THREE-TIME champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa’s ex-wife has appeared in court charged with assaulting him.
Mother-of-three Victoria de Sousa, 39, has been accused of wounding him with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Three-time champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa’s ex-wife Victoria has been charged with assaulting him
Getty Images – GettyBrazilian De Sousa is one of the world’s top jockeys and has career earnings of almost £30million in Britain alone[/caption]
The alleged assault is said to have taken place on July 27 – the day before he won a race at Yarmouth.
Brazilian rider De Sousa, 44, who has prize money earnings of over £1million on the track this calendar year alone, was due to be arraigned at the hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday.
But Judge Andrew Hurst adjourned the case until September 12 after the jockey’s ex-wife’s counsel, Ella Ripper, said her client had not yet decided on a plea.
Judge Hurst said: “I am concerned we have got to today, almost a month after Mrs de Sousa’s appearance at Ipswich, and effectively she is unclear about what her plea is.
“We need to get a grip on this case.”
The court heard Mrs de Sousa was wearing an electronic ankle tag as part of her conditional bail.
An application was made for the tag to be removed, with Mrs de Sousa claiming having it on was costing her £5,000 a month in riding fees because she was finding it difficult to wear boots.
Ms Ripper said: “She has specific riding boots she has to wear and has to ride horses before the children she teaches ride them.
“Recently she had a fall because she was wearing ankle boots.
“The tag is preventing her doing her job properly and she is losing about £5,000 a month as a result of being electronically tagged.”
But the request was denied.
De Sousa is one of the biggest jockeys around and banged in a £90,000 Royal Ascot winner earlier this year.
He is a multiple Group 1-winning rider, with his most recent being the £650,000 victory aboard Charyn at Ascot’s Champions Day last October.
The news comes after an apprentice jockey was recently arrested after allegedly assaulting a fellow rider and leaving them with ‘serious facial injuries‘.
The jockey, who is 21 and based in Newmarket, has been placed on bail until November while Suffolk Police continue their investigation.
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