Jockey charged with GBH after breaking man’s nose in booze-fuelled pub fight near Epsom racecourse
JOCKEY Paddy Bradley has been charged with GBH after he broke someone’s nose in a booze-fuelled pub scrap.
The brawl happened on the night of December 27, 2022 in the famous racing pub The Rubbing House, which is just past the winning line at Epsom races.
The Epsom-based rider, 29, appeared at Staines Magistrates Court on Friday morning but the case was adjourned for four weeks until August 30.
The complainant, Sean O’Connell, has allegedly undergone two reconstructive operations on his nose since the incident and been left with a two-inch scar near his eye.
The punch-up took place outside the pub, and it’s alleged Bradley landed several blows to O’Connell’s head while he was on the floor.
O’Connell did not attend yesterday’s hearing, in which Bradley’s solicitor, Mark Haslam, accused him of lying and said the jock caused the injuries ‘in self-defence’.
He claims there was a history of bad blood between the two men and said O’Connell ‘struck the first blow’ after the men became involved in a heated argument.
At which point, Haslam alleges, Bradley fell backwards, grabbed O’Connell by his jacket collar and pulled him down to the floor, with the defence blaming the resulting fall as the reason he suffered such serious facial injuries.
The incident was caught on CCTV and Bradley was interviewed under caution by cops on January 24 last year.
After a lengthy investigation by Surrey Police, he was charged with ‘GBH without intent’, an offence which can carry a jail term of up to five years.
However, Haslam made it clear the jockey intends to fight the charges, and the prosecutor, Kirstin Holland, didn’t object when he asked the court to adjourn until the end of the month.
Bradley, who is on unconditional bail and arrived at court in a white shirt and pair of aviator sunglasses, only spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth.
He began his career in 2014 and has ridden 52 winners so far, chiefly for trainers who are based in Epsom near where he lives.
Last season was his most successful to date, with 26 winners and £216,141 in prize-money, and he has 17 winners under his belt so far this campaign.
The BHA have been kept in the loop throughout the investigation and have been provided with the CCTV footage from the pub, but they declined to comment.