Apprentice jockey in the dog house with stewards after detour to shopping centre

An Australian apprentice has found himself in hot water after leaving the track between races to buy dog food.

Tom Sherry was fined $1,000 (approx £547/€607) by the Randwick raceday stewards after a member of the public reported they had seen him in a shopping centre stocking up on supplies for his canine pal.

Sherry, who was in action in the first race on Saturday's card and had a four-hour gap until his next ride, sought permission to leave the course to go home and sweat, with the saunas generally used to lose weight by jockeys on track closed under Covid-19 protocols.

He was granted permission to leave Randwick provided he went straight home and returned directly to the course.

However, Sherry made a detour to a local shopping centre to buy food for his dog, with his pet-related pit stop earning the ire of chief stipendiary steward Marc Van Gestel.

"It is a matter of some seriousness given the times we're living in," Van Gestel said.

Sherry pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to comply with the direction of stewards and was handed his fine.

The punishment capped off a bad week for the rider, who a day earlier was given a four-week ban after being found guilty of not giving one of his mounts every opportunity to win in a race at Wyong last month.

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