Josh Cartwright handed 18-month penalty for reckless riding

Josh Cartwright
THOROUGHBRED Racing South Australia has handed jockey Josh Cartwright an 18-month penalty for his ride aboard Senior Council at Morphettville on January 14.

Cartwright – who also holds a dual-license – will be restricted from training for six months.

Despite drawing derision worldwide in what veteran race caller Bryan Martin described as “one of the most dangerous things I have seen in my time of over 40 years of horse racing”, Cartwright was only issued an 18-month ban after Thoroughbred Racing SA stewards deemed there was no ulterior motives to the jockey’s bizarre move.

Chief Steward Johan Petzer said the board decided there was no evidence that Cartwright had placed a wager on Murti, the winner of the race ridden by Cartwright’s girlfriend Anna Jordjso.

Cartwright pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless riding under AR 137(a) following a post-race inquiry into the incident where the rider intentionally made contact with other runners.

At the time, stewards said Cartwright directed and rode his mount outwards in a reckless manner at an acute angle with the intention of making contact with runners to his outside.

Cartwright asked stewards to consider a more lenient penalty, given his motives were not driven by personal or financial gain.

Despite endangering the lives of others, Cartwright received the same penalty as Godolphin jockey James McDonald, who was suspended for placing a bet on Astern, a galloper he piloted to victory early last year.

‘Disgusted’ Cartwright ‘wanted a way out’ from racing after contemplating suicide

Speaking after he discovered his fate, Cartwright said he has been battling mental demons since the incident.

“I do not come across as a very upset, sad person. It takes a lot to break me,” he said.

“I have been feeling it a lot since it happened … I’m also disgusted with what I did.

“Everyone who knows me, is obviously relying on me. I put a scar on myself.”

Thoroughbred Racing South Australia chairman of stewards Johan Petzer described the incident as “unprecedented in the degree of recklessness, possibly in the world, but certainly in Australia”.

The jockey’s lawyer Mr Pasterfield said Cartwright’s actions that day did not reflect that of a man who was in a safe frame of mind.

“He was on the edge of a breakdown,” he said.

“He wanted a way out. He didn’t want to go home a jockey [that day].”

“I have no doubt, that if it wasn’t for the horses, he would have killed himself,” he said.

The stewards said Cartwright could continue as a horse breaker and pre-trainer work providing he does not step outside the parameters of that work.

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