RACING POST---Christophe Soumillon's dejection at having Japan Cup glory taken from his grasp on Sunday has been heightened by the Tokyo stewards' decision to inflict upon him a suspension that rules him out of the Hong Kong international meeting in two weeks time.
Soumillon was left frustrated and disappointed but also philosophical after he and superstar filly Buena Vista, Japan's most popular racehorse, were removed from first place in favour of compatriot Rose Kingdom - owned by the same Sunday Racing syndicate - following an inquiry into interference.
"When you don't kill a man in a fight he will come back stronger," said Soumillon, who had hoped to take his first ride as contracted jockey to the Wildenstein family on Planteur in the Hong Kong Cup. Now, however, that ride will be taken by another, with Anthony Crastus, (略)
Reflecting on Sunday's astonishing contest - watched by 106,000 racegoers, the majority of them Buena Vista fans - Soumillon ranked Buena Vista above his Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava and added: "For sure I am very unhappy and sorry for the trainer and also all the fans and all the people who bet on her because she is probably the most wonderful filly I ever rode.
"For me it's really disappointing because I thought I had won the race. I gave the best riding performance I could. "I was down on the track [after the race] and when I looked up at the screen and saw the 16 and 6 switch I was really surprised andcould not understand what had happened.
"The horse inside me came across slightly and then hung away and my filly, having been pushed a few times from the back, has just hung slightly with the horse inside to have something to race against.
"I could also be sorry for the owners, but they still won the race and so, for them, the pain is not too much! For me, I am still young and I will hopefully learn a lot from the experience."(略)