A TOP jockey has been jailed for a string of armed robberies – after his tattoos gave him away in CCTV footage.
Australian rider Luke Tarrant won more than £1million when steering Le Chef to victory in the 2015 Magic Millions 2YO Classic, one of the country’s biggest races for young horses.
The 32-year-old has over 500 career wins but has seen his career spiral after previously being banned for six months for forging a medical document to say he was clean of drugs.
Appearing in a Sunshine Coast court via video link, Tarrant pleaded guilty to three counts of armed robbery while in possession of a syringe.
He robbed the same takeaway store twice, making off with about £100 each time.
Tarrant also hit a 7-11 convenience shop, nicking £300 and confectionary.
The raids took place between December last year and January this year.
Judge Brad Farr told the court Tarrent told the 7-11 shop worker: “Don’t make me jump over the counter – just give me the money.”
Wearing a ‘full face covering, gloves and long clothing’ during each robbery, police initially had no leads on the suspect.
But it was not until a chance encounter in an unrelated street check that cops noticed his distinct tattoos matched the ones on CCTV.
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A search of his home in January revealed clothing matching those seen in the robberies.
It was then the jockey – who had previous criminal history in New South Wales and Queensland mostly related to drug offending – confessed, the court was told.
In his defence, Tarrant’s solicitor David Crews said he had been using meth to control his weight, something he claimed was ‘common’ among jockeys.
The jockey’s mum died when he was just 18 and Crews said while Tarrant could not explain his offending he was using drugs and alcohol as ‘he was disappointed in himself for being suspended’.
The court heard Tarrant hoped to ‘get back into racing at some point in the future’.
Judge Farr conceded the robberies were ‘out of character’ but represented a ‘significant escalation in seriousness’.
He said Tarrant displayed clear premeditation and chose ‘vulnerable targets’, one of whom has been left with ‘persisting anxiety’.
A sentence of four-and-a-half years was handed down with Tarrant’s 215 days in custody counting as time served.
He will be eligible for parole in July next year.