Shepherd ban overturned after dead heat controversy

Shepherd's initial ban from 4-21 September included the St Leger and Ayr Gold Cup meetings

Jockey Callum Shepherd’s 18-day ban following a controversial dead heat finish has been overturned on appeal.

Shepherd was deemed by stewards at Kempton to have failed to ride out to the finish as his mount Thorntonledale Max was joined by favourite Flavour Maker on 21 August.

But he denied easing up the horse, trained by David Simcock, in the seven-furlong handicap, saying they “lost rhythm” in the final strides.

Shepherd, who rose up in his riding irons approaching the line, told an appeal hearing: “I look a mess, it’s embarrassing to watch but what is crucial is we didn’t lose any momentum whatsoever.

“It comes from that commitment to win, my riding style fell apart in the final strides.”

James O'Mahony, chair of the independent panel, said it accepted Shepherd's explanation on the balance of probabilities.

"Rising up from the saddle may have looked a lot worse than it in fact was when you look at it in such detail as we have," he said.

"There was an acceptable reason for any appearance of not riding out as the evidence has shown us."

The 27-year-old jockey initially claimed the photo showed he had won outright but a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) review dismissed this.

Shepherd's mount (far side) was caught on the line for a dead heat

'Embarrassing but unusual'

The ban had been set to run from 4-21 September, a period which includes Haydock's Sprint Cup, the St Leger fixture at Doncaster and the Ayr Gold Cup meeting.

An appeal was lodged by the Professional Jockeys’ Association.

Shepherd had come through on the far rail and looked set for victory after going ahead inside the final furlong before briefly rising in his riding irons as Flavour Maker and Ray Dawson kept on to finish joint first.

Kempton stewards said Shepherd failed "to take all reasonable and permissible measures on a horse which would have finished outright first".

An independent disciplinary appeal panel watched various video angles of the race and finish.

Louis Weston, for the BHA, told the hearing: “He stands up and stops riding so for the two strides to the line, he is doing nothing.”

He said Shepherd told the stewards he felt “insulted” to be called in, thought he had won the race by a neck but kept pushing to the finishing line.

Rory Mac Neice, representing Shepherd, said the jockey rode to achieve the best possible position but he momentarily got out of rhythm with the horse’s final strides.

“It’s a matter of physics, he’s out of sync with his horse,” said Mac Neice.

Shepherd denied making a mistake and told the hearing he lost rhythm as the horse slightly raised his head, which led him to bounce up and down in the saddle.

“It’s embarrassing frankly, but it’s unusual,” he said.

Two days before the Kempton race, fellow jockey James Doyle avoided sanctions after appearing to stop riding when beaten a short head at Windsor.

The stewards accepted his explanation that his mount No Retreat jinked and hung left, which caused him to become unbalanced in the saddle.