Investigation launched after jockey’s told ‘I’d strangle you with my bare hands’ following ‘ridiculous’ ride
RACING bosses have launched an investigation after a jockey facing the sack was told ‘I’d strangle you with my bare hands’ following a ‘ridiculous’ ride.
Rod Douglas, the racing manager of billionaire owner Jonathan Munz, unloaded on rider Craig Williams.
GettyWilliams was the subject of a shocking verbal attack which stewards are now looking into[/caption]
Douglas was seething after Williams gave superstar racehorse Giga Kick a ‘gut-buster’ ride in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes.
The four-year-old colt, who has won over £5million and is on track to be the highest earning horse ever, missed the break and was given a hard ride.
Douglas said ‘it wasn’t all about winning that race’ – because bigger races are being targeted down the line.
That remark, along with his chilling threat to the jockey, are now being probed by Racing Victoria stewards.
Asked about legendary jockey Williams’ ride, Douglas told Radio Tab: “I’d have strangled him.
“I’d have strangled him with my bare hands, I’d have strangled him in the mounting yard. There’s no excuse for what he did.
“It wasn’t all about winning that race, he knows where we’re at with the horse.
“He knows he’s three weeks until the Premiere (Stakes) and five weeks to The Everest.
“It just doesn’t make any sense to what he did. It was inexcusable and we’ll see what plays out.
“He knew where we were at and that’s the bit that’s hard to cope with.
“To take off from the 800m to the 200m and run 31.87seconds… he’s not Secretariat! You can’t be doing things like that.
“He couldn’t sustain the run he was given, it was a ridiculous ride, he had no answer for why he did it so he might suffer the consequences.
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“It’s up to Jonathan, he’ll make a decision in the next couple of days whether Craig retains the ride or he drags him off.
“It’s up to him, he owns the horse and makes the rules.”
Williams confessed after the race that his tactics cost the horse the win.
He said he had paid no attention to Douglas’ remarks – but Douglas doubled down on his attack on the jockey on Wednesday and Williams’ efforts had left their mark on the horse.
Douglas, who is the uncle of Giga Kick’s trainer Clayton Douglas, said: “Clayton is devastated.
“The best horse he’s got and probably will ever get – and he’s put a lot of work into horse with Williams and then Williams goes and does that.
“He has no answer for why he did it.
“It’s punched a bit of a hole in the horse after the run.
“He didn’t need to be having a gut-buster on a track that was like a road as well.
“He’s still got to recover from this run, so whether he runs in the Premiere now that this has punched a hole in him or he has a couple of trials and goes straight into the Everest, that’s the drama we’ve got with the horse now.
“This could jeopardise all that.”
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