Fri, Nov 10, 2017 page16

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  EQUESTRIAN

  Jockey suspended for punch

  An Australian jockey has been suspended for two weeks after punching his horse when it became unsettled before a race, officials said yesterday, in a punishment blasted as “grossly inadequate.” Dylan Caboche, 22, was attempting to get She’s Reneldasgirl into the starting gates ahead of a race at Port Lincoln in South Australia on Wednesday. When the filly reared, he dismounted and hit it in the stomach, TV footage showed. Thoroughbred Racing SA (TRSA) stewards conducted an inquiry and suspended Caboche’s license for two weeks for misconduct. “TRSA does not condone and will not tolerate such behavior and it is hoped this penalty — which will remain on the rider’s record and will impact his earning ability — will send a strong signal to others,” it said in a statement. The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses called the two-week ban “grossly inadequate.” “You don’t get to punch a horse and get away with it. If jockeys can’t control their tempers, they don’t deserve to be on the racetrack,” coalition spokesman Ward Young said. “No wonder horse racing is falling out of favor with the general public when grossly inadequate punishments are dished out for animal abuse.” Young said it was the second time in 10 weeks that a jockey had punched their mount, with Brandon Stockdale receiving a A$500 (US$384) fine in August.

  MOTORSPORTS

  Dakar Rally exile to continue

  The Dakar Rally will not return to its African homeland any time soon, organizers said on Wednesday, as terrorism and civil war on the continent make the world’s toughest endurance race a security nightmare. The race has been staged in South America since 2009 after the scheduled 2008 event was canceled on the eve of the start because of fears over security in Mauritania. “I think that it’s not possible to imagine returning to work in Africa. It’s not the idea at the moment,” Dakar director Etienne Lavigne said on a visit to Lima, where next year’s race starts on Jan. 6. “In Africa, it’s very complicated with the security, civil war, terrorism. It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is.” The 40th anniversary of the Dakar Rally takes place next year, with Peru returning to the schedule for the first time since 2013. Peru has invested US$6 million in hosting its leg of the race.

  RUGBY UNION

  Tuilagi turns to witch doctor

  England center Manu Tuilagi on Wednesday revealed that he had consulted a witch doctor in his native Samoa in a desperate attempt to cure the long-standing injury problems that have plagued his career. The 26-year-old Leicester battering ram said his mother had suggested he visit the healer and that his trip to Samoa came with the blessing of Leicester director of rugby Matt O’Connor and club physiotherapist Ed Hollis. “I saw the witch doctor for two hours a day and she said she found what the illness was,” the British and Irish Lions center told BT Sport’s Rugby Tonight. “She was half-Fijian and half-Samoan and found out that there were three lady spirits who had married themselves on to me for the last three years. The witch doctor told me that was why I had been injured. The spirits wanted me for themselves — they wanted to punish me and injuring me was the way to do it. Every time I played — bang! Now they have gone — the whole-body massages have blocked the spirits from me.”
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