Aamilah Aswat, Britain's first female black jump jockey, has been handed a 20-day ban and had her horse disqualified following a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) review.
The 20-year-old conditional jockey, who works with Grand National-winning trainer Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls, was referred to the BHA's Whip Review Committee after her latest outing at Chepstow on Saturday.
Whip review ruling
The panel convened on Tuesday to examine her riding of Reallyntruthfully, who finished fourth of 17 in a handicap hurdle, having gone off as the 6-1 joint favourite.
The committee's ruling stated: "Aamilah Aswat, the rider of REALLYNTRUTHFULLY (IRE), placed fourth, was found to have used her whip five times above the permitted level of seven, from rounding the bend leaving the back straight on the final circuit."
"Taking into account that none of the uses were clearly and unequivocally for safety purposes, REALLYNTRUTHFULLY (IRE) was disqualified under Rule (L)47.11. Miss Aswat will be suspended for 20 days from Tuesday 27 October 2026 to Sunday 15 Sunday 2026, inclusive, one of these dates will be spent receiving specialised coaching."
Rising career
Aswat made her racecourse debut aboard Guchen, owned by the Friends of Ebony Horse Club, whose members include the Queen, coming fifth at Kempton Park.
In just her fourth ride last February, she created further history by guiding the same horse to a 9-1 victory at the identical venue. The partnership triumphed again on their next outing, winning by 19 lengths at Newbury.
She learned to ride at St James's Farm in her native Gloucester before joining the scholarship programme at the Riding A Dream Academy with Jockey Club backing. The academy was established to help young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds enter horse racing, following Khadijah Mellah's 2019 Magnolia Cup triumph.
After completing the Foundation Course at the British Racing School, she joined the Bailey and Nicholls stable, where she has enjoyed an impressive beginning.
Aspirations
Following her maiden success earlier this year, Aswat stated: "My dream is to ride as many winners as I can, and to just get on with it."
"The message I hopefully give out to other people is that if you want to do it, you definitely can and I will be following you every step of the way."
This season Aswat has ridden two winners from five rides, with her most recent victory coming aboard the Bailey and Nicholls-trained Wild Goose at Southwell on October 1.
