Top jockey Opie Bosson suspended after Hastings race-fall calamity

On a better day - Opie Bosson on Melody Belle, the only horse to win the Hawke's Bay Spring Carnival's Triple Crown of wins on the major race on all three days. Photo / NZME

The rise and fall of champion jockey Opie Bosson unfolded in seconds as four jockeys fell from their horses as he won the major sprint at Hawke's Bay's biggest race-day of the year.

Bosson rode Red Badge Spring Sprint winner Times Ticking, but in doing so caused an incident which ended with four other jockeys sprawled on the Hastings Racecourse turf on Saturday, and Bosson off to a judicial hearing which resulted in his suspension from racing for six weeks from October 29 to December 10.

With over 1800 winning rides in a career 27 years, Bosson's mount was one of 11 starters in the $100,000 sixth race on the last day of Hawke's Bay Racing's Spring Racing Carnival, two races before the $330,000 feature, the Livamol Classic.

The action started just short of the line when Old Town Road and Tavis Court, both on the inner, crowded and tossed respective jockeys Lisa Allpress and apprentice Faye Lazet as they finished second and third respectively,

Darren Danis, on fourth-placed Cross Roads, and Mereama Hudson, on Pull No Punches (10th), then suffered similar fates, but none of the horses fell.

Two of the jockeys were stood down from racing for the rest of the day because of possible injury, but, despite the impact, Allpress rode the winner of the next race, and was on the track at Rotorua on Sunday, as was Bosson, riding the winner of the opening race.

Bosson admitted a charge of careless riding and in addition to the suspension was fined $1000, video of the incident released later showing Bosson attempting to straighten his mount short of the finish line and the half-length victory, but failing to stop the horse shifting in again, leading to the calamity.

The suspension cuts Bosson out of any possibilities that might have arisen for the Melbourne Cup, New Zealand Cup week next month at Riccarton Park, Christchurch, and the next two days' racing in Hastings on November 13 and December 7.