Robbie Dunne ban for bullying Bryony Frost reduced to 10 months on appeal

Robbie Dunne has had his 18-month suspension for bullying and harassing fellow jockey Bryony Frost reduced to 10 months on appeal.

Dunne had initially been found in breach of four charges in racing’s rules which cover conduct prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of the sport, for a series of incidents between 13 February, 2020 and 3 September, 2020.

However, despite agreeing that Dunne had been guilty of breaching rule J19, appeal board chair Anthony Boswell QC felt one breach of the rule, rather than the previous four, covered all the offences.

As his suspension began on 10 December, 2021 it will end on 9 October, 2022.

In summing up Boswell said: “We wish to make it clear we think Mr Dunne’s behaviour was thoroughly reprehensible and any jockey behaving like that in future must accept serious punishment.

“We think the [original] sentence was, however, very severe, as it represented the minimum entry point six times higher than that for rule J20, which was also charged. We think it was severe given the number of rides Mr Dunne will have lost to date and will lose in the future and this late stage of his career.

“We also think that maybe the disciplinary panel gave insufficient credit for items of mitigation such as his attempted apology after the Stratford race – which Bryony Frost refused to accept, which she was fully entitled to do, and the refusal to take part in the ‘banging of heads’ proposed by Richard Johnson and her father Jimmy Frost at Kempton. Again she didn’t want to participate, a position she was fully entitled to take – but Mr Dunne was prepared to take part.

“So we have decided to reduce the suspension to 10 months.”