Benoit de la Sayette set for Saturday return and issues new apology for drug use

Benoit de la Sayette has issued another apology for last year's drugs ban as he prepares to return to the saddle this weekend. The apprentice, who made such a splash in the early months of last year and won the Lincoln aboard Haqeeqy, is not expected to take part in Doncaster's feature handicap this time and is apparently planning to make his return at Wolverhampton on Saturday evening.

"I'm very sorry for what happened," De La Sayette said in a statement issued on his behalf, "but feel I've learned from the experience. I'm especially grateful for all the support given to me by my family and also my employers, John and Thady Gosden, as well as the wider Clarehaven team."

The 19-year-old went on to thank the Professional Jockeys Association, his agent, Paul Clarke, and his PR advisor, Tony Rushmer. His statement concluded: "I now want to repay all the faith shown in me by performing well, focusing on the job I’ve always longed to do."

De La Sayette rode his first winner in December 2020, the month in which he turned 18, and quickly made a name for himself with six winners from just 16 rides the following month. However, a video was posted to social media just three days after his Lincoln success, seeming to show the jockey in the presence of cocaine use.

De La Sayette won the Lincoln last year on HaqeeqyCredit: Edward Whitaker

He initially denied using the drug himself but a hair sample taken that week by the BHA recorded cocaine at a concentration of 2.96 nanograms per millimetre. He was given a six-month riding ban, which ended in October.

The independent disciplinary panel said in its ruling that it had "serious misgivings" about whether De La Sayette had been completely frank in his account of his drug-taking, but decided such concerns could best be addressed when the jockey applied for a new licence. The Racing Post understands a new licence was approved on Tuesday.

De La Sayette accepted he used cocaine "three or four times" between August 2020 and January 2021, ending when he left shared accommodation and returned to living at home with his parents. The BHA has said there is no evidence he ever rode in a race while under the influence.

His solicitor told the disciplinary panel: "He has made a mistake and won't be the first teenager to have done so, and he possibly won't be the last. To his credit, he had recognised, prior to his positive test, the need to make changes to his living arrangements.

"He apologises without reservation. He has learned the hard lessons of this episode and learned them well."

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