Frankie Dettori to miss Coral-Eclipse after failing to overturn nine-day careless riding ban

A spirited attempt to wipe out the nine-day interference suspension given to Frankie Dettori at Royal Ascot last week came to nothing when a disciplinary panel ruled on Thursday that he had indeed been guilty of careless riding aboard Saga in the early stages of the Wolferton Stakes.

That lapse may have cost the retiring 52-year-old a Group 1, as he will now miss the ride on Emily Upjohn in the Coral-Eclipse on Saturday week, for which the filly is odds-on with several firms.

Dettori's solicitor Rory Mac Neice sought to persuade the panel that interference caused to Cadillac, ridden by James McDonald, was accidental. "The events at the start of this race took place over very few seconds with horses travelling at speed and there was a lot going on," he said. "Much of what happened was outside Mr Dettori's control and the steps he took [to avoid interference] were reasonable."

Describing the race, Dettori expressed surprise that McDonald, a hugely successful jockey in Australia, would try to move up his inside on the downhill run to Swinley Bottom. McDonald had been drawn in four, immediately to Dettori's left, but switched around behind him soon after the stalls opened.

Dettori pointed out that a false rail was in place, forcing runners to go wider than the usual line around the bottom bend. "If you're drawn on the inside, it's almost impossible to stick on the fence because the false rail is going to push you out. So, in general, we always try to stay a little bit out.

"As a person who rode Ascot for 35 years, I was very surprised someone would angle inside, directly against the rail, because the false rail is coming towards us."

James McDonald: suffered interference on his mount Cadillac, deemed accidental by Dettori's solicitor Rory Mac NeiceCredit: Edward Whitaker

The unspoken suggestion appeared to be that McDonald, having less experience of Ascot, had done something a local rider would not do in racing hard against the inside rail in those circumstances. Mac Neice stressed that there was no intention to blame McDonald for the subsequent contact, but the solicitor told the panel: "It's noticeable that Mr McDonald is the only rider in the entire field who is immediately on the rail."

At that point, Dettori said Saga had been "lit up" by horses coming over from their left towards the racing line.

"As the false rail is coming out, I've run out of options. The outside horses were coming in. I've found myself in a cul de sac, in a dead end."

Of McDonald's attempt to move alongside on his inner, Dettori said: "He was putting me in a very bad position because I didn't really have any room to do anything."

However, the BHA's Charlotte Davison insisted it was "perfectly legitimate" for McDonald to pursue his rail run. She said Dettori's evidence to the raceday stewards showed he had been unaware of the proximity of his rival jockey when he allowed Saga to edge towards the rail.

That was the line of argument preferred by the panel after a hearing lasting three and a half hours. Chairman James O'Mahony said of Dettori: "He couldn't and shouldn't have moved right, if he was aware of the presence of Mr McDonald, because he was not clear.

"He says he was not aware of the presence of Mr McDonald. Our conclusion is that he should have been aware.

"It may have come as a surprise to him that Mr McDonald would take that course and maybe Mr Dettori, with his great experience, wouldn't have taken that course, close to the rail. But there it is, he did take it and he was there."

By this stage, Dettori doubtless knew his fate. Having failed to get the suspension quashed on the grounds that this had been simply an accident, his only hope of taking part in the Eclipse was if the ban was reduced to four days.

Mac Neice did his best, but O'Mahony insisted the original suspension should stand. "The stewards put this in the middle of the range," he said. "Having regard to the degree of danger, I'm afraid we see no reason to criticise that or to conclude it was wrong or unduly severe. We conclude that nine days is the appropriate penalty."

Dettori's suspension will begin on Tuesday and will be followed immediately by an eight-day whip ban announced this week, so his next chance to ride in Britain will be Saturday, July 22. He can ride overseas on Sunday, July 16 as there is no Flat racing in Britain that day.

Read these next:

Frankie Dettori given nine-day careless riding ban on frustrating first day at Royal Ascot 

'It happens almost every week' - BHA says Dettori's royal referral is evidence new regime is working 

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