WATCH: As Conditional Jockey Mistakes Half-Furlong Pole For Finishing Line at Worcester Races

It was a race that conditional jumps jockey Elizabeth Gale will want to forget, as the rookie rider thought the half-furlong pole was the finishing line and stopped riding – thinking she’d won the race on her mount Catuaba.

Elizabeth Gale Banned For 28 Days After She Stopped Riding Half A Furlong From The Finish

Elizabeth Gale isn’t the first jockey to mistake the winning line in a horse race – and she certainly won’t be the last.

However, the conditional jockey has unfortunately added her name to the list of horse racing riders that have done just that – after she thought the half-furlong pole was the finishing line in a race at Worcester on Wednesday 11th September 2024.

You can get a better idea of what happened below – but in what was clearly just human error, Gale ended up losing the race with fellow rider Dylan Johnson, who was riding 25/1 shot The Bold Thady, catching Catuaba between the half-furlong pole and the ‘real’ finishing post.

Catuaba, who looked to have the race won, eventually finished a head second at odds of 15/2 with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK due to Gale’s error.

Full Result

After this ride, Gale didn’t have to wait long to get it out of her system. She was in action again in the final race on the Worcester card (7:10pm) – finishing second again, but riding out to the finish this time, on another Charlie Longsdon runner – Ikigai Star.

A jockeys' worst nightmare! Elizabeth Gale mistook the finish line and stopped riding at the 1/2 furlong pole at Worcester onboard Catuaba… pic.twitter.com/mQnhhA5nZw

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 11, 2024

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Gale Handed a 28-Day Ban For Failing To Ride To The Line

As a result, conditional jockey Elizabeth Gale, who rides for the Charlie Longsdon yard, was slapped with a 28-day riding ban.

She was supported in the stewards’ enquiry by experienced rider Gavin Sheehan, who won last season’s King George VI Chase on Hewick, where the officials had little choice but to issue the riding ban.

Trainer Charlie Longsdon also came out to support his rider – telling Sky Sports Racing

“The worst thing is she’s given him the best ride I’ve seen that horse [been given]. He’s not a straightforward horse. He’s not always the most genuine.

“She’s stolen the race turning in and then that happens. I feel gutted for her. It’s a genuine mistake, but she’s got to take her punishment. Some people say it’s happened a few times here before and maybe we should take the half-furlong pole away, but there’s no excuses.”

The nightmare race was Elizabeth Gale’s 111th ride in the saddle, with her only career win for the Longsdon camp to date coming on her mount here – Catuaba back in July at Stratford.

She’s also won £166,785 in total career winnings for the owners of the horses she’s ridden.

In total Gale has ridden nine winners, with her biggest success being on the Philip Hobbs and Johnson White-trained Celebre D’Allen in a £35k Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Aintree – the home of the Grand National.