Top jockey Chad Schofield banned and fined after Ceolwulf’s thrilling Champions Mile victory at Flemington

Top jockey Chad Schofield has pleaded guilty to two serious rule breaches after his thrilling ride on Ceolwulf in Saturday’s Champions Mile at Flemington.

Ceolwulf defeated Pericles by a nose in a stirring edition of the $3 million Group 1 weight-for-age contest, but after the victory Schofield was found guilty of excessive whip use.

Stewards also hit Schofield — the 2013 Cox Plate winner — with a careless riding charge after he “permitted his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Pericles” near the 1400m mark.

For careless riding, Schofield copped an 18-meeting ban and he was whacked with an 11-meeting suspension for the whip rule breach.

The whip rule breach also came with a $35,000 fine.

“Chad Schofield (Ceolwulf) pleaded guilty to breaching the provisions of AR132(7)(a)(ii) in that he used his whip on nine occasions prior to the 100 metres, which is four more than permitted,” the stewards’ report said.

“Schofield had his licence to ride in races suspended for a total of eleven race meetings. Further, Schofield was fined $35,000. In assessing penalty, account was taken of his guilty plea, good record in this area, totality of his whip use, the RV Whip Penalty Guidelines and that Ceolwulf had won the race, which was a Group 1 race.”

When deciding on the punishment for careless riding, stewards also took into account his “good recent record” and that the incident was in the “mid-range” category.

Schofield settled Ceolwulf, a son of Tavistock fourth one of the fence in the race that was run at a solid tempo thanks to Pride Of Jenni and presented as the winner at the top of the straight, only to see Pericles dash past him at the 250m.

That Godolphin gelding, who started $19, put a half-length on Ceolwulf, but the $5 chance rallied strongly under the hard riding from Schofield to score a short-head-half head win.

Stewards ordered that both suspensions be served cumulatively with the period to start on Sunday, November 16, and to expire on Tuesday, December 16.

Schofield will be able to return to racing on December 17.

The penalties take a little bit of the gloss off the victory that saw the Joe Pride-trained gelding further press claims for recognition as Australia’s best miler.

The win followed victory in the $5 million King Charles III Stakes, Ceolwulf’s second-straight win in that event, at Randwick on October 18 and Pride was thrilled to see his stable star show his talent on racing biggest stage.

“He’s an amazing horse, I’m just so proud of him,” Pride said.

“I’ve thought for a long time he’s the best horse I’ve trained and with his last two wins, he’s certainly cemented his spot there.

“It’s great work from the team at home and it’s a big effort to get these horses here on the big days.

“He’s never travelled away before, but he’s handled it really well and we’ll be back.”

Pride is already planning a return to Flemington next spring with the winner of almost $11 million in stakes, with the $6m Cox Plate (2040m) to be held at Saturday’s venue with Moonee Valley out of action due to track renovation.

Completing a New South Wales trifecta was Pericles’ Bjorn Baker-trained stablemate Stefi Magnetica ($11), who finished a further 4-1/2 lengths back.

“If you had have asked me how I was feeling at the 400, I’d have said it was race over,” Schofield said.

“He ambled up and came into it but in the Flemington straight, he put his head up and baulked. That allowed Pericles to get a margin on me and when he saw him he went again.

“He’s very good. I’ve been lucky and I’ve ridden some very good ones, but he’s getting better. He’s top class.”

Mr Brightside ($2.90 fav) turned in the worst performance of his career over his favoured Flemington 1600m to finish fifth, beaten more than 10 lengths, while Pride Of Jenni ($4.80, eighth) was under hard riding from the 700m and was basically eased down over the final 200m.

- With RAS NewsWire