‘I wasn’t drunk or impaired’, champion jockey says
CHRISTCHURCH: Champion jockey Chris Johnson is adamant he was not drunk when stood down from riding for failing a breathalyser test at Riccarton Park on Saturday.
But the 56yearold, on the verge of setting a record for domestic wins by a New Zealand jockey, said he would not argue with the results of the test that will almost certainly result in him being suspended for at least a month.
Johnson was breathalysed after finishing third in the first race.
He said his level was 145mcg, falling to 130mcg for his next test 10 minutes later.
While the Racing Integrity Unit steward in charge of the meeting, John Oatham, would not confirm Johnson’s exact readings, he said Johnson’s claims were close enough to accurate.
While a driver of a motor vehicle over 20 is considered to be under the limit up until a reading of 250mcg, the limit for jockeys riding in races or trials is 100mcg, so stewards had no option but to stand Johnson down.
He was not arguing with their actions or the reading and said he had not been drinking heavily the night before and definitely had not drunk on the day of the races.
‘‘I had a few on Friday night, a couple of beers and some bourbons but nothing serious. I was in bed by 11pm,’’ Johnson, who has battled alcoholism in the past, said.
‘‘The problem was I didn’t eat. ‘‘I was wasting [trying to quickly drop weight] so I could ride a couple of horses at 54kg, so I didn’t have dinner on Friday night and no breakfast on Saturday.
‘‘And I spent an hour in the spa to get some weight off in the morning, so when I got to the races I must have had the alcohol still in my system but I definitely wasn’t drunk or impaired.
‘‘I actually drove the truck to the races because I was fine.’’
Johnson, who tested positive for cannabis at a trial meeting in 2016 and was suspended for eight weeks, has gone off the rails when drinking in the past, nearly ruining the career of one of the most naturally gifted riders in New Zealand history.
He never hides from that reality and has sought help for his struggles.
Just a year after his 2016 drug suspension he fought back to win the national jockeys’ premiership.
He now needs just 11 more wins to pass David Walsh for the most wins ever by a New Zealand jockey. Walsh’s record stands at 2451 wins.
Having battled the demon before, Johnson says he has put his wild nights behind him.
‘‘I know what it is like to go on those benders and get messed up and I don’t do that anymore. Those days are gone.
‘‘I still enjoy a drink but I don't hit it hard and this definitely wasn’t a case of that.
‘‘I am not saying the machine [breathalyser] was wrong so I will probably plead guilty and get a suspension.
‘‘But I am not going anywhere. I am going to keep riding and break that record.’’
Senior steward Oatham said the unusual decision to test Johnson after the first race, rather than at the start of the day, was at the stewards’ discretion and not because of a complaint from any other industry participant.
Oatham said Johnson was cooperative. He would not be drawn on a likely penalty, but suspensions of a month or six weeks have tended to be the norm for failed alcohol tests at races and trials. — The New Zealand Herald