Apprentice jockey Matthew Lloyd Slater was suspended for 28 days after failing to cross the line in Leicester on Monday.

The 22-year-old was making the tenth race of his career on Bluffing on the bus for his boss Craig Lidster in claiming 7f.

Slater took the lead from the 7-4 favorite approaching the two-furlong post, with his mount taking a six-length lead with the minimum of fuss.

However, as Slater glanced to his right to watch the racecourse’s big screen, he began to slow the filly in the final 110 yards.

Nights over Egyptwho was in second place under George Wood, began to close the gap on the leader. Slater renewed her efforts in the final strides, but the filly failed to regain enough speed on the heavy ground and was beaten around the neck by the 6-1 shot trained by Jennie Candlish.

How did the incident unfold?

Blufferonthebus has a clear lead in the 7f contender under Matthew Lloyd SlaterCredit: Racing television

Slater calms down on Blufferonthebus after seeing how clear he is on the big screen at the racecourseCredit: Racing television

Nights Over Egypt quickly closes the gap on BlufferonthebusCredit: Racing television

Nights Over Egypt gets up and scores with a neck against BlufferonthebusCredit: Racing television

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Bluffing on the bus

Connecting with the leaders on the other side of the group, pushed the leader to 3 feet, pushed to lead to 2 feet, quickly got clear, 6 lengths ahead to 1 foot, eased the last 110 meters, lead significantly reduced when pushed towards the finish, led the final strides.

After squandering his chance at a breakthrough, Slater was given a maximum suspension for the offense by the racecourse stewards for failing to take all reasonable and permissible steps to achieve the highest possible placing on a horse that would have finished first.

“He called me and was upset on the phone,” Coach Lidster said. “He really apologized. I pointed out to him that he had let himself down by doing this stupid thing and that obviously everyone was going to feel the pain – the owners, the punters, etc.

Blufferonthebus started the day with an overall score of 6-1 before being backed into a 7-4 favorite and Lidster sympathized with the punters as well as members of the Nick Bradley Racing Syndicate and Alfa Site Services, who own Ribchester’s daughter.

“He thought he had enough to get him across the finish line, but he didn’t,” Lidster said. “It’s really naivety. At the end of the day, he’s a learner, sometimes people have to remember that. But at the same time, it’s a betting sport and people have the right to be angry about what happened.”

Nights Over Egypt was an unexpected second winner for Wood, who had already made good use of a spare ride in helping James Horton to Beltada Day making a successful handicap debut in the 7f nursery with future jockey Adam Farragher absent due to illness.

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