FREDDY Tylicki’s High Court case, in which he is seeking millions of pounds in damages arising from the 2016 racecourse fall which left him partially paralysed, concluded yesterday but a verdict is not expected for months.

Tylicki suffered “life-changing” injuries when he was trampled after falling from his mount in a race at Kempton on October 31st, 2016.

Now a permanent wheelchair user, Tylicki is suing Graham Gibbons in a bid to hold him liable over the incident. Gibbons has not ridden since December 2016 after being suspended when he was found guilty of trying to pass off a urine sample from an apprentice jockey as his own.

Tylicki’s lawyers argue that Gibbons, who denies riding negligently, manoeuvred his horse into the path of Tylicki’s mount, who was making ground up the inside rail. Tylicki’s team argue that Gibbons knew, for a period of 11 strides, that Tylicki’s mount was on his inside.

Gibbons is not accused of setting out “deliberately to injure” Tylicki or cause any horse to fall, but that he rode “without any due regard for the consequences of his manoeuvre”.

Four horses fell in the incident but a stewards’ inquiry held on the day found the incident had been accidental.

Gibbons’ lawyer said his client “firmly denied” that he was “guilty of any form of carelessness or misjudgement”. The court was told that racing was a “highly competitive and dangerous sport” that required “split second” decisions and where incidents of “interference” are “commonplace”.

Lawyer Patrick Lawrence said: “If what we say is a racing incident of the type that occurred here, albeit one with absolutely tragic consequences, if that type of incident will tend to generate litigation and interest from the lawyers then it is not difficult to see that it will have multiple ramifications, which may create all sorts of difficulties for professional sport, not only horse racing.”

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Gibbons denied he had tried to block Tylicki’s progress. “At no point did I see Nellie, Mr Tylicki’s horse, until he shouted,” he said. Gibbons added: “When Freddy shouted at me I looked over my right shoulder immediately and I was surprised and shocked that there was a horse there.”

“I couldn’t believe there was a horse there because there wasn’t sufficient room for a horse to be there,” he said.

The court earlier heard evidence from Jim Crowley, another rider involved in the race, who claimed he smelled alcohol on Gibbons’ breath in the weighing room but acknowledged under questioning there was no sign of him being “under the influence”.

When asked about the allegation, Gibbons said it was “one person’s opinion”, adding: “There was 35 other jockeys in the weighing room on the same day, none of them smelled alcohol on my breath. If there was the stewards would have been alerted.”

Crowley also told the court that Gibbons’ mount had been “clearly off the rail” during the race and disagreed that there was never a sufficient gap for Tylicki to go through safely.

Pat Cosgrave initially told the raceday stewards’ that he thought Tylicki had been “ambitious” and “chancing it on a bit” during the race. But giving evidence this week, he said that “there obviously was room for him to go there”.

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