Rossa Ryan's 28-day ban for easing up Sandown mount reduced on appeal - with jockey now free to ride at York's Ebor meeting

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Rossa Ryan will be free to ride at York's Ebor meeting after his 28-day suspension for premature easing at Sandown last month was reduced to ten days at an appeal on Tuesday morning.

The panel decided it was not convinced Thunder Home would necessarily have won if Ryan had continued to ride him out, and would say only that the two-year-old could have won, a crucial distinction which leads to a lesser penalty under the rules.

Ryan had spent much of the three-hour hearing trying to convince the panel that he had not breached the rules at all and should suffer no penalty. "I have never stopped riding my mount," he insisted, an argument that was not accepted.

Ryan's ban is due to begin on August 6 and will now finish comfortably before the Ebor meeting starts 13 days later.

The Arc-winning jockey sought to put the ride in context, telling the panel: "He's an inexperienced two-year-old. I've probably put my horse and all the rest under pressure from a good way out, because of my modest fractions early on."

Watching a replay of the final furlong, he added: "I'm very conscious that this is where I could hit a brick wall. I put my stick down because the horse has given me everything, he's worked incredibly hard.

"With a two-year-old, the biggest thing is about teaching them to become a racehorse. He seems like an honest lad, he's given me everything. I'm still going forward and pushing."

However, Ryan and the BHA's Catherine Daly clashed at length about how to interpret his actions in the final 100 yards. She insisted he "thought it was in the bag" and pointed to words used by Ryan at the raceday inquiry, where he described "that one stride where I've thought about, I had the race won".

The 26-year-old had also told the stewards: "I expected this horse to coast to the line, not a problem" and "there's nobody on this earth who is going to get me".

Thunder Home: caught on the line at GoodwoodCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

But Ryan responded: "Me thinking and me doing are two different things. I may have thought it, but I still pushed my mount out to the line."

He maintained that he had to adjust his weight in the saddle in response to what he was feeling from his tiring mount, saying: "I'm adjusting to keep in rhythm with my horse. When a horse is slowing down, you can't push him any faster than he can go."

He pointed to Thunder Home changing his leading leg as he sensed the approach of Zero Error, who won by a nose. Ryan said that change enabled him to extend with his horse in the final strides, but to no avail.

Panel chair James O'Mahony ruled: "On the balance of probabilities, we prefer the BHA's account and we conclude it is the correct account. That is indicated to us by what we've seen of the video footage, further by what was said in the stewards' inquiry and by what was said today."

At that point in the delivery of the verdict, it appeared Ryan was set to miss a month's racing. But then came a surprise late reprieve in the form of the panel's assessment of the race finish.

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Rossa Ryan banned for 28 days for easing up on beaten mount who traded at 1.01 

Comment: a 28-day ban for Rossa Ryan was absolutely right - and if you disagree you're a part of the problem 

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