The special incident happened during a race at Newbury racecourse in England at the weekend. William Buick and the horse Modern Games came up at great speed on the side of the horse Chindit. Chindit, with jockey Pat Dobbs on his back, steered his head to the left and lunged for the Buick. The TV footage showed that he received a small jab from the Buick’s left hand. Buick was able to push the rival away and finished several horse’s heads ahead of the rest. – He got hold of me. It is very unusual, I have never experienced anything like it, William Buick tells news. STARS: William Buick celebrates a victory together with Modern Games. The picture is from another race. Photo: Darron Cummings / AP Being compared to Luis Suárez According to the website with the appropriate name Bloodhorse, Buick had a bloody left hand during the interview after the race. The picture shows that the Norwegian has suffered a wound after the incident on the run. He says to news that it is a small burn. – We drive horses, not machines. They have a competitive instinct. The horse didn’t like that we came by and tried to bite, says Buick. This led galloping writer Stephen R Power to compare the horse with the footballer Luis Suárez, who has bitten opponents several times. World Cup IN BITING: During the football World Cup in 2014, Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini (left) was bitten by Luis Suárez (right). The Uruguayan had great pain in his teeth. Photo: DANIEL GARCIA / AFP – I saw it, it was funny, says Buick and laughs. The Norwegian says that he and rival rider Pat Dobbs have laughed about the situation afterwards. – It was good to laugh about it afterwards. Everything went well, and it was a fair result where the best horse won, he says with satisfaction. Riding for millions Thomas Gjelsaas is managing director of Øvrevoll Galopp, and chuckles when he sees the clip of the biting horse. – I’ve never seen that before, but it probably looks worse than it is, says Gjelsaas to news. – It’s probably something the horse does in affect, it doesn’t look like there’s anything malicious in it, says Gjelsaas. Now the Norwegian jockey faces a very important period. In the next few weeks, there are several major races on the programme. Saturday 3 June is the Epsom Derby. – It is the most important race in galloping and I have the favourite. He has been spot-free so far this season, says Buick. Royal Ascot week, the biggest galloping festival in the world, is on the program from 20 to 24 June. This year, the race has a juicy prize pool of 9.52 million pounds. That is just under NOK 130 million at today’s exchange rate. In addition, Norwegian Buick is fighting to become English “champion” for the second year in a row. That title goes to the jockey who wins the most gallop races. Last year he won 201 races and became “champion”. Two weeks into the season this year, he has the lead with 16 victories, one of those with biting opponents. WATER: William Buick poses with the trophy as proof that he was “champion” in 2022. Photo: GLYN KIRK / AFP
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