A champion jockey’s ex-wife has appeared in court after being charged with assaulting him last month.
Victoria de Sousa, 39, was accused of wounding Silvestre de Sousa, 44, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in an alleged assault that occurred on July 27 – with Mr de Sousa winning a race at Yarmouth just one day later.
Mrs de Sousa, a mother-of-three was due to be arraigned in a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday, only for Judge Andrew Hurst to adjourn the case until September 12.
That decision came after the jockey’s ex-wife’s counsel, Ella Ripper, said her client had failed to decide on a plea.
Judge Hurst said: ‘I am concerned we have got to today, almost a month after Mrs de Sousa’s appearance at Ipswich, and effectively she is unclear about what her plea is. We need to get a grip on this case.’
The court heard Mrs de Sousa was wearing an electronic ankle tag as part of her conditional bail.
A champion jockey’s ex-wife has appeared in court after being charged with assaulting him last month
Victoria de Sousa, 39, (right) was accused of wounding Silvestre de Sousa, 44, (left) on July 27
An application was made for the tag to be removed – as Mrs de Sousa claimed it to be costing her £5,000 a month in riding fees because she was finding it difficult to wear boots.
Ms Ripper said: ‘She has specific riding boots she has to wear and has to ride horses before the children she teaches ride them.
‘Recently she had a fall because she was wearing ankle boots. The tag is preventing her doing her job properly and she is losing about £5,000 a month as a result of being electronically tagged.’
However, the request was denied.
Mr De Sousa is one of the most prominent jockeys currently competing in professional horse racing – having earnt £90,000 riding a Royal Ascot winner earlier this year when his horse My Cloud won the Royal Hunt Cup.
He is a multiple Group 1-winning rider, his most recent victory coming in October when he netted 650,000 after Charyn won at Ascot.