let's start with soumillon.

​When Christophe Soumillon was given a lengthy ban by the Sandown stewards after the Eclipse, I thought him harshly done by. In fact, during that day the sentiments he displayed took me from being indifferent to him to admiring him. He became, in my eyes, one of the good guys.
So, I was amazed, perhaps even shocked, by his assault on Rossa Ryan at Saint Cloud. Whether it was an accidental assault or deliberate remains undecided, at least in my reading of the incident. The Racing Post continue to use the phrase ‘flying elbow’ to describe how Rossa Ryan became unseated from his horse during the race, yet if that ‘flying elbow’ had occurred outside of the sporting arena, in a supermarket, for instance, or in a pub, I am pretty sure on the charge sheet you find the word assault used to describe the incident.
On first hearing of his punishment by the Saint Cloud stewards, I again thought Soumillon hard done by. Yes, I know, the consequences of that ‘flying elbow’ could have turned out to be far worse for Ryan than a few bruises. He might easily have broken his neck. And Soumillon in the days since has pleaded contrition, apologised and accepted his punishment, a punishment that has become far more severe with the severing of his lucrative association with the Aga Khan’s string of horses. For Soumillon, it is now a case of ‘doing his time’ and then ‘building bridges’.
From what I have read, Soumillon has not suggested his ‘flying elbow’ was accidental and was in fact a deliberate act to keep Rossa Ryan’s mount from denying him to move forward. Now I have had time to process the ramifications of the incident and the two-month suspension, I believe Soumillon has got off rather lightly. A two-month suspension at the end of the season, though inconvenient to Soumillon as he will miss big-race engagements around the world, notably the Breeders and Japan Cup, is more of an opportunity for him to holiday, to spend more time with his family and at his stud farm. And because of French rules, he also can continue riding until the 14th of October. 
Soumillon is a very wealthy man, the humiliation and consequences of his impulsive behaviour will hit him far harder than a dent to his potential earnings at the backend of a season. I feel now that the punishment should be considered along the lines of ‘what if Rossa Ryan had been hospitalised with broken bones’. Oisin Murphy, for example, was given a suspension lasting the duration of a whole season and his crime did not involve assaulting a fellow jockey.
Personally, I believe Christophe Soumillon should have received a 12-month suspension of his licence, with a fine commensurate to compensating the connections of Rossa Ryan’s mount as through no fault of theirs they were denied a sporting chance of winning the race.
Christophe Soumillon is undoubtedly a brilliant jockey, that though does not justify any lofty thoughts that he might harbour be above the law. A sportsman at the top of his league has a duty of care to the reputation of both his sport and his profession. He has failed himself and the sport on all counts.

THE SANCTUARY OF THE WEIGHING ROOM.
More evidence has come to light to suggest Bryony Frost’s was correct in her testimony at the inquiry into her mistreatment at the hands of Robbie Dunne and that her fellow jockeys’ attestation that the weighing room was a welcoming and loving community was far from the truth.
In an article in the Racing Post, Paul Hanigan described the weighing room ‘as at times a toxic environment’ and recently Hayley Turner had cause to report John Egan to the stewards accusing him of ‘threatening and abusive language’ and he was subsequently banned for ten-days after being found guilty of ‘improper conduct’.
The complaint of senior jockeys is that young jockeys are too cocky and do not serve up the respect they believe is their due. The young upstarts also do not take any notice of any advice offered to them, especially when it comes to what I’ll term ‘race protocol’.
I’m not sure John Egan has made himself any more popular with his fellows by suggesting the depth of talent in the professional ranks is far lower than when he started out as a jockey. And he did not set a good example to the young upstarts riding at Chester that day by mouthing-off to Hayley Turner in front of them, impressionable young scallywags that they are.
Odd, isn’t it, that the most popular female jockey riding on the flat received the same treatment from a senior jockey as the most popular female over jumps received from a senior jockey. Coincidence, do you think?
If jockeys cannot be relied upon to police social standards in the weighing room perhaps it is time for an outside influence to lay down protocols, especially when it comes to the injudicious riding offences of young upstarts. Perhaps instead of senior jockeys confronting the offending young upstart a phone call should be made to the young upstart’s jockey coach and have the problem dealt with in a more civil manner?