Soumillon has Royal Ascot ban reduced to five days on appeal

Christophe Soumillon has been partially successful in his appeal against the eight-day suspension handed out by the stewards at Royal Ascot following his ride on Puerto Rico in the St James’s Palace Stakes, having it reduced to five.

An independent disciplinary panel chaired by Clement Goldstone KC and including Aidan Coleman and Grace Cheng sat last week and reconvened for final submissions and deliberations on Thursday morning.

The Belgian was riding one of two Aidan O’Brien-trained runners in the Group One event alongside eventual runner-up Gstaad, who was ridden by Ryan Moore. Puerto Rico was prominent through the early stages before ultimately finishing last of the six starters.

Puerto Rico drifted left off the bend, causing some interference to Power Blue, who was fourth, and the on-course officials held an inquiry to consider whether Soumillon had ridden “in a manner to benefit Gstaad”.

After viewing recordings and hearing evidence, including interviewing O’Brien by telephone, the stewards on the day suspended Soumillon for eight days, ruling he had ridden his mount “in such a way that intended to give an advantage to another horse from the same stable, in that he moved his mount away from the rail thereby ensuring a clear run for Gstaad on his inside”.