A jockey who beat up his rival over comments about his lack of winners has been handed a suspended sentence after being convicted of grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Apprentice Brandon Wilkie was found to have attacked his weighing-room peer and flatmate Kyle McHugh after a comment he made in August 2025.
McHugh and Wilkie are believed to have been drinking as they returned home, when the former asked the latter, ‘when did you last ride a winner?’
Wilkie is said to have told McHugh to ‘leave it’ but when they arrived back at their shared flat in Newmarket, the then-21-year-old punched his roommate in the face.
After McHugh collapsed due to the force of the punch, Wilkie continued to attack him with kicks and punches.
Wilkie then apologised after the incident, and helped McHugh to his feet – only to reply when asked why he had exploded into violence that he was ‘teaching (McHugh) some manners’.
Brandon Wilkie was handed a 14-month suspended sentence after breaking a rivals nose and fracturing his eye socket and jaw
McHugh was described by police as having suffered ‘serious facial injuries’ which included a broken nose, fractured eye socket, a fracture to an area to the left of his jaw bone, six chipped teeth and a cut to his eyelid.
The court were told that Wilkie then sent a video of McHugh to friends after the attack with the caption ‘putting manners on him’.
Wilkie admitted to committing GBH and was duly handed a 14-month sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay a £500 fine to McHugh.
McHugh took eight weeks to recover from the injuries before returning to the saddle, whereas Wilkie has not ridden in Britain since last August.
Wilkie has however continued to pick up rides in Ireland since December, with his last coming in April.
Thereafter, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board placed an interim suspension on his racing licence, with its outcome pending legal proceedings.
