspended after 'embarrassing' blunder

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·2-min read
Michael Poy (pictured front), riding Dente, sprinting too early in the race.
Michael Poy (pictured front), riding Dente, has been suspended after mistakenly thinking the race was one lap and sprinting to the end. (Images: Racenet.com)

Aussie jockey Michael Ploy has been suspended for two months after misjudging the distance and going a lap early in his Kyneton race last week.

Poy copped a two month suspension when he pushed his horse, Dente, to a sprint on the first lap of the 2,828m long BM58 race.

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Earlier, Poy had appealed his case and said he was 'embarrassed' by the mistake, but claimed a two-month suspension was drastic.

“I am very remorseful and embarrassed at what’s happened, it’s out of character for me,” Poy told the Victorian Racing Tribunal, according to Racenet.com.

“I was rushed to get there (Kyneton races), quickly rushed in, weighed in for the ride, it’s no excuse I should’ve known the distance, I’m not putting the blame on anyone."

On Tuesday, Victoria's Jockeys Association chief executive Matthew Hyland said it was unlikely Poy would make the same mistake again.

However, judge John Bowman said while he felt sorry for Poy, the stewards' initial penalty of two months was adequate.

“It is hard not to feel sympathy for you … however the penalty imposed by the stewards seems to me to be a fair and reasonable one in all the circumstances, and the appeal is dismissed,” Judge Bowman said at the hearing.

Michael Poy cops two-month suspension

Dente ended up finishing 19-lengths behind the race winner after the early sprint.

Punters were left to rue their losses after backing the horse and jockey from $15 down to $13.

Poy argued that he has received plenty of backlash and "lots of taunts" since the result.

Michael Poy (pictured) during an interview.
Michael Poy (pictured) has been suspended for two months after a blunder in a race at Kyneton. (Alice Miles/Racing Photos) (Racing Photos via Getty Images)

He also argued that a two-month suspension would greatly impact him financially.

However, Poy's argument didn't sway the Victorian Racing Tribunal with the original stewards' punishment upheld.

The last jockey to receive the same suspension for the mistake was Rhys McLeod in 2002.

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