Sandownon a ring and a prayer

A solution to the bitter dispute over the use of mobile phones by jockeys on racecourses may not come in time to avert a riders’ boycott at Sandown on Sunday.

Representatives of the riders including solicitor Martin Cruddace and the Jockey Club met on Tuesday in an attempt to resolve the affair but the session failed to produce a compromise.

John Maxse, director of public relations at the Jockey Club, said today: "Where we go from here is that we contact all of the jockeys this week, send all of them a letter with our new proposals and see where that takes us.