Top South African jockey Aldo Domeyer has been hit in the pocket after stewards took a dim view of his celebration of a big race win before the line.
Domeyer could not help punching the air in joy as he steered star racehorse Charles Dickens to an impressive come-from-behind victory in the Group 1 Cape Guineas at Kenilworth in December.
He appeared before National Horse Racing Authority stewards in Cape Town on Saturday charged with breaching the rules by using a celebratory gesture deemed to be unprofessional. Domeyer pleaded guilty and was fined R3,000 [£140].
Domeyer, 35, has ridden more than 1,100 winners but none of the calibre of Charles Dickens, who has won six out of seven races, and delivered him an emotional first win in the South African Classic race.
“This is just a freak, this horse, but a very good freak,” he said. “I don’t think I have sat on a horse like this before.
“You want to ride good horses but this is something else. At the beginning of the season it looked like my career was hanging in the balance because of an injury that was on the horizon and things just weren’t clicking.
“Then came this horse and it gave me a little bit of hope and confidence. Here I am and he has just made me hang on for a little bit longer.”
Charles Dickens, trained by Candice Bass-Robinson, lost his unbeaten record earlier this month when suffering a shock defeat at the hands of 80-1 shot Al Muthana in all-aged championship race, the Group 1 King’s Plate.
