Jockey who surrendered huge lead in 'very perplexing' race cleared of any violation

A jockey at the centre of a race, described by the commentator as ‘very perplexing' after his horse surrendered a huge lead and lost, has been cleared of any breach of rules.

Controversy raged among fans after replays of a race at Fort Erie, in Canada, last month were shared on social media. As the race unfolded, front runner Princess O Denmark turned into the short stretch holding a clear advantage. The leader’s jockey Kirk Johnson appeared to be doing very little pushing as the pair began to coast towards the winning post.

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He took three glances behind him and when he finally raised his effort to try to repel his closing rivals, it was too late as they were overtaken by Rolling Roxx who won by three quarters of a length.

Track commentator Drew McPherson said: “She’s got to be 70 yards in front with almost a furlong to travel. The battle is for second. Princess O Denmark is not even being asked as they come down the wire.”

Then he said: “Here comes Rolling Rocks. Princess O Denmark is stopping at the wire. What a race! Very perplexing race there. Rolling Rocks just got up over a stopping Princess O Denmark.”

Fox Sports host Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica shared the video to his 160,000 followers and said: “Jockey should never be allowed to ride again.”

The ride by Johnson, an experienced jockey who has ridden nearly 1,000 winners, was referred for review by stewards to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which regulates horse racing.

Interviews were conducted with Johnson and the filly’s trainer Richard Davis who had told the jockey, riding the filly for the first time, to "‘let her go’ from the gate and hopefully she would last, as if she is ridden aggressively, she may bolt to the outside and/or encounter airway problems”.

Johnston said he followed his instructions but sensed she was slowing significantly in the straight.

The report said: “He looked back to determine how much he could nurse her along to the wire without ‘scrubbing on her’, as per instructions. When he did get down to ride her aggressively in the final stages, he feels she did not respond and may have slowed further. Mr. Johnson believes that the filly did encounter an airway problem during the stretch run.”

Recent races showed the filly tended to ‘fade badly’ at the end of her races, and analysis of her performance under Johnson determined “Princess O Denmark went very fast (21.12 seconds) in the first quarter, then slowed progressively throughout the remainder of the race.”

The AGCO, who added that there were no irregular betting patterns around the race, concluded: “It is clear that “Princess O Denmark” presented certain challenges to her rider that resulted in an unusual trip that caught the attention of Race Officials and the wagering public alike.

“While looking back multiple times during the stretch run is unusual, the stewards have accepted Mr. Johnson’s explanation that, given the challenges of riding this particular filly, he was judging his lead so he could try to ration her speed to the wire as much as possible.

“In consideration of all available information, the AGCO Stewards are satisfied that Mr. Johnson and the connections had every intention of winning Race 4 on August 4th, 2025, and that there were no violations of the rules of racing.”