Christophe Soumillon, one of the world's greatest jockeys and rider of Vadeni in Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, was banned for 60 days on Saturday after an extraordinary mid-race incident at Saint-Cloud when he elbowed fellow jockey Rossa Ryan off his horse.
Soumillon, a two-time winner of the Arc, was riding Syros in a six-runner Group Three race for two-year-olds over a mile. He was at the back of the field while on his outside Ryan, riding Ralph Beckett's Captain Wierzba, appeared to be minding his own business when, five furlongs out, Soumillon looked to steer his mount toward Ryan's, leaned over and elbowed the British-based jockey.
Caught by surprise, Ryan lost his balance and went out what is proverbially known as the "side door", cartwheeling along the ground several times before coming to a halt. It was his good fortune coming off the horse at 35mph that the ground was very soft and he was able to walk away unhurt.
Syros went on to finish second but the stewards disqualified him and banned Soumillon for two months, although he is able to ride this weekend, the biggest in the French racing calendar, at Longchamp as bans do not start for 14 days after they have been incurred. He will, however, miss potential big paydays such as British Champions Day, the Breeders' Cup, and the Japan Cup.