April 6 (Reuters) - What should have been a comfortable victory for Callum Pritchard at Plumpton on Sunday turned into a 12-day ban after the jockey misjudged the winning post and slowed his mount down too soon.
Pritchard, riding Sweet Nightingale in the Super Nigel Boardman Novices' Handicap Chase, was leading by several lengths but slowed his horse prematurely and was passed by other riders.
He finished third in the four-horse race.
British Horseracing Authority stewards said the 25-year-old had appeared to mistake the race distance.
"Having established a reasonable lead on the run to the line with a circuit to race, he prematurely eased and thereafter only commenced the race having passed the winning post with a circuit to run," they said.
"After being interviewed and shown recordings of the incident, the rider was suspended for 12 days."
Pritchard is among the contenders for the conditional jockey championship and has won 39 races this season.
Sunday's race was won by Milan Milos, ridden by Conor O'Farrell.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
