Former jockey Adrian McCarthy found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend

Former Flat jockey Adrian McCarthy has been found guilty of assault after punching and kicking his ex-girlfriend earlier this year.

During a trial in Ipswich, the court heard from Emily Massam, the victim, who said that McCarthy had punched her in the face, knocked her to the floor and kicked her several times.

McCarthy, 42, denied the charge and claimed it was Massam, who he had been dating for around seven months, that had hit him a dozen times in the hallway of her Newmarket home on June 14.

Molly Palmer, a friend of Massam who had been called by the victim who then left her phone on during the attack, told the court McCarthy smelled of alcohol, and that when she arrived he had helped Massam to her feet and said: “We’re fine. This is normal.”

After a two-hour deliberation, magistrates found McCarthy guilty of assault. The hearing was adjourned for a pre-sentencing report to be compiled with McCarthy bailed until sentencing on November 15.

Adrian McCarthy hit with six-month ban following positive cocaine test

McCarthy has partnered more than 200 winners on the Flat in Britain since taking out his licence in 1996, including a personal best of 60 winners in 1998. He also claimed Listed wins on Polar Jem in 2004 and 2005.

The former jockey has not ridden this year and in March received a six-month suspension from the BHA's disciplinary panel for testing 1,000 times over the limit for metabolites of cocaine.

McCarthy had told the disciplinary panel that he had regularly taken cocaine and drank heavily during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, and also stated he had attempted suicide.

He had told the panel: "I'm looking to the future. I'm in a lot better place than I was before and I'm enjoying my work. We all make mistakes and I regret it, but we all have to look forward and work hard."

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