FRESH SHAME FOR RACING: New video ‘shows jockey Rob James jumping on top of a dead horse’

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An animal respect storm engulfing horseracing deepened today as a Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey was pictured apparently sitting on a dead horse the day after a trainer was caught doing the same.

A video of Rob James, who won at the event in 2020, appears to show him astride the animal in footage widely circulated on social media.

Incredibly it came just a day after Irish trainer Gordon Elliott was seen in a separate grotesque picture of him sitting on a different dead horse as he chatted on his mobile.

Elliot has been temporarily banned from entering horses into British races and is being investigated by the British Horseracing Authority.

And now James is himself being probed over the footage featuring him by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

The BHA is aware of the second video but there has not yet been any confirmation regarding a potential investigation.

A racing industry source, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline: ‘This type of behaviour is not something that is happening widespread in horseracing, that is why everyone is so outraged about it. 

‘It’s a sport where the horses are treated with utter respect, so these images are completely unrepresentative of the sport.

‘The kind of behaviour in those pictures is not a widespread problem and is completely at odds with how most people behave.’

James was scheduled to ride in the 5:20 at Gowran Park, County Kilkenny today but his horse Gentle Jolie, trained by Sean Thomas Doyle, is now listed as a non-runner. He is yet to comment on the circumstances of the video.

It is not clear when the video is filmed but Jones is with at least two other people in the footage, with laughter heard as he poses as if he is riding the animal.

Last year at Cheltenham, James rode Milan Native, an Elliott horse, to win the Kim Muir for Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown.

Irish amateur James also competed on Monday, riding the horse ‘King of Brazil’ in the Blackhills Flat Race, finishing in fifth, despite the storm surrounding the image of Elliott. King of Brazil is trained by Colin Bowe.

Elliott was banned on Monday from having runners in Britain while Irish authorities investigate the shocking picture of the trainer sitting on a dead horse while talking on his mobile phone.

The top trainer claimed in a statement that he took a phone call and sat down on the horse ‘without thinking’, adding the image was taken ‘some time ago’.

The dramatic banning of Elliott by the British Horseracing Authority throws a huge question mark over his entries at the Cheltenham Festival, which starts in two weeks.

They include his dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll and unbeaten Envoi Allen, hot favourite for the Marsh Novices’ Chase.

The BHA described their decision as ‘proportionate in these circumstances’.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board have so far given no indication when a disciplinary hearing might be held as they continue their probe into the damaging image that was circulated widely on social media last weekend.

The BHA said in a statement: ‘The action taken by the BHA recognises that Mr Elliott is licensed in Ireland, whose regulatory body is carrying out its own investigation. However, Mr Elliott has entered horses to race in Britain, from which point the British Rules of Racing apply to him.

‘The decision to refuse to allow horses trained by Mr Elliott to run in Britain is therefore an interim decision which the BHA regards as proportionate in these circumstances.’

The move heaps pressure on the IHRB to swiftly investigate the circumstances surrounding the picture and take action. Earlier on Monday, the BHA had said they were ‘appalled by the image’, adding: ‘We expect all those in our sport to demonstrate respect for horses wherever they have them in their care.

‘People who work in our industry believe their values of caring for and respecting our horses have been deeply undermined by this behaviour.

‘On their behalf, and on behalf of all horse-lovers, we say loudly that British horseracing finds this totally unacceptable.’

Speaking on Sunday, Elliott said the photo dated back to ‘some time ago’ and denied suggestions his actions had been ‘callous’, stressing that he was caught off-guard after receiving a phone call.

‘I would like to address the speculation and rumours that have been rife since an old photo of me began circulating on social media,’ he wrote in a statement.

‘Firstly, I apologise profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused and can categorically state that the welfare of each and every horse under my care is paramount and has been central to the success that we have enjoyed here at Cullentra.

‘The photo in question was taken some time ago and occurred after a horse had died of an apparent heart attack on the gallops. I appreciate that an initial viewing of this photo suggests it is a callous and staged photo but nothing could be further from the truth.

‘At what was a sad time, which it is when any horse under my care passes away, my initial reaction was to get the body removed from where it was positioned.

‘I was standing over the horse waiting to help with the removal of the body, in the course of which, to my memory I received a call and, without thinking, I sat down to take it. Hearing a shout from one of my team, I gestured to wait until I was finished.’

Elliott, who turned 43 on March 2, hit out at ‘falsehoods and misinformation’ around the picture on social media but said he put horse welfare first and would continue to co-operate with the investigation.

‘Such background information may seem trivial at this time and will not allay the concerns of many people both within and outside the world of horse racing,’ he added.

‘However, I feel it is important to provide people with some context surrounding this photo. To the racing community, to anyone who has worked with and loves horses and to anyone offended by this image I cannot apologise enough.

‘Horse welfare and the care and attention to detail involved is absolutely at the core of everything we do here and both myself and all of my team pride ourselves on those standards.

‘Again I apologise for any offence caused and ask people to consider this statement as opposed to the various falsehoods and misinformation being circulated on social media.’

On Monday, he showed more contrition in a damage-limitation interview, telling the Racing Post the incident was a ‘moment of madness that I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for and that my staff are suffering for’.

He added: ‘I will be punished, I fully understand that. But it absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I have no respect for my horses. That couldn’t be further from the truth. My whole life has revolved around horses since I was a child. Horses are all I have. I came from nothing and built a dream.

‘When your world starts crumbling in front of you, it’s a scary place to be. I just hope people can understand how truly sorry I am and find some way to forgive me.’ 

Meanwhile dual Grand National-winning and Cheltenham Festival record-breaking jockey Ruby Walsh has labelled the image ‘indefensible’.

Speaking on RTE, Walsh said: ‘A picture paints a thousand words, but I think that picture only painted one – and that’s ‘indefensible.’

‘When I looked at it, I felt angry, I felt embarrassed for my sport and I felt very sad.

‘I was always taught that the duty of care to the animal is as much when it is dead as it is when it is alive – that is the way I was taught to conduct myself, and it’s the way I assumed most people within my sport would conduct themselves.’