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Click here<\/a> to add us to your Google preferred sources or find out more here<\/a><\/p>\n Christophe Soumillon was handed an eight-day ban at Royal Ascot on Tuesday after the stewards ruled that he rode Puerto Rico in a manner that assisted his stablemate Gstaad in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes.<\/p>\n An inquiry was launched into Soumillon’s ride on the 16-1 shot, who finished last in the opening-day highlight, amid concerns his actions hindered Power Blue, who was fourth, while creating an advantage for Ryan Moore’s mount Gstaad, the first string from the Aidan O’Brien yard.<\/p>\n It marked the second suspension in the race involving the Ballydoyle team, with Moore having earlier received a three-day careless-riding ban for failing to take sufficient corrective action after making contact with eventual winner Bow Echo and Talk Of New York when leaving the stalls.<\/p>\n Soumillon, Moore and Power Blue\u2019s rider David Egan were shown recordings of the incident, while O\u2019Brien was interviewed by telephone.<\/p>\n It was found that Soumillon deliberately moved Puerto Rico away from the rail after the home bend, where he then impeded the Amo Racing-owned outsider Power Blue, creating an opening on the inside for second favourite Gstaad and giving his stablemate an advantage in the closing stages.<\/p>\n The race produced a nail-biting finale, with a photo-finish called between Bow Echo and Gstaad before the former maintained his unbeaten record by a short head for rider Billy Loughnane and trainer George Boughey.<\/p>\n Bow Echo (right) narrowly beat Gstaad in the St James’s Palace StakesCredit: AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n The winning 20-year-old rider said after the race: “The first furlong was crucial and we got squeezed out of it early. There were five of us in a line and I slightly lost my position from there on.<\/p>\n “Bow Echo was then lit up and I was just trying to manage him and get him back in behind. Then Power Blue came back into our lap. That meant I had to come out and move a little bit sooner than ideal, but his guts got him through. He’s determined to win and is blessed with a fantastic turn of foot and a lot of ability.”<\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n Bow Echo edges St James’s Palace Stakes thriller to maintain unbeaten record for relieved Billy Loughnane<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Bow](\"https:\/\/www.racingpost.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fprod-media-racingpost%2Fprod%2Fimages%2F169_1008%2Fe20002e89bfe-gettyimages-2281284102.jpg&w=3840&q=75\"\/)
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