Jockey Robbie Dunne’s ban for bullying and harassment of Bryony Frost was diminished from 18 months to 10 months after the London enchantment listening to on Wednesday afternoon.
The jockey was present in breach of 4 counts of participating in conduct that the BHA considers to hurt the integrity, correct conduct and good fame of horse racing by means of bullying and harassment of Frost over a seven-month interval in 2020.
Dunn, who has denied all however one of many costs, obtained an extension to enchantment final yr’s ruling and his representatives formally offered to the Public Well being Courtroom on January 20, difficult the case’s end result and subsequent sentence.
Please use Chrome browser for an accessible video participant
As Robbie Dunn’s enchantment listening to begins on Wednesday, Sky Sports activities Racing’s Sean Boyce appears again on the timeline of occasions that led to his 18-month ban for bullying and the harassment of fellow jockey Bryony Frost.
He had an 18-month ban from racing, three of which have been suspended, however that ban has now been diminished to 10 months, with Dunn now allowed to return to racing on October 9, 2023.
Though Dunn was discovered responsible of violating Rule J19, Appeals Board President Anthony Boswood QC felt that one rule violation, as a substitute of the earlier 4, coated all crimes.
In summing it up, Boswood mentioned: “We want to make it clear that we imagine that Mr. Dunn’s conduct was completely reprehensible and any knight who acts like this sooner or later ought to settle for a critical punishment.
“We expect the (unique) sentence was fairly harsh, as a result of it represented the minimal entry level six occasions that for Base J20, which was additionally charged. We expect it was extreme given the variety of journeys the grasp would have up to now with out dropping and would lose sooner or later and these Late stage of his profession.
Frodon offered one among Bryony Frost along with her largest wins at King George VI Chase at Kempton in 2020.
“We additionally imagine that the Disciplinary Committee could not have given adequate credit score to mitigating clauses similar to his try to apologize after the Stratford race – which Bryony Frost refused to just accept, which she was absolutely entitled to do, and refused to take part within the ‘heading’ proposed by Richard Johnson and her father Jamie Frost in Kempton .
“Once more, she didn’t need to take part, a place she was absolutely entitled to – however Mr. Dunn was able to take part.
Due to this fact, we have now determined to scale back the suspension to 10 months.”
Dunn’s workforce felt the preliminary sentence of the 18-month ban was an “unfair and unfair choice” primarily based on the premise that the language he used in direction of Frost was not taken into context because it was used within the weighing room.
Please use Chrome browser for an accessible video participant
Jockey Ruby Dunn’s preliminary ban on bullying and harassment of Bryony Frost has been described as “extraordinarily extreme” after it was lower from 18 to 10 months at an enchantment listening to in London on Wednesday afternoon.
Robin Matthew QC, a former allow holder who has been recruited by Dunn for the reason that preliminary listening to, informed the enchantment listening to that he felt the unique Disciplinary Committee had been led astray by not focusing sufficient on the testimony of a number of Dunn weighing roommates. on the Southwell incident.
Matthew mentioned that the time period, or when the jockeys say they are going to “kill you,” as Frost claimed Dunn additionally mentioned, was frequent within the weighing room and there was proof to counsel that one thing comparable can be mentioned on daily basis.
He sought to corroborate Dunn’s declare that it was a well-liked opinion that Frost’s driving fashion was harmful and that it was unusual to dismiss proof from fellow riders who had been mentioned to have agreed, slightly than that it was Dunn who took it upon himself to inform her of their issues.
He additionally mentioned the proof supplied by former novice jockey Hannah Welch shouldn’t be given as a lot weight because it was unrelated to the interval in query and he or she had little or no expertise – some extent BHA consultant Lewis Weston QC expressed in dismay. .
Whereas Dunn’s workforce agreed that the tweet mocking Frost, despatched earlier than the default Grand Nationwide, was “ridiculous,” they argued that almost all riders would have laughed at it, however given the temper Frost was in, she wasn’t prepared to take action.
One other side raised within the enchantment is the lead witness from the unique trial, engaged on the fence in Stratford, however Matthew said that his view of the incident could have been “exaggerated” as a consequence of facets of the proof leaked to the press.
This was an idea that Weston denied as a result of the witness solely got here ahead after the BHA despatched a discover that there can be a listening to. Matthew concluded by saying the penalty must be clear for every offense however they felt the 18-month ban was extreme because it might trigger “long-term injury and even finish” of his profession.
“This isn’t the form of punishment we envision being delivered for breaking these guidelines,” he mentioned.
Weston, who spoke for greater than an hour, defined that Dunn’s use of misogynistic language was damaging the race’s fame.
“This language was inappropriate and you shouldn’t hesitate to agree that the committee made an inexpensive choice,” Weston mentioned of the preliminary discovering.
“The appellant (Den) may have that the suitable check for the applying is a self-regulatory check, which can’t be true from the BHA’s perspective.
“This was a very disagreeable case of continued conduct and a panel of consultants got here to their choice.”
