World-renowned jockey Christophe Soumillon has chosen Kenilworth Racecourse in the southern tip of Africa to return to the saddle after a 60-day ban following an infamous incident in France in which he dislodged his fellow jockey mid-race.
Soumillon arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday to fulfill his engagement with trainer Eric Sands’ six-year-old Golden Ducat in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate on Saturday.
His Belgian good friend and teammate, Bernard Fayd’Herbe, said on the Cape Racing Twitter feed that Soumillon had been “skiing and getting fit” in Europe when he was two months out of the world race.
The presence of such a well-known racing figure added a layer of luster to the highly anticipated event. The venerable race – the Queen’s Plate for the past 70 years, but now recognizing Britain’s new king – is South Africa’s top mile contest and has been won by great racehorses over the years.
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The excitement for the 2023 race has been heightened by the participation of the wonder colt Charles Dickens, from the Candice Bass-Robinson yard, whose sensational performance in the six-race unbeaten career has evoked memories of Sea Cottage and Horse Chestnut.
Charles Dickens, to be ridden by local ace Aldo Domeyer, is quoted at 11-20 in the ante-post market, while Golden Ducat, a two-time Grade 1 winner, is the 16-1 fourth favourite.
Christophe Soumillon
Soumillon has ridden at the highest level for many years and his gongs include the Prix de la Arc de Triomphe, the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the Japan Cup and the King George. But he experienced madness at Saint-Cloud on September 30 when riding a horse called Syros in the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon. At the end of the straight, he rammed Irish jockey Rossa Ryan, who fell to the turf at 60km/h.
Ryan was not injured, but the television audience was shocked and outraged – as well as the local stipes, which eliminated Syros, who was the runner-up, because of Soumillon’s actions.
The guilty man immediately apologized and vowed to pay all the costs of visiting the Irish stable. Ryan apologized, but the authorities did not and gave Soumillon a 60-day “vacation.”
The judgment is not over yet. The Aga Khan, one of the world’s most famous racehorse owners, has been ripping off his lucrative jockey ranks since 2014.
As the ban was not immediately enforced, Soumillon was allowed to ride the Aga Khan’s horse for the next few days – winning the pair at the Saint-Cloud meeting and then finishing second in the famous green and red silks at Vadeni on board. Arc two days later.
Soumillon’s last ride before his retrenchment was at Keenelend in the US for top Irish trainer Aiden O’Brien – finishing third in the Grade 1 mile race.
‘Totally unacceptable’
The upset jockey told reporters: “It was a terrible incident… I made a mistake and I’m angry with the owner and my trainer as well… it’s unacceptable, so I have to suffer the consequences…
Phlegmatic Ryan told Race Post: “I just crashed and lost my balance. This is just one of the things that happened.