Tom Queally handed drink-driving ban after claims of sleep walking

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/17/tom-queally-drink-driving-ban-sleep-walking

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Tom Queally, the jockey of the brilliant Frankel, was banned on Monday from driving for 22 months after claiming he was sleep walking while drink driving.

Queally was found to be more than twice the legal limit after being found asleep at the wheel of his BMW, Crewe magistrates court heard. But his lawyer Nick Freeman, the self-styled “Mr Loophole” who has successfully defended cases brought against Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Andrew Flintoff, said the 30-year-old, who will forever be associated with the colt who many pundits claim was the greatest of the modern era, was “morally totally innocent” as he was “sleep driving” at the time.

Kate Marchup, prosecuting, told the court that Newmarket-based Queally gave a reading of 84 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when an officer found him asleep in his car with the lights on and the engine running in the early hours in Knutsford, Cheshire, on 16 March. The legal limit is 35mg.

Freeman, mitigating, said a number of “trigger events” prompted an episode of sleep walking, of which he claimed there was a history in the jockey’s family. He said Queally’s former girlfriend had committed suicide and he had recently suffered the break-up of a long-term relationship.

After listening to the defence mitigation, District Judge Bridget Knight said previous legal authorities had ruled sleep walking was not a defence for drink driving. She added: “The law is quite clear. You would be deemed to be driving in such circumstances even if affected by some sleep disorder.”

Judge Knight disqualified Queally for 22 months, fined him £1,350 and ordered he pay the prosecution costs of £3,500. Outside court Freeman said: “Because drink driving is a crime that doesn’t require any specific intent, he can’t argue this as a defence or a special reason. The law needs to be changed to reflect this unique set of circumstances.”

The Champion Hurdle first and second favourites are due to run on Saturday though punters are unlikely to be much wiser as to the outcome of the 2015 Cheltenham Festival contest given Faugheen will run at Ascot and The New One at Haydock and both will be expected to win with a minimum of fuss.

The reappearance of Faugheen, market leader for the race next March, was always going to be highly anticipated given the nature of his runaway success at Punchestown when dropped back to two miles. When he was announced a runner in the Coral Hurdle at Ascot on Monday by his trainer, Willie Mullins, the race was given a major filip, especially as the sponsors were dismayed at Haydock’s decision to introduce a valuable two-mile hurdle prize at their fixture on the same day.

The trainer will certainly know what is required having won the Coral contest last year with the high-class mare Annie Power. “I’ll go through the entries for the Ascot race before making a final decision but the intention is to run Faugheen on Saturday,” Mullins told the Racing Post. “It looks a nice race in which to start off his season.”

Coral are not offering odds on the race until the likely favourite is confirmed a definite runner by his trainer but The New One is 2-7 with one bookmaker for the Haydock contest. The six-year-old, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, was reported in fine shape on Monday by the jockey Sam Twiston-Davies.

“I schooled him [on Monday morning] and he seems in excellent form. He jumped really nicely,” the trainer’s son told At The Races. “He goes there in great form and obviously it’s another building point towards the Champion Hurdle. I saw Hurricane Fly win [on Sunday] and he looks as good as ever. He’s some horse and something for the rest of us all to look up to.”