Enraged owner swore at trainer, ranted at staff and made rude gestures at crowd

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A racehorse owner has been ordered to pay a fine of £4,000 for sustained improper behaviour after his horse won at Stratford in 2019.

A disciplinary panel was told on Thursday that Graham RJ Jones, as he appears on racecards, shouted at a jockey, swore at a trainer, made rude gestures at racegoers and intimidated racecourse staff.

But Jones, who declined to appear at the hearing, later told the Racing Post that he continues to deny the accusations and will pursue an appeal.

Asked why he did not defend himself at the hearing, Jones said: "There is a specific reason for that but I can't tell you today. I've got to speak to my solicitor now and anything I say could be against my interests. There's a serious problem here. I'm going to appeal against the fine. So I don't really want to say anything which could prejudice that. I've got to be careful."

Repeated delays by Jones in engaging with the process were said by the BHA's Charlotte Davison to be the main reason why it had taken so long to reach a final hearing. He submitted a witness statement from a friend who was present in support of his view of events but, Davison added, did not provide contact details for any of those who had been with him.

"We regard the behaviour that we've heard about as completely unacceptable," said the panel chair, Brian Barker QC. "In particular, staff who are doing their best to do their job should not have to tolerate or put up with this sort of behaviour.

"I suppose in some respects, this was an example of emotions running away but that simply does not excuse what happened. We take some account of the age of the case but we feel we must go to the top end of the scale and there should be a substantial fine."

Guidelines in place at the time of the offence allowed for a maximum fine of £5,000 for "violent or improper conduct". No violence was found in this case, although some witnesses said they had feared violence.

Aidan Coleman: jockey 'did well not to get upset as he was clearly laughing in his face'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Jones's behaviour was described as deteriorating after his horse, Oneofthesenights, beat her only rival to win a novice hurdle at Stratford in August 2019. She had overcome interference on the final bend when Beau Sancy made contact with her, for which Aidan Coleman received a three-day suspension.

A dozen signed witness statements, submitted to the panel, were outlined by Davison. Most saw only parts of what happened, but their testimonies intersected at various points and appeared to corroborate each other.

Jones was initially described as shouting at Coleman as the jockey returned to unsaddle, words to the effect of: "Nice try, just beaten by a better horse." A member of Olly Murphy's staff, leading Beau Sancy, said Coleman "did well not to get upset as he was clearly laughing in his face for losing" and being "really cocky". She said the close proximity of Jones made her feel "intimidated and awkward".

Murphy described hearing a male voice shout at him: "You need to get a better horse! That's f*****g justice". Jamie Snowden, the winning trainer, sought to smooth over the tension by apologising to Murphy and Coleman for what Jones had said. As Murphy left the unsaddling area, Snowden heard him say to Jones: "Well done for winning but you could be a bit more sporting about it."

This appeared to enrage Jones, described by several witnesses as following Murphy towards the weighing room, swearing at him. As Jones then returned to the winner's enclosure, members of the crowd spoke to him, criticising his behaviour. One witness said he responded with words to the effect of "he was a winner and they were f*****g c***s" and made "w****r gestures" at them.

Jones was then said to have ranted at a female member of staff in the winning owner's room, apparently blaming the racecourse for what had been said to him by some in the crowd. Ilona Barnett, manager at Stratford, intervened and described Jones as shouting in her face and pointing at her, almost touching her. It was the closest she had felt to being assaulted while doing her job, her statement said.

In an interview with a BHA investigator early in the case, Jones was said to have expressed regret for some of the language he used and gestures he had made at the crowd but said he was only responding in kind to what had been said to him. Davison said there was no evidence in available footage or from witnesses to suggest anyone in the crowd had sworn or made gestures at Jones.

Jones remains a registered owner but has not had a horse in training since January 2021.

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