Jockey Rossa Ryan suffers nasty fall after being PUSHED off horse by rival Christophe Soumillon mid-race

Jockey Rossa Ryan, riding Captain Wierzba, was the back marker along with Christophe Soumillon’s mount Syros in the seven-furlong opener at Saint-Cloud, France.

Sky Sports Racing coverage described the incident live as "Syros making a violent lurch to the right, bucked right into Captain Wierzba to unseat the rider".

However, looking at replays after the race, pundit Jamie Lynch adding: "Oh, wow, Soumillon put an elbow out there, didn't he ... Watch Soumillion, oh, dear me! I've never seen that before in a race."

Thankfully Ryan was spotted by TV cameras walking, in the direction of medical help, after the incident, suggesting the young jockey escaped serious injury.

Soumillion has been swiftly handed a 60-day ban, though the suspension does not start until October 14 so he will be able to ride Vadeni in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's most prestigious race of the flat season.

Speaking after the incident: “I was just behind Ryan and I put my elbow against him to tell him I wasn’t going to the inside [next to the rail], and unfortunately when I asked my horse to go to the right, [Ryan] fell off.

“Straight away I knew I had made a mistake, I am terribly sad it happened ... I really want to apologise to everyone.”

One Twitter user commented on the footage, calling for a life ban for Soumillion: "Take the horse racing out of it - essentially pushing someone off a moving vehicle doing 65kph. Imagine what penalty I'd get if I did that on a road to a motorbike rider. Needs a long if not life ban immediately. Shouldn't be riding at Parislongchamp this weekend."

Chris Hughes, formerly of Love Island and now a horseracing pundit for ITV, added: "This is a shocker." Another added: “Soumillon be lucky to ride again after that.”

Another Twitter user posted: "Shocking footage and the camera never lies, probably the worse deliberate act I've ever seen by a jockey. Thankfully he walked away."