BANNED jockey Robbie Dunne was back at Cheltenham on Friday – but only to watch the racing.
Dunne, 36, has lost his licence and been barred from riding for 18 months, with three of those suspended.
The jockey was found guilty of bullying and harassing 26-year-old woman rider Bryony Frost at a hearing in London on Thursday.
Reports have estimated Dunne stands to lose out on £80,000 in jockey fees alone during his ban.
That’s without the roughly ten per cent cut he would get from on-course winnings, which over the past five years amount to just over £1.5million.
Dunne – who would have been on Pretty Little Liar on Friday had his ban not been effective immediately – was ruled to have ‘deliberately targeted’ Frost online, on the track and in the weighing room.
He was alleged to have called her a ‘whore’, ‘f**ing sl*t’ and vowed to ‘murder’ her – jockey slang for cutting someone up mid-race.
Dunne’s ban has sparked wider concerns and questions about the culture of the jockey weighing room as a whole.
Summing up the case that has rocked racing, panel chair Brian Barker said: “We are unable to accept Mr Dunne’s sweep of denials, criticisms and his reasoning.
“A man, who in the view of one of his own witnesses was a ‘p***-taker’, and who regarded himself as one of the elders of the weighing room and someone who expected his view to be heeded.
“The tenor and type of language that we find was used towards Ms Frost is totally unacceptable, whatever the frustrations about her style and whatever the habits of the weighing room.
“They fall squarely within the ambit of the prohibition set out in the rule.
“Secondly, in reviewing the evidence given and their approach by jockeys of repute as well as by the valets – who probably find themselves in a difficult position – we have real concern that what was referred to by Mr Weston as the ‘weighing room culture’ is deep-rooted and coercive, and in itself is not conducive to the good health and the development of modern day race-riding.
“On examination of Ms Frost’s evidence and demeanour we find her to be truthful, careful and compelling.
“By taking her complaint to the [BHA] she has broken ‘the code’, knowing that isolation and rejection by some was inevitable.”
Cheltenham Festival and King George-winning jockey Frost said in a statement: “I would like to thank every individual including the racing public that has supported me not only during the last couple of weeks but throughout.
“I wish now to take time to reflect on the outcome before I make any further comment.
“I ask the media to please give me and the people closest to me a few days of privacy.
“I need to focus on my upcoming rides over the weekend. Thank you.”
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