Watch: jockey reportedly banned for life after pushing off fellow rider mid-race

A jockey has reportedly been banned for life after pushing a fellow rider off his horse in the Ecuador Derby.

The incident was similar to the one that saw Christophe Soumillon banned for two months after he elbowed Rossa Ryan out of the saddle at Saint-Cloud on Friday.

The drama happened on the final bend of the contest, the third leg of the Ecuador triple crown, at the Miguel Salem Dibo racecourse.

Joffre Mora, aboard Il Contadino, had travelled in rear and his mount appeared to be struggling approaching the turn when passed by Lukaku, ridden by Peruvian jockey Luis Hurtado.

Mora momentarily pushed his mount forward to come alongside Lukaku before then standing up in his irons while continuing to ride and stretching out his right arm to force Hurtado off his mount.

Hurtado reportedly escaped serious injury while Lukaku ran loose for the remainder of the race on September 18.

Il Contadino, who was among the favourites for the race having won and finished second in the two previous legs of the triple crown, stayed on to finish second. Benjamin Rosales won the race.

Reports in the Ecuadorian press said Mora has been suspended for life by the racing authorities.

A statement from the track's director on the racecourse's Facebook page read: "After the events that occurred in the development of the sixth race on Sunday, September 18, 2022, the board of the Miguel Salem Dibo racetrack sanctioned professional jockey Mr Joffre Antonio Mora Gurumendi with disqualification or forfeit for his unsportsmanlike behaviour."

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