Brazilian jockey Leandro Henrique, a rider who climbed from a children’s pony school in Recife to the front rank of his country’s sport, died in the early hours of August 19, 2026, from injuries suffered in a heavy fall during the second race of the Jockey Club Brasileiro’s program at Hipódromo da Gávea in Rio de Janeiro on August 16. He was 27.
Henrique had been hospitalized since the fall. Track medics reached him within moments and he was rushed to Hospital Miguel Couto. Tuesday brought a transfer to the Humaitá-based Casa de Saúde São José, and it was there, in intensive care, that his final hours were spent.
The loss landed hard on a sport where he had become a fixture before most riders finish their apprenticeships. Henrique had booted home more than 1,000 winners and sat second in the 2026 jockeys’ championship with 15 victories at the time of the accident. He was regarded as arguably Brazil’s leading domestic rider.
“Leandro leaves behind a remarkable legacy in Brazilian horse racing and a profound void among family, friends, professionals, and admirers of the sport,” the Brazilian Jockey Club said in a statement.
From Pony School to Gávea
Born in Pernambuco, Henrique started around horses at nine, enrolling at the Escola de Pôneis, the pony school in Recife. By 14 he was riding in races at Hipódromo da Madalena, and soon afterward he made the move to Rio de Janeiro, where the ceiling on his talent disappeared.
His first winner came at Gávea on June 7, 2015, aboard Urbanesco for Stud JIFE. What followed was rapid. In the 2016/2017 season, aged just 16, he took the jockey premiership at Brazil’s principal racetrack — the first time a member of the country’s jockey academy had won the title, and the only time an apprentice from the Jockey Club Brasileiro’s Escola de Profissionais do Turfe has managed it.
Jockey agent Danilo Aglio was beside him from the start, an inseparable presence through a career that filled up quickly with major races. His signing by Haras Anderson, carrying the colors of the Stabile family, opened the door to the top level. Henrique landed his first Grade 1 aboard Emperor Roderic, a son of Roderic O’Connor bred by Haras Anderson and racing for Stud Pedudu, in the Grande Prêmio Cruzeiro do Sul – Derby Brasileiro.
Asked which horse he rated the best he partnered, Henrique never wavered: London Moon, by Agnes Gold. Their partnership delivered the ABCPCC’s Copa Precocidade e Velocidade along with a trio of Group 1 prizes — the Grande Prêmio Jockey Club Brasileiro, the Grande Prêmio Estado do Rio de Janeiro and the Grande Prêmio Presidente da República. In 2021 he reached his 1,000th career win in style, taking the Grande Prêmio Henrique de Toledo Lara (G2) on the Argentine-bred Casa Blanca, a son of Roman Ruler, for Haras Santa Maria de Araras.
A Celebration That Went Viral
In January 2025, Henrique and his wife, jockey-turned-trainer Victoria Mota, used a match race at Gávea to reveal the gender of their first child. Their daughter, Manoela, arrived midway through that year.
Then came June 2025 and the Grande Prêmio Brasil (G1), the biggest race in Brazil. Aboard Sinsel, a son of Alpha running for Stud Red Rafa, Henrique won it — and nearly threw it away. Fifty meters from the line he stood up in the irons to celebrate, arm outstretched to the crowd, oblivious to a rival closing fast up his inside. The photo finish showed Sinsel’s nose down first, ahead of runner-up Valparaiso. The clip circled the world; the stewards were less charmed, and Henrique was banned 59 days and fined.
“I want to apologise to the trainer and the owners — this will never happen again,” Henrique said afterward.
A Last Grade 1 and a Family in Mourning
He kept his promise and kept winning. Recently retained by Haras Santa Maria de Araras, Henrique partnered the Hofburg-sired Passion Of Detail to win the Grande Prêmio Margarida Polak Lara – Taça de Prata (G1) at Gávea in August 2026. It proved the final major success of a career that produced 11 wins at top level.
He leaves Mota, herself a rider of international standing who finished ahead of jockeys including Britain’s Ryan Moore in the 2024 International Jockeys’ Challenge in Riyadh, and Manoela, whose name is also rendered Manuela in some accounts. The Brazilian Jockey Club, in mourning, extended its condolences to Victoria, Manoela and Henrique’s family and friends.
Gávea, the stage for nearly all of it, is also the track where jockey Frankie Dettori had his final ever ride. For a generation of Brazilian racing fans, it will now be remembered as the place where a boy from Recife arrived at 14 and became one of its defining figures.