Leandro Henrique, a Brazilian jockey 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 he suffered in a heavy fall. He was 27. The fall came in the second race on the Brazilian Jockey Club’s program at Hipódromo da Gávea in Rio de Janeiro on August 16.
Track medics reached him within moments, and he was rushed to Hospital Miguel Couto. He had been hospitalized since the fall. On Tuesday, August 18, he was transferred to the Humaitá-based Casa de Saúde São José, and he spent his final hours there in intensive care.
Henrique had booted home more than 1,000 winners and was regarded as arguably Brazil’s leading domestic rider. When the accident happened he sat second in the 2026 jockeys’ championship with 15 victories. His death landed hard on a sport where he had become a fixture before most riders finish their apprenticeships.
“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. On August 21 its racing commission closed its inquiry into the fall, penalizing none of the professionals involved and finding no intent during the running. Friends and family came together for a wake at Gávea, the track where he had made his name.
From a Pony School to Gávea
Henrique was born in Pernambuco and got his start around horses at nine, when he enrolled at the Escola de Pôneis, the pony school in Recife. He was riding in races at Hipódromo da Madalena by 14. Soon afterward he moved to Rio de Janeiro, and from there his talent had no ceiling.
He rode his first winner at Gávea on June 7, 2015, aboard Urbanesco for Stud JIFE. The climb after that was rapid. In the 2016/2017 season he claimed the jockey premiership at Brazil’s principal racetrack — the first title won by a member of the country’s jockey academy, and still the only one taken by an apprentice out of the Jockey Club Brasileiro’s Escola de Profissionais do Turfe.
Jockey agent Danilo Aglio had been with him from the beginning and remained an inseparable presence as the big races piled up. Haras Anderson signed him to ride in the colors of the Stabile family, and that job opened the door to the top level. His first Grade 1 came in the Grande Prêmio Cruzeiro do Sul – Derby Brasileiro on Emperor Roderic, a son of Roderic O’Connor bred by Haras Anderson and racing for Stud Pedudu.
Asked which horse he rated the best he partnered, Henrique never wavered: London Moon, by Agnes Gold. The pair won 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. His 1,000th career win, in 2021, came in style on the Argentine-bred Casa Blanca, a son of Roman Ruler, in the Grande Prêmio Henrique de Toledo Lara (G2) for Haras Santa Maria de Araras.
The Celebration That Went Viral
Henrique and his wife, jockey-turned-trainer Victoria Mota, turned a match race at Gávea into the gender reveal for their first child in January 2025. Their daughter, Manoela, arrived midway through that year.
In June 2025 came the Grande Prêmio Brasil (G1), the biggest race in Brazil. Henrique won it aboard Sinsel, a son of Alpha running for Stud Red Rafa — and nearly threw it away. With 50 meters left he stood up in the irons and stretched an arm out to the crowd, oblivious to a rival closing fast up his inside. The photo finish put 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 Mr Esteves and to the owners, Stud Red Rafa. This will never happen again,” Henrique said afterward.
A Last Grade 1 and a Family in Mourning
He kept that promise, and he kept winning. Haras Santa Maria de Araras had recently retained him, and in August 2026 he partnered the Hofburg-sired Passion Of Detail to win the Grande Prêmio Margarida Polak Lara – Taça de Prata (G1) at Gávea. It proved the final major success of a career that produced 11 wins at top level.
Mota is a rider of international standing in her own right, having finished ahead of jockeys including Britain’s Ryan Moore in the 2024 International Jockeys’ Challenge in Riyadh. She survives him along with 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.
Nearly all of it unfolded at Gávea, the same track where jockey Frankie Dettori had his final ever ride. A generation of Brazilian racing fans will now remember it as the place where a boy from Recife arrived at 14 and became one of its defining figures.