A JOCKEY has been hit with a massive fine and had his licence suspended – as punters demanded his £890,000 win be overturned.
Chad Schofield was punished by stewards after pleading guilty to two separate rules breaches in his thrilling Lexus Champions Mile victory on 4-1 Ceolwulf at Flemington in Australia.
Schofield got the better of Ben Melham – whose wife Jamie pushed him out the way en route to Melbourne Cup victory last week – on 18-1 Pericles in a tight photo-finish.
But his actions with the whip, which he used nine times in all prior to the 100m mark, four above the five limit, landed him in hot water.
Schofield was whacked with a £17,000 fine – roughly a third of his winnings – and 11-meeting suspension for that breach.
While a further charge of careless riding, for which he was found guilty, carried an 18-meeting ban.
It means Schofield will be out for a month altogether, beginning on November 16.
While the victory stands, some punters were left feeling robbed giving Melham broke no rules in going down by just a nose.
Those who backed Pericles claimed there was a good chance the horse would have won had the ride on Ceolwulf not broke rules twice.
It led to a further argument about enforcement of the rule, with one pundit saying the rule had to be absolute.
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In other words, if a jockey goes over the whip limit they are disqualified pure and simple.
With the huge purses on offer Down Under during their Spring Carnival, it was claimed some jockeys would take the financial hit as collateral because the cash for winning is so big.
One punter wrote on X: “Race should be overturned. Not fair on the jockey that follows the rules.”
While another said: “If you break the rules you should have your prize taken away.
“I just don’t understand how the rules don’t affect the results.”
A third commented on a photo of the finish: “Why doesn’t he get disqualified for breaching the whip rules in that race?”
While another said: “As a punter on Pericles. I was robbed.”
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