Champion jockey who served 6-month cocaine ban gets second chance in £400k race
A champion apprentice who was banned for taking cocaine has a chance to seal his comeback and land the biggest win of his career.
Marco Ghiani, originally from Sardinia, was one of the most promising riders in Britain when he clinched his title in 2021 after riding 101 winners and a Royal Ascot success for Godolphin.
His world came crashing down to earth the following summer when he tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine.
He admitted taking the drug, firstly on holiday in Italy, then in England when he took “three or four lines of cocaine” two days before testing positive.
He told a disciplinary panel that he was relieved he had been caught before cocaine use became an addiction.
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Since his return earlier this year, 24-year-old father-of-two Ghiani has been rebuilding his career and will ride supplementary entry Mill Stream in the Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.
Ghiani recorded his biggest win of the year on the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained sprinter in a Group 3 race in France last month, a reward he believes is down to his new mindset
“I knew it was going to be a six-month ban that I was going to get but I got my head around that,” he said. “It was a stupid mistake, and I was in the wrong environment.
“I think in those six months I learned a lot more about discipline and self-control. In a race, maybe before I would let myself follow the emotions, but now I study things before making my moves, so I think in that sense it has made me a better jockey.
“Everyone was really supportive, and no one ran off, which was good, I guess. I’ve just pulled my sleeves up to go and get what I wanted again.
“It would mean a lot to get another Group winner for Mr (Peter) Harris (owner) as he has supported me and given me a great opportunity to come back at the top table.
“I would be very happy to ride another Group winner for him, and Jane, and for all her staff for all of the effort they have put in.”
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