Jockey banned after cracking rival horse over head with whip in shocking TV footage

A JOCKEY has been banned after she was caught whipping a rival horse over the head in shocking TV footage.

Australian rider Alice Lindsay, 30, was officially found guilty of ‘improper riding’.

Lindsay was caught whipping a rival horse in the head

But that arguably paints a rosy picture of what cameras caught her doing in a race Down Under.

As the runners rounded the home bend, Lindsay came close to rival horse Valkur.

Riding Ultron, Lindsay can be seen raising her right arm and cracking Valkur over the head.

Lindsay and Ultron were leading at the time but finished runner-up in the contest at Naracoorte.

A Racing SA stewards’ report read: “Stewards questioned the rider in relation to her riding, with particular reference to her whip use near the 200m.

“After considering her explanation stewards found A. Lindsay guilty of a charge of improper riding under AR131(a).

“After turning her head to the right and becoming aware of a horse on her outside (Valkur), she drew her whip in the right hand, in the backhand position and extended her right arm out in an action inconsistent with her normal use of the whip, resulting in Valkur being struck by her whip in the vicinity of the head.”

Lindsay has been barred from racing in eight meetings.

The jockey has not long got her career back on track after a terrible fall in 2020.

Lindsay broke her nose and suffered further injuries to her head, back and hand, while her horse, Jomera, was sadly killed.

Recalling the horrible incident, she said: “I was knocked unconscious for about 15 to 20 minutes.

“I broke my T5 and my T6 – that’s your thoracic spine. I actually lost a centimetre in height.

“I was able to get away without surgery by just having a back brace. At the same time I was very lucky to only escape with what I did. It could have been a lot worse.”