Field Of Gold ride up for grabs in Sussex as Juddmonte say 'no decision' made after Colin Keane is handed 14-day suspension

The prized opportunity to partner Field Of Gold in this month's Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes is up for grabs after Juddmonte's retained rider Colin Keane was handed a 14-day whip ban on Tuesday.

Keane, who said in an interview with the Racing Post that he had "never sat on one as good" as Field Of Gold, will miss the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the entirety of Glorious Goodwood after being handed the suspension from July 22 to August 4.

The 30-year-old was adjudged by the committee to have used his whip twice above the permitted level of six strikes when winning on Windlord in the Listed Gala Stakes at Sandown last Friday, with the penalty doubled due to the contest in which he committed the offence being a Class 1 race. Keane was also fined £350.

Field Of Gold is the 4-7 favourite to win the Sussex with most bookmakers, ahead of top older miler Rosallion at 4-1 for Richard Hannon. Aidan O'Brien-trained three-year-olds The Lion In Winter and Henri Matisse are next best in the market, followed by Harry Eustace's Queen Anne winner Docklands.

Barry Mahon, Juddmonte's general manager for Europe, said "no decision" had been made over Field Of Gold's replacement rider in the Sussex in the aftermath of Keane's ban being announced.

Speaking at Sandown on Saturday about potentially being suspended, Keane said: "I can't blame anyone bar myself. It's a learning curve. We're used to eight at home in Ireland and I can't tell you the last time I was done for the stick, but they're the rules.

"We know six is the amount over here, but when I was in a ding-dong battle it just went out of my head unfortunately."

Who could step in for Keane now he is banned?

Keane was appointed as retained rider for the Abdullah family's Juddmonte operation on June 9, having cemented his reputation with the owners by partnering Field Of Gold to a runaway victory in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the end of May.

However, with the rider sidelined for Glorious Goodwood, as well as the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes meeting at Ascot, the Juddmonte rides are now up for grabs.

• Watch: who could step in for Colin Keane and ride Field Of Gold? Our expert's view

The most frequently used rider by the owners behind Keane this season is four-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who continued to be employed by them during the police investigation into a car accident in April. Last week, Murphy pleaded guilty to drink driving and was fined £70,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.

He has ridden five winners for Juddmonte this season from just 11 rides, including victory in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes on Lead Artist.

Rossa Ryan, who won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Juddmonte's Bluestocking last year, has ridden nine times for the owners this season, the same number as Kieran Shoemark. However, whether Shoemark would return to ride Field Of Gold having been demoted from his position as principal jockey to the colt's trainers John and Thady Gosden is questionable.

William Buick is another intriguing candidate who has been floated in media circles in recent days. With last year's winner Notable Speech bound for the July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday, Godolphin's Sussex Stakes hand looks limited. Ruling Court is the other entry for the operation, but his trainer Charlie Appleby indicated in the aftermath of the Coral-Eclipse that he would be targeted at Deauville next month.

Buick would potentially be without a ride in one of the biggest races of the British Flat season and, given his past association with the Gosden stable, could be well placed to pick up the spare they all want. 

Buick is 3-21 in Britain for Juddmonte in the last five years, but is 7-27 for the Gosden stable this year, including high-profile wins on Ombudsman and Trawlerman at Royal Ascot last month.

Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes (3.05 Goodwood, July 30)
Coral: 4-7 Field Of Gold, 4 Rosallion, 6 The Lion In Winter, 10 Henri Matisse, 12 Docklands, 16 bar.

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