Sheikh Fired Cauthen Over Pay Cut, Tabloid Says

Jockey Steve Cauthen didn’t quit British horse racing, he was fired, according to the tabloid Sunday Mirror.

The paper quoted Cauthen as saying he refused to take a cut in wages from Arabian racehorse owner Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum and was shown the door.

“It’s not as if I was asking for anything extra,” Cauthen said. “I talked things over with mom, dad and (Cauthen’s wife) Amy and decided to leave the decision to the Sheikh’s people.

“I’ve since been told they were going to replace me before the ax fell six days ago. It hurts, but that’s life, isn’t it?”

The Sunday Mirror said it talked to Cauthen by telephone during the jockey’s winter break in Walton, Ky.

“I realize everyone is affected by the current recession, but I never thought I would be on the hit list,” he said.

“Every top sportsman has to face the decision to pack up sooner or later. But I would have preferred to be the one to make that choice.”

Cauthen, 32, moved to Britain after winning the Triple Crown on Affirmed in 1978.

He was a champion jockey in Britain in 1984, 1985 and 1987 and rode 188 winners for Sheikh Mohammed over the past two years.