Tye Angland – dening liability
A successful apprentice to Pat Haslam in the late 1990s who moved to Australia is suing a fellow jockey for £5 million after blaming him for a fall that has left him wheelchair-bound.
Paul Goode, 37, lives in an adapted house in Welbury, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire. He is unable to work due to his disabilities and blames jockey Tye Angland (pictured) for the fall at Queanbeyan in New South Wales in June 2009.
While Angland, who denies liability, will be giving evidence in an Australian court, the case has been transferred to the Royal Courts of Justice in London due to Goode’s situation.
Goode suffered “catastrophic” injuries, that have left him confined to a wheelchair, robbing him of his career.
Barrister Tony Bartley told Judge Ian Harrison that Sydney-based Angland had broken one of the ‘hard and fast rules’ of racing.
Bartley said having pulled out to round a bend Angland had then returned to his line without leaving Goode two lengths’ space.
The horses clipped heels, sending Shot Of The Rails careering through the fence and Goode crashing into the cinder track.
“It is possibly the most dangerous single manoeuvre one can perform on a racetrack,” said Goode’s barrister, adding Angland admitted hearing the horses come together but did not realise there had been a fall.
Bartley added: “The fundamental negligence on the part of Mr Angland is something jockeys are taught about from the very beginning of their training in apprentice schools, both in the UK and Australia.
“What is really a hard and fast rule in racing is called ‘the two-length rule’.”
Goode rode 75 winners in Britain, 60 of them in three years when apprenticed to Haslam before the winners dried up in the early 2000s.
He was most successful on Sihafi, with five victories, but also partnered China Castle and Bustling Rio to four wins. He moved to Australia on a working holiday initially in 2004 before returning to North Yorkshire with his wife Catherine in 2012, three years after his accident.
The case, expected to last three weeks, continues.
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