Callum Pritchard has been handed a 12-day suspension by British Horseracing Authority stewards just days before the Grand National Festival gets underway at Aintree. The 25-year-old jockey was penalised for a critical mistake during a race at the weekend, where he misjudged the distance and prematurely eased his mount, Sweet Nightingale.
Riding the 2-1 joint-favourite in the Super Nigel Boardman Novices' Handicap Chase on Easter Sunday, Pritchard had built a seven-length lead but then slowed his horse early, apparently confusing the finishing post. His error dropped him from first to last in the four-horse field, and despite a late rally, he could only finish third.
The stewards said: 'Callum Pritchard... had appeared to mistake the race distance. Having established a reasonable lead on the run to the line with a circuit to race, he prematurely eased and thereafter only commenced the race having passed the winning post with a circuit to run.' After reviewing recordings and interviewing the jockey, they issued the ban.
With 39 wins this season, Pritchard is a contender for the conditional jockey championship, currently led by Tristan Durrell. The suspension means he will miss several high-profile rides at the Grand National meeting, including the valuable handicap hurdle on Friday, where he was the regular rider for Ben Pauling's Fiercely Proud.
Pritchard, a primary conditional for the Pauling stable, had been expected to feature in races such as the Topham Chase and the Red Rum Handicap Chase. He also frequently rides for the yard of Philip Hobbs and Johnson White. The 12-day ban makes it a tall order for him to catch Durrell in the championship standings.
