A tearful Josh Adams has vowed to rebuild his career after he serves a lengthy suspension for a positive drug test.
Sydney’s leading apprentice was outed for seven months on Tuesday after pleading guilty to returning a positive result to an unnamed banned substance.
The hearing was held in camera until Racing NSW stewards issued their penalty, but afterwards 19-year-old Adams voluntarily fronted reporters with the support of Racing NSW’s apprentice jockeys’ mentor Pat Webster.
“I’m guilty of stupidity more than anything for putting myself in a position where I was compromised,” Adams said.
“I didn’t knowingly take anything at the time but I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.”
He said the positive result detected in a urine sample taken at the Gosford race meeting on April 5 stemmed from a night out after the Golden Slipper three days earlier.
“I was in a situation where I wasn’t with people I would usually associate with, people not in racing,” he said.
“The last concluding part of the night is a bit of a blur, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure what happened.”
Adams was joined in the inquiry by Webster and new master Gerald Ryan who took over his indentures from Hawkesbury trainer Garry Frazer in mid-April.
Webster said Adams had offered to try to help other young riders who might find themselves similarly compromised.
“Josh has volunteered to be a role model in future, so they can learn from his mistakes,” Webster said.
“That shows how sincere he is. He wants to make something good from something bad.”
Adams is set to win his first Sydney apprentices’ premiership.
The talented rider has a seemingly unassailable 25-win lead over his nearest rival with just two months of the season remaining.
His ban starts after Saturday’s Rosehill meeting where he will ride last-start McKell Cup winner Ironstein in the Listed Winter Cup (2400m).
His suspension will be reduced from seven months to five months as long as he satisfactorily completes counselling.
Under that condition, he can return to trackwork on September 5 and race riding on November 5.
A contrite and emotional Adams said his immediate goals might go unfulfilled but he vowed to rise above the setback.
“I know that when I come back there won’t be a rider in Sydney that will ride better than me,” Adams said.
“I’ll just have to put my goals on hold for a little while.”
Stewards took into consideration Adams’ age, his good record in four years in the industry, his forthright evidence and personal circumstances when considering penalty.
They also pointed to apprentice Jamie Quinnell’s seven-month suspension in 2009 as a precedent.
AAP TURF
