IT was a most inauspicious start to Christophe Lemaire’s new career in Japan.

His recently acquired license as a fully-fledged full-time jockey in the JRA commenced on March 1st but, before he even arrived at the weigh-room, he was handed an eight-day suspension by the stewards.

The offence was not interference, reckless riding or indeed any of the common jockey transgressions; it was simply sending a tweet on the evening before the races. ‘Careless tweeting’ is how a local wag described it.

The JRA rules are very strict in relations to jockeys and they are obliged to go in a jockeys’ lock-up (commonly known in Japan as jockey quarantine) from the evening before racing. All communications with the outside world are forbidden though the possession of a mobile phone and laptop computer is allowed as long as there is no outward communication.

In fairness to Lemaire, there were perhaps some extenuating circumstances. His offence was not a tweet but a retweet. His retweet did not discuss in any way the upcoming racing but referred to the tragic death (suicide) the previous day of popular jockey Hiroki Goto.

It was a well-meaning tweet and appreciated by Japanese racing fans who were united in mourning the 40-year-old Goto who had scored more than 1,500 wins in his career. However, in the JRA, the rules are the rules and Lemaire was sent from the track even before the horses had arrived in the paddock for the first race.

In fairness to the JRA, Lemaire should have known better. He has been riding in Japan on a temporary basis (a maximum of three months in any one calendar year) since 2002 and the Frenchman has already 245 wins to his name in the Land of the Rising Sun including 18 group race successes, five of which were at Group 1 level. And the rules regarding social media are extensively covered in the jockeys’ handbook.

Because the JRA race only at weekends, his eight-day ban effectively rules him out of racing for four weeks. He was due to ride Derby-winner One And Only in the Dubai Sheema Classic but is now illegible. Christian Demuro, who has been a regular visitor to Japan in recent years, will profit from Lemaire’s misfortune and will partner the son of Heart’s Cry in the Dubai showpiece.