Rossa Ryan handed 28-day ban after Sandown finish

Multiple Group 1-winning jockey Rossa Ryan has been handed a 28-day suspension after stewards ruled he failed to ride Thunder Home out to the finish in Thursday’s 7f maiden at Sandown.

Ryan looked to have the James Horton-trained colt in complete control after making all the running and opening up a clear advantage inside the final furlong. However, he appeared to ease his mount close to the line before Jamie Spencer produced Zero Error with a late surge, snatching victory by a nose.

Following an inquiry, stewards concluded that Ryan had not taken all reasonable and permissible measures to secure the best possible finishing position for his horse.

The stewards’ report read: “Rossa Ryan, the rider of Thunder Home, had appeared to stop riding on the run to the line before recommencing his ride in the final strides to finish second, beaten by a nose.

“After being interviewed and shown recordings of the incident, Ryan was suspended for 28 days for failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to obtain the best possible placing on a horse that would have finished first.”

The suspension will run from August 6 until September 2, meaning Ryan will miss the prestigious Ebor Festival at York during a crucial stage of the Flat season.

The timing is a significant setback for the rider, who currently sits third in the jockeys’ championship with 58 winners after recently outlining his ambition to challenge Billy Loughnane and Oisin Murphy for the title.

Ryan was already due to miss Glorious Goodwood after receiving a separate six-day suspension for exceeding the permitted whip use aboard Tabletalk in the Group 3 Silver Cup at York earlier this month. That ban runs from July 28 to August 2.

The dramatic finish also caught the attention of in-running betting markets, with Thunder Home matched as low as 1.01 before being caught on the line, while Zero Error traded at odds of 280 during the race.

Spencer told Racing TV: “I rode him in work maybe ten days ago and he hasn’t been on grass. We were hoping he’d run a nice race, but I was pleasantly surprised when I whipped him out at the two-pole how he quickened and sustained his run through the line.

“He’s a promising colt and he’s out of a Galileo mare, so he should stay a mile well. He was a bit green going down, but you love it when they’re like that and they learn on the job. What he did from the two-pole right through the winning post, you’d have to be very pleased with.”

The Sandown maiden has developed a reputation for producing top-class performers in recent years, with both Kameko and Ruling Court going on to win the 2,000 Guineas after landing the same contest. Zero Error also boasts an eye-catching pedigree, being out of a half-sister to 2014 Coral-Eclipse winner Mukhadram.

Ryan’s suspension is one of the most severe handed to a Flat jockey this season. Earlier this year, Kieran O’Neil received a 28-day ban after multiple whip rule breaches, forcing him to miss both the Derby and Royal Ascot. Over jumps, conditional rider Patrick O’Brien was also suspended for 28 days following whip offences at Aintree, while Seamie Heffernan served a 24-day ban after exceeding the whip limit when winning the Jersey Stakes aboard Thesecretadversary.