Racing: Dettori suffers objectionable afternoon

Yesterday was a rare one to forget for Frankie Dettori. He was disqualified from two races at Goodwood, including the afternoon's feature, the Celebration Mile, for riding offences, and given a five-day ban that must be a blow to his chances in the jockeys` championship.

The first reverse came after Dettori drove out Swiss Law to a neck victory over Omaha City in the Crowson Rated Handicap. Ray Cochrane, on the fast- finishing runner-up, lodged an objection, and the stewards agreed that Swiss Law cut in front of his rival two furlongs out and baulked his progress in the course of furthering his own. The winning distance was tight enough for the placings to be reversed, but the interference was judged accidental and Dettori escaped punishment.

However, there was no hiding place for the jockey after Cape Cross - like Swiss Law trained by John Gosden - romped home two and a half lengths clear of Among Men in the Tripleprint-sponsored Mile. On the downhill run in the straight Dettori showed poor judgement as he used Cape Cross as a battering ram to enlarge a tiny gap between Among Men and Peartree House.

His unnecessary manoeuvre - his horse was full of running and there were more than two furlongs to go - skittled Peartree House sideways into Polar Prince. The inevitable enquiry klaxon sounded as Dettori was pulling up, and the conclusion this time was that his riding had been irresponsible. Cape Cross, owned by Sheikh Mohammed, was disqualified and placed last of the four runners, and Dettori, who declined to comment before he left the Sussex course for Windsor's evening meeting, given an unwelcome holiday, from 1-5 September.

Among Men, favourite at 8-11, had lost his chance of passing the post first by engaging too high a rev-count from the start as Peartree House took him on in the lead. But his owner Michael Tabor owns one of racing's most priceless commodities, luck, and his colt is now a Group Two winner.

His trainer Michael Stoute may yet add another Pattern victory, or at least half of one, to his seasonal tally, as he is considering an unusual appeal against judge Jane Stickel's verdict in Friday's Prestige Stakes. According to Stickels, Stoute's charge Alignment was beaten millimetres by Midnight Line, but Stoute feels the result should have been a dead- heat.

Dettori's bad afternoon had begun well when he made all on Pentad in the March Stakes to take his championship score to within one of the leader Kieren Fallon'. The placed horses Palio Sky and Book At Bedtime forfeited their St Leger claims in defeat, but later at Leopardstown Dr Johnson, runner-up in the Irish Derby, enhanced his with a smooth three-length win in the Ballycullen Stakes.

At Windsor Dettori, who rides Allied Forces for Godolphin in tonight's Arlington Million in Chicago, notched a double courtesy of King Sound and Annus Mirabilis, but Fallon levelled the scores again at 121 each by winning the last on Fern's Governor. Gosden-trained King Sound, another with an entry in the final Classic, battled gamely to beat Haltarra in the Harefield Stakes.

At Deauville John Dunlop-trained Dust Dancer ran the race of her life to edge out Vereva, winner of the French Oaks, by a head in the Prix de la Nonette. Earlier David Loder had taken one of the supporting races with Kool Kat Katie and today his charge Desert Prince, the Coventry Stakes runner-up, is the sole British challenger in the Group One Prix Morny, for which unbeaten French-trained Xaar will start favourite.