Cheltenham jockeys at centre of racism row put their ugly spat to bed with awkward handshake live on air
Cheltenham jockeys Nico de Boinville and Declan Queally have buried the hatchet following their explosive racism row.
De Boinville was accused of racial abuse by Irish amateur jockey Queally on the second day of the event and part of their argument was caught by the ITV cameras.
But the pair have now shaken hands in a slightly uncomfortable and awkward interaction on Thursday’s broadcast.
Presenter Matt Chapman approached the pair, who then held a long handshake for the benefit of the cameras.
Queally then said: ‘All sorted. A heated moment battle. All is forgiven. Best of luck to Nico in the future.
De Boinville added: ‘Very much so, and I appreciate Declan, and big thanks to Davy Russell for sorting this out.’
There was an amicable exchange between Nico de Boinville (right) and Declan Queally (left) as they put their explosive racism row to bed on Thursday
The duo held a handshake for a long time for the benefit of the cameras on Thursday
It marks an end to the ugly spat that has dominated headlines so far at Cheltenham this week.
Queally had told ITV as he returned to the weighing room on Tuesday that de Boinville’s behaviour was ‘horrible’ but he went a step further when he spoke to The Racing Post.
He said: ‘It was competitive down there and I got repeated racial abuse from Nico de Boinville when I was coming in around the corner and then he called me a “f***ing p***k” a couple of times in front of the ITV cameras.
‘I just didn’t talk back to him, thankfully I didn’t open my mouth.’
And this morning, De Boinville categorically denied the racism allegation, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘It’s an ongoing investigation, the stewards are gathering all the evidence they can from all the video footage.
‘From my point of view I deny all the allegations against me and I can categorically say there wasn’t any racial slurs or anything like that but yeah… let it play out.’
The dispute between the jockeys began at the start line, with De Boinville, who was riding Act Of Innocence for his boss Nicky Henderson, and Queally, who was on board I’ll Sort That.
TV footage highlighted De Boinville, who started The Festival on Tuesday by winning the opening race on Old Park Star, shouting at Queally.
He appeared to lose his cool, demanding Queally to ‘get back’ and turning his mount to take the spot on the rail that I’ll Sort That was positioned in.
There was a false start before the race eventually got underway – one of several on a frustrating afternoon – but the fallout continued with the verbal tirade.
The BHA said they were investigating the matter and Queally’s serious allegation but the matter now appears to be closed, albeit in an awkward fashion on live TV.
