SOUMILLON NOT OUT OF THE WOODS JUST YET

By Graham Potter | Monday, November 14, 2022

There has been a new twist in the case of champion jockey Christophe Soumillon who now faces the prospect of having the current two-month suspension he is serving extended for an, as yet, undetermined period of time.

Soumillon was handed the two-month suspension after seemingly unceremoniously elbowing fellow rider Rossa Ryan out of the saddle in late September in a race at Saint Cloud in France.

At the time there was some outrage that the penalty handed down was not more severe.

A remorseful Soumillon accepted his sanction, issued an apology and also compensated the connections of the horse Ryan was riding, covering the expenses involved in bringing the horse from Britain to race in France … and that appeared to be that.

But, in a startling new development, as reported by French racing publication Jour de Galop, the Police des Jeux (a government agency) has contacted France Galop requesting Soumillon current two-month suspension be extended to a maximum of six months or Soumillon’s licence be withdrawn indefinitely.

The ‘Police des Jeux’ is France’s gambling police which oversees the activity of casinos and racetracks.

As reported by Jour De Galop, the Police des Jeux’s letter to France Galop included a reference to the fact that they believed, ‘The fall (of Rossa Ryan) was not accidental, but was caused by Christophe Soumillon’ saying, ‘This behaviour is voluntary and dangerous.’

The contents of that communition also reportedly described Soumillon’s ‘deliberate’ and ‘dangerous’ behaviour as presenting ‘a serious risk to the public order within racing’.

The onus is now on Soumillon to make a formal response to concerns raised by the Police des Jeux.

His submission has to be directed to France Galop who will then pass on Soumillon’ submission to the Police des Jeux who, in turn, will forward it to the French Ministry of the Interior … a very important final step in the process as any licence issued by France Galop must first approved by the French Ministry of the Interior.