A top apprentice who has been sidelined by injury since March has been hit with a whopping 37 meeting ban for a horrific race fall in which his mount was fatally injured.
Rising star Teo Nugent was hospitalised after the filly he was riding Florescent Star clipped the heels of another horse and came down while manoeuvring for a position during a Listed race at Moonee Valley in Melbourne.
Florescent Star crashed through in the inside rail and had to be humanely euthanized due to the extent of her injuries while Nugent suffered a C1 fracture as well as being concussed.
Completing an inquiry into the incident on Thursday, Racing Victoria stewards found 24-year-old Nugent guilty of careless riding.
The stewards ruled that he had directed his mount “dangerously close” to another horse In The Boat before clipping heels and falling, which led to three other runners being severely hampered.
The panel said Nugent had given candid evidence, expressed remorse but determined that his carelessness was “in the very high range which caused significant interference”.
Nugent, who rides for top training partnership Ciaron Maher and Englishman David Eustace, has ridden 342 winners.
His ban will end on May 21 but the jockey’s recovery from his injuries could keep him off the racecourse for three to six months.
