A LEGENDARY British jockey has left Bahrain and had his licence suspended after racing bosses were forced to launch an investigation into a mystery ‘incident’.
After battling drink, drugs and a one-year ban that plunged his career into doubt, Group 1 winner Robert Winston said he felt better than ever ahead of the new turf season in the Middle East.
But his time on the money-spinning circuit has been abruptly cut short, according to a report in the Racing Post.
Winston, 45, has reportedly had his employment with trainer Paul Smith terminated with immediate effect and flown back to Britain.
A spokesperson for the Bahrain Turf Club said: “Following an incident involving Mr Robert Winston, his licence was suspended by the Bahrain Turf Club, and it is the subject of an ongoing investigation.”
Specifics are vague but Winston leaves having kicked off the season with a 100 per cent strike rate.
He rode a double on Halloween for Smith, landing the Opening Day Cup on Dick Dastardly and a sprint contest aboard Black Pearl.
Both those victories were worth a shade under £10,000 combined.
And they added to the 1,600-plus winners he rode during a tumultuous career in the saddle back home.
He looked like being champion Flat jockey in 2005 until a terrible fall at Ayr forced him to the sidelines.
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He said he was in so much pain after a horse kicked him in the face that he thought he was going to die.
That led to Winston using cocaine to numb the pain and mental health issues, which saw him closing his eyes during races.
He suffered flashbacks and turned to drink to ‘help me get through the day’.
It also led to him, in his own words, getting ‘out of control’.
Recalling one episode that told him he needed to stop, Winston said on Racing TV: “I was out in York one evening with a few jockeys and we all came out of a nightclub and were walking along the bridge.
“They said ‘Who would jump in for £100?’ and they were joking, and I said I’d jump in for nothing.
“I stripped down to my boxer shorts at 3am on Ouse Bridge. I looked down and thought ‘There’s no way I’m going to jump down there – it’s the middle of winter’.
“The police turned up and said ‘Come down, sir’. Then one of them went to grab me and my reaction was to jump.
“Half-way down, before I hit the water, I thought ‘Bloody hell, what have I done?’.
“It was alcohol-fuelled.
“I came back into shore and the police were waiting. Everyone was filming and shouting.
“As I was coming in, I splashed the police and jumped back in again.
“It was just stupidity.”
While he was, on the outside at least, at the peak of his powers in 2007, a further setback was to come in the shape of a huge BHA ban.
The outcome of a lengthy enquiry dating back years earlier saw Winston become one of four jockeys warned off for passing on inside information.
He always maintained his innocence, saying he passed on knowledge but never did it for any personal gain.
Winston made a comeback of sorts in 2019 but has not ridden since 2022.
With his weight and mind back fully under control he was relishing the chance to start afresh in Bahrain – but it remains to be seen what happens pending the outcome of the probe.
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