Christophe Soumillon endured a nightmare trip as he attempted to secure victory in the fiercely competitive Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The international jockey, riding Goliath—a horse trained in France by Francis-Henri Graffard—over the 1m 4f distance, was in with a real chance on his smooth-travelling mount in the closing stages when disaster struck. He lost his irons, became unbalanced, and was fortunate to stay in the saddle.
Goliath ultimately finished third, with a short-head separating winner Giavellotto and runner-up Kalpana.
Explaining the incident, Soumillon said: "I was trying to come beside Oisin (Murphy) easily because my horse likes to feel comfortable. When I tried to put my feet backwards to squeeze him with my heels, my stirrup got blocked with my girth. My feet were backwards, and I lost my iron on the right side.
"It's nobody's fault. I couldn't imagine it was going to happen at that point in the race. I wasn't moving on him. It was going to be a close call, but when you lose it like this—especially as I was not expecting it—I nearly lost my balance and was lucky to stay on him. He gave me everything today."
The issue capped a fairly miserable Royal Ascot for Soumillon, who also picked up a suspension for his ride in the St James's Palace Stakes earlier in the week.
As Soumillon rued his luck, Giavellotto's handler Marco Botti was thrilled after his globetrotting stayer put his head down to pip Kalpana by a short-head.
"He is an incredible horse," Botti said. "He has taken us around the world, and to then win at Royal Ascot—you can't ask anything more than that.
"We knew it was going to be Group One level, but he has never let us down. He was fourth in the Arc and second in Hong Kong. In Qatar, he was probably a bit unlucky, and then he was a respectable third in the Dubai Sheema Classic. I said to the owner, why not try Royal Ascot for the Hardwicke Stakes?"
Botti added: "Oisin (Murphy) has ridden the race that he had planned in mind."
