Exclusive: Graham Gibbons being sued by Freddy Tylicki in £6 million court case

The one-time highflying Flat jockey Graham Gibbons is being sued by his former weighing-room colleague Freddy Tylicki over the 2016 fall that ended the latter's career and left him paralysed, in a case with a potential value of £6 million.

A five-day hearing with the specific aim of determining whether Gibbons is liable has been set down to take place from November 29 at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London.

Court documents obtained by the Racing Post spell out the arguments put forward on Tylicki's behalf. They claim Gibbons caused his injuries by making a manoeuvre to go back towards the inside rail on Madame Butterfly, the eventual winner of the Kempton race, cutting across Tylicki on Nellie Deen, who then clipped heels and fell, bringing down two other runners.

A detailed line of defence has also been lodged by lawyers acting for Gibbons, denying that he is liable for the incident. The hearing is likely to be a matter of intense interest for jockeys, anxious to know where the line is drawn by the law in terms of the duties they owe to one another to avoid danger mid-race.

Freddy Tylicki: does not accept the findings of the 2016 stewards' inquiryCredit: Edward Whitaker

Tylicki's claim includes a vivid description of the incident that occurred around the final bend of the mile race for maiden fillies. It argues that Gibbons, holding a lead of about half a length, "caused his horse to move across to her right, towards the rail, and across into the path of the claimant's horse, which could not move to her right to avoid contact by reason of the presence of the rail".

Tylicki is said to have tried to alert his rival jockey to the imminent danger by shouting "Gibbo!" in an effort to "discourage him from persisting on his path into the space alongside the rail which was legitimately occupied" by Nellie Deen.

The claim states that Gibbons had his whip in his right hand throughout and could have used it as a means of keeping his mount from moving to her right, but that instead he "can be seen deliberately persisting in manoeuvering his horse to her right (by use of the right rein) towards the rail".

As a result, it is claimed, Gibbons caused his mount "first to bump and thereafter to trip" Nellie Deen. In the view of Tylicki's legal advisers, this amounts to riding that was either dangerous or showing reckless disregard for the safety of others and was not up to "the standard reasonably to be expected of an experienced professional jockey".

Defence arguments lodged on behalf of Gibbons state he was unaware of the position of Tylicki's horse on his inside "until around the time at which the horses first made contact", and specifically deny that he caused Madame Butterfly to move into the path of Nellie Deen. Instead, it is claimed that Tylicki "rode his horse forward . . . in circumstances in which there was insufficient room between the defendant's horse and the rail for the claimant's horse to be able to travel safely through".

The cry of "Gibbo" is said by the defence to have come at about the same time as the initial contact. At that point, Gibbons is said to have looked behind him and the clipping of heels then occurred within about a second.

"It was a racing accident occasioned by the horses coming together," the defence states. "The defendant was not even guilty of a careless misjudgement."

An inquiry held on the day by the Kempton stewards found that the incident was accidental, although it resulted in the remainder of the card being abandoned because "the overwhelming feeling of the jockeys was that racing should not continue as a mark of respect to those injured".

Tylicki's claim states that he "does not accept the findings of that stewards' inquiry, or the substance of the evidence that was given to the stewards by the witnesses", noting that he and Jim Crowley were prevented from taking part by their injuries. Crowley was also taken to hospital but was later discharged, having suffered a broken nose.

Freddy Tylicki wins the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera on Speedy Boarding (near) at Chantilly in 2016Credit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

The more serious consequences for Tylicki, 34, are stated at length, starting with the fact that he was rendered permanently paraplegic and wheelchair-bound. In addition to devastating damage to his spinal cord, he broke 18 ribs and had to spend the next four months in hospital, where he developed an infection and sepsis.

A case of this gravity is the latest in a long line of troubles for Gibbons, who first made his name in the sport 20 years ago, being described by one trainer as "the best 7lb claimer since Jamie Spencer". An early bump in the road came in 2007 when he was banned from riding for 35 days after failing a breath test for alcohol at Hamilton.

His most recent known interaction with racing officials resulted in a two-year ban in 2017 after he tested positive for cocaine, the sample having been taken a month after the race in which Tylicki was injured. Gibbons was also found to have coerced an apprentice jockey into providing a urine sample he could present as his own. In 2019, he was jailed for 16 weeks after a fourth conviction for drink-driving.

It was reported at that stage that he had hoped to recover his jockeys' licence, having not ridden since December 2016. The 39-year-old is currently riding out for David O'Meara.

If the initial hearing finds that Gibbons is liable, a second hearing will be necessary to determine the appropriate level of damages. Tylicki's claim states these "are likely to exceed £6m" and would include his loss of earnings as well as the cost of the care he will require for the rest of his life, along with necessary adaptations to his home and any vehicles he drives.

The claim notes that Tylicki "is doing his best to mitigate his losses by seeking alternative employment", including his work as a pundit with Sky Sports Racing. Those earnings will be deducted from the sum which Gibbons, or his insurers, would otherwise have to pay if Tylicki's case succeeds.

Tylicki's interests are represented by Stewart-Moore solicitors, who have regularly been involved in racing-related matters in the past, and his case is to be presented by Lord Faulks QC, a former minister of state for justice and a brother to the novelist, Sebastian.

Gibbons is represented by Ashfords, another firm with regular work in horseracing, and the defence pleadings were drafted by Patrick Lawrence QC, whose father, the late John Oaksey, was a founder of the Injured Jockeys Fund. There was no immediate comment from either firm of solicitors.

Read more:

Freddy Tylicki: facing up to my new reality one year on from life-changing fall

Freddy Tylicki achieves 'milestone' moment on horseback

Freddy Tylicki out of hospital and beginning rehabilitation

Jockey Graham Gibbons jailed for fourth drink-driving conviction

David Barron backs Graham Gibbons to make successful return to riding

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