Leandro Henrique, the Brazilian jockey who rose from a children’s pony school in Recife to the top 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 on the Brazilian Jockey Club’s program at Hipódromo da Gávea in Rio de Janeiro on August 16. He was 27.
Track medics got to him within moments and he was rushed to Hospital Miguel Couto, where he remained hospitalized. On Tuesday, August 18, he was transferred to the Humaitá-based Casa de Saúde São José, and his final hours were spent there in intensive care.
His death hit hard in a sport where he had become a fixture before most riders finish their apprenticeships. Henrique had booted home more than 1,000 winners, and at the time of the accident he sat second in the 2026 jockeys’ championship with 15 victories. He was regarded as arguably the country’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. On August 21 the club’s racing commission closed its inquiry into the fall, finding no intent during the running and penalizing none of the professionals involved. Friends and family gathered for a wake at Gávea, the track where he had made his name.
From Pony School to Gávea
Born in Pernambuco, Henrique first got 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, and soon afterward moved to Rio de Janeiro, where the ceiling on his talent disappeared.
Urbanesco gave him his first winner, at Gávea on June 7, 2015, for Stud JIFE. The climb after that was rapid. He took the jockey premiership at Brazil’s principal racetrack in the 2016/2017 season — the first title won by a member of the country’s jockey academy, and still the only one an apprentice from the Jockey Club Brasileiro’s Escola de Profissionais do Turfe has managed.
Jockey agent Danilo Aglio was beside him from the start and stayed an inseparable presence as the big races piled up. Signing with Haras Anderson, and 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 was the best he partnered, Henrique never wavered: London Moon, by Agnes Gold. The pair took 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 arrived in style in 2021, in 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
Henrique and his wife, jockey-turned-trainer Victoria Mota, used a match race at Gávea in January 2025 to reveal the gender of their first child. Their daughter, Manoela, arrived midway through that year.
He won the Grande Prêmio Brasil (G1), the biggest race in Brazil, in June 2025, riding Sinsel, a son of Alpha running for Stud Red Rafa — and he nearly threw it away. With 50 meters to run 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 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 his promise, and he kept winning. Recently retained by Haras Santa Maria de Araras, Henrique rode the Hofburg-sired Passion Of Detail to victory in 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.
Mota survives him — a rider of international standing herself, she finished ahead of jockeys including Britain’s Ryan Moore in the 2024 International Jockeys’ Challenge in Riyadh — as does 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 played out at Gávea, which is also where jockey Frankie Dettori had his final ever ride. For a generation of Brazilian racing fans, the track will now be remembered as the place where a boy from Recife arrived at 14 and became one of its defining figures.