ITV pundit Mick Fitzgerald was forced to apologise for bad language before the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday afternoon. Chaotic moments were aired moments before the start of the race, when jockeys rode out towards the first hurdle to give their horses a look.
The pressure was on Nico de Boinville as the rider of red-hot favourite Jonbon, and the horse was already looking a little edgy before the race began. De Boinville was not best pleased when rival jockey JJ Slevin seemed to lose his bearings on Solness and clatter into a barrier.
Nearby ITV microphones picked up De Boinville saying: “JJ, what the heck are you doing, man?” He appeared to add: “Walk the hell away! F***’s sake.”
As De Boinville approached Fitzgerald at the barrier, he again said: “What the f*** is he doing?!” Realising that he was on live TV, De Boinville immediately said sorry and offered a hand of apology.
Fitzgerald followed suit, saying: “Sorry about the language. Jonbon just getting a little bit warm down here. If anything was going to set him off, that would. Nico has just pulled the ear plugs out, he’ll chuck them on the ground, and hopefully it’ll be plain sailing.”
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