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Jockey Josh Cartwright suspended for 18 months over Morphettville reckless riding

Patrick Bartley
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Jockey Josh Cartwright was riding Senior Council in the final event at Morphettville in Adelaide on January 14, his partner, Swedish apprentice Anna Jordsjo, was aboard the favourite Murti.

Murti was heading for home with a six-length lead when Cartwright appeared to inexplicably angle his mount out into two horses on his outside and deliberately make contact with them.

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Josh Cartwright has been charged with reckless riding after he appeared to angle his mount out into two horses at Morphettville in Adelaide.

The bump forced Go The Journey to cannon into House Of Wax and its jockey, Jason Holder, was nearly dislodged.

Cartwright was charged with reckless riding, pleaded guilty and was immediately stood down by stewards pending the announcement of his penalty.

That saga had its conclusion in a stewards inquiry in Adelaide on Monday when Cartwright was outed for 18 months for a reckless ride that moved Adelaide's chief steward to describe it as one of the worst acts of interference he had ever seen in South Australia.

The head of integrity in Adelaide, Johan Petzer, in handing down his verdict, said Cartwright's ride was "unprecedented on the degree of recklessness, possibly in the world but certainly in Australia".

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Cartwright was suspended from riding and his training licence was suspended for six months.

Stewards said Cartwright could continue to work as a horse breaker and pre-trainer provided he did not step outside the parameters of that work.

However, Cartwright's lawyer, Wayne Pasterfield, said the jockey needed to get out of racing.

"He was on the verge of a breakdown," he said.

"He wanted a way out. He didn't want to go home a jockey [that day]."

Pasterfield told the hearing that Cartwright had been under pressure right throughout his life from family and close friends.

"I have no doubt that if it wasn't for the horses he would have killed himself," he said.

Pasterfield asked stewards to impose a six-month penalty on the jockey.

Stewards said they had carried out a meticulous investigation into bank records, phones, social media accounts and witness statements and had ruled out betting or financial gain as the motive behind the charge.

Cartwright said that he had already given personal apologies to the jockeys who had been involved in the race.

"I do not come across as a very upset, sad person. It takes a lot to break me," he told the hearing.

"I've been feeling it a lot since to happened. I'm also disgusted with what I did.

"Everyone who knows me is obviously relying on me. I put a scar on myself."

When Cartwright emerged from the hearing he said that what he had done was "an absolute disgrace" and felt great remorse.

The verdict could well spell the end of a once-promising career that even Cartwright's colleagues criticised last month.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy and other leading riders from around Australia were highly critical of Cartwright's manoeuvre.

"That's as bad as I've seen for a while," McEvoy said.

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