Jockey suffers chipped teeth in weighing room attack
Four people have been arrested after jockey Aidan Coleman was assaulted in the weighing room at Southwell racecourse.
The 27-year-old jockey was reportedly punched in the face in the incident yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 29 September).
Aidan was not seriously injured in the attack but suffered two chipped teeth. Nottinghamshire police are now investigating.
The incident happened after the last race when two members of the public allegedly broke down the door into the jockeys’ changing room.
“I’m absolutely fine and on my way to the dentist now having schooled six at Charlie Longsdon’s this morning,” he said today (Wednesday, 30 September). “Us jump jockeys are a tough bunch and a slap from a drunk wouldn’t be enough to stop us going back to work the next day.
“The people at fault are the two that got into the jockeys changing room, and the only comment I would make is to question why they were still on racecourse in the state they were. Southwell have announced that they are beefing up security so from my perspective it’s over, though of course the police investigation will continue so I wouldn’t have any more to say about it anyway.
“Hopefully the dentist work will be straightforward and not too expensive and I’m looking forward to riding at Chepstow this afternoon.”
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A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police told H&H today (Wednesday, 30 September) that the four people remain in custody.
“Four people were arrested at an incident at Southwell racecourse,” said the spokesman.
“We were called at 5.23pm to reports that a man had been assaulted in the weighing room. We attended and arrested two men and a woman on suspicion of assault and criminal damage. We arrested a third woman for obstructing police.”
He added that the victim “sustained minor injuries”.
Jamie Stier of the British Horseracing Authority said the organisation is “deeply concerned” about the incident.
“We will continue to monitor the police investigation in order to ensure a proper understanding of the situation,” he added.
“We will also progress with our own investigation into the circumstances in which this totally unacceptable incident took place. Furthermore, we will be looking closely into the events with the racecourse management team at Southwell.
“We are pleased to hear reports that Aidan Coleman appears to be in a reasonably satisfactory condition, despite this incident. However, we do need to understand the circumstances which led this situation, and take any necessary steps to minimise future risk to the safety of our jockeys.”
Aidan, who is stable jockey for trainer John Ferguson and also rides for Venetia Williams, currently sits in second in the 2015/16 National Hunt jockeys table.
He has ridden 54 winners so far this season from 228 rides. H&H columnist Richard Johnson currently heads the championship with 86 winners.
Picture by Racingfotos.com
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.