'Pat has our full support' - George Boughey standing by Cosgrave after rider's 28-day ban

George Boughey has outlined his unequivocal support for Pat Cosgrave after the jockey was banned for 28 days for throwing victory away aboard Concorde for the trainer in a mile handicap at Chelmsford on Thursday night. 

Cosgrave cruised into the lead in the final furlong aboard the 1-6 favourite but began to sharply ease down his mount in the final stages and was beaten a nose by 8-1 shot My Roxanne, who finished powerfully up the inside rail.

"I feel for Pat," said Boughey. "He's a hard-working jockey who has become a big part of our team this year. Mistakes happen and it's just one of those grave mistakes you never believe is going to happen to you.

"He was very good to speak live on TV about it because it's not a nice position to be in, but Pat has our full support. The owners say they want him to ride for them again when his ban is over and hopefully we can swiftly move on."

The stewards determined that Cosgrave had "failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures to obtain the best possible placing" aboard Concorde, who was matched for £12,000 at 1.01 on the Betfair Exchange.

Concorde is beaten by My Roxanne after Pat Cosgrave eased up to early

Speaking at Newbury on Friday, where he had three unsuccessful rides for trainer Richard Hughes, Cosgrave said: "It's just one of those things – no jockey wants it to happen. It's very embarrassing and I feel sorry for the connections and George, who has been putting me up.

"Unfortunately, it was a big mistake on my part, but I have to accept it and move on. George was very good. He's a class fella and had the right to tear strips off me, but he didn't. He was very sympathetic in what he said to me."

Cosgrave, who has seven Group 1 wins to his name, said he was getting a "little bit of banter in the weighing room" but was desperate to move on from the incident.

He added: "I've been riding for 24 years and it's never happened before and I have to make sure it doesn't happen again. I didn't watch the replay, I don't need to watch it – I know I've made a mistake. It shouldn't have happened.

"It's completely my fault, so I've got to accept it, own up to it and deal with it. I've been riding long enough to know I've made a mistake and it was no-one else's fault. I'll have to accept the consequences and try to move on

"The ban is a couple of weeks away so I'm not sure what I'll do. Financially, it will be disappointing to be out, but I'm big enough to take what comes my way. I'll try to fix it at some stage and repay the owners and connections."

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