Mystery as British jockey is stood down from all racing with immediate effect
A BRITISH jockey has been stood down from all racing with an immediate effect.
Group 1-winning rider Harry Bentley, 31, has been plying his trade on the money-spinning Hong Kong circuit since April 2021.
But in a short statement posted online on Friday night, Jockey Club chiefs said he is forbidden from any sort of racing for the foreseeable.
The statement read: “Harry Bentley stood down from riding in all races, barrier trials and trackwork until such time that he attends an inquiry in relation to a potential disciplinary matter.”
Bentley, who has ridden all over the world, has seven wins from 69 rides so far this season in the Far East and prize money winnings of just under £1million.
It is not clear what the ‘disciplinary matter’ is at this stage.
Former three-time British champion Flat jockey Silvestre de Sousa was stood down by HKJC chiefs earlier this year.
He was given a giant ten-month betting ban last May.
De Sousa was judged to have breached betting rules by ‘facilitating’ his pal and fellow Brazilian jockey Vagner Borges in placing a bet.
There is no suggestion he placed a bet himself – and De Sousa was due to appeal the severity of his ban on Monday at Happy Valley racecourse.
But the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced that the appeal had been dropped and that his deposit would be refunded.
De Sousa, 42, pleaded guilty to facilitating Borges in placing a bet on a horse at the original hearing, and his fellow countryman was banned for 12 months.