JOCKEY HIT WITH RECORD FINE New Zealand jockey Greg Childs has been fined a record 300,000 Hong Kong dollars (38,510 dollars US) for informing a fellow jockey of his intended race plan prior to running of the prestigious Hong Kong Mile earlier this month. The penalty - the largest to be imposed on a jockey in Hong Kong - was imposed after Childs admitted talking to fellow rider Justin Sheehan about the tactics he would employ prior to the running of the 10 million dollar event two weeks ago, won by Childs on Sunline. The Jockey Club`s race meeting steward`s found Childs, 38, guilty of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the good reputation of horse racing in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported. Although Childs pleaded not guilty to the charges, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, director of racing, said the position was clear. 'There can be no discussion of race tactics prior to any race. The reputation of our racing is our most valuale asset,' he was quoted by the Post as saying. The inquiry had resulted from post race comments made by Childs to Australia`s Sydney Morning Herald journalist Darren Prendergast in which he was quoted as saying to Sheehan: 'Look, we can`t cut each other`s throat and challenge for the lead' and 'I just told him to follow me'. Childs, whose cut of the winning purse was 570,000 dollars, has maintained he did not make the remarks as quoted. The Sydney Morning Herald has stuck by the quotes but issued a clarification, saying there was no suggestion of a race plan between Childs and Sheehan, who finished third in the race on Adam. Childs said after the hearing he was unclear which rule he had breached. 'I only made passing mention (to Sheehan) about how I hoped to ride...I did not say what was reported. Those comments were never made. There was no race fixing and no race plan.' However, Engelbrecht-Bresges said 'both jockeys cut each other`s throats. He (Childs) obviously wanted to sensitise Sheehan to this.' He added that discussions of this type were common in Europe but stressed that 'we have other ways here where racing is more competitive and betting more important. 'Even the perception of race fixing must not be allowed to come up.' The Official race meeting steward`s report found Childs guilty of two breaches of the Rules of Racing. The first was that he had spoken to Sheehan 'in an attempt to ensure that Sheehan rode his mount in a manner, which although not designed in any way to affect its performance, would not prejudice the chances of his mount Sunline.' The second was that following the race meeting, Childs had 'made public to a group of persons, which included Australian journalists, a conversation he had with Sheehan at some time prior to the running of the Hong Kong Mile.'
