THREE-TIME British champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa has been BANNED for ten months in Hong Kong.
De Sousa pleaded guilty to a betting charge on Friday, bringing his career to a screeching halt.
Silvestre De Sousa will be out of action for ten months
Fellow Brazilian rider Vagner Borges also pleaded guilty but he was handed down a 12-month ban for his role.
The jockeys were found in breach of rule 59 (3) by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which states “no jockey shall bet, or facilitate the making of a bet, or have an interest in a bet, on any race or any contingency relating to a race meeting”.
According to the HKJC, Borges had placed a bet on Young Brilliant, the horse he was riding in a 1m1f Happy Valley handicap on April 26 – which was facilitated by De Sousa.
Young Brilliant was sent off at 17-1 and finished seventh, while De Sousa finished 11th of 12 runners on Satirical Glory.
Despite the bet, the HKJC were satisfied both jockeys rode to obtain the best possible finishing position.
De Sousa’s ban will expire on March 12th 2024, while Borges will be unable to ride until May 12th.
The ban will be a bitter blow for De Sousa, who has been earning ‘unbelievable’ figures since switching back to Hong Kong last September.
De Sousa, who won the 2015, 2017 and 2018 British Flat jockeys championships, had ridden 45 winners from 434 rides in Hong Kong this season.
Staggeringly, that equates to earnings of £7,696,026 this campaign.
For context, in Britain since January 2019, were he has ridden 2123 times, De Sousa has earned just £7,026,728.
