One of the world’s top jockeys has been hit with a two-month ban after elbowing a fellow rider off his horse in the middle of a race in Paris on Friday (Saturday NZT).
Belgian Christophe Soumillon – who has won the prestigious Critérium International four times – was riding his mount, Syros, in a juvenile contest over a mile at Saint-Cloud when he barged Irishman Rossa Ryan off Captain Wierzba as they jostled for position.
Ryan somehow emerged unscathed despite turning three somersaults and hitting the turf at a dangerous angle. He was pictured walking into a medical van shortly after the incident.
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Soumillon went on to finish in second place only to be disqualified by the race stewards a few minutes later.
The Belgian was swiftly handed a 60-day suspension for his moment of madness but will still be allowed to race over the weekend – including aboard Vadeni in the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday – as his ban begins on October 14.
He later apologised for his aggressive manoeuvre, saying he “made a mistake”.
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Rossa Ryan is sent flying off his horse after being shoved by rival Christophe Soumillon in Paris.
“I felt a little bit of pressure from Rossa on my outside while trying to keep a better position behind Ryan [Moore, on eventual winner Continuous],” Soumillon told broadcaster Sky Sports.
“I was just behind Ryan at the time and I put my elbow against him just to make him understand I wasn’t going to the inside. Unfortunately, when I asked my horse to stay there and go a little bit to the right I have pushed him for a stride or two and he fell off,” he added.
“Straight away I knew I made a mistake and I’m terribly sad about what happened because I hate to see stuff like this. When you are doing that, it is even more terrible, so I really want to apologise to everyone, all involved with the horse.”
Soumillon has seen Rossa since the unsavoury incident and said the Irishman was “fine” and “I’m happy about that”.
“As for all the people who love racing, it was not a nice act from my side and I’m terribly sorry and want to apologise for what happened today.”
Soumillon accepted his punishment and rued that his season was now over because of one “terrible decision”.
“I didn’t do it on purpose to make him fall off his horse, I was just trying to keep my position, but maybe I did it with a bit of power and it was a misjudgement from my side,” he said.
“I don’t really understand what happened in that moment, it went so fast, but it is a terrible thing I did. I know a lot of people will not excuse me and I feel very bad at the moment for that.”
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