Sandown to be hit by boycott

Leading jockey Richard Quinn will not be riding at Sandown on Sunday his agent Robert Parsons confirmed today.

The jockey had been pencilled in for the rides on the William Haggas-trained Ace Club in the opening Masters Chartered Accountants EBF Maiden Stakes and Apex Star (Daytona Sandown Park Stakes) and Dicharachera (iBetX.com Betting Exchange Handicap) for his boss Henry Cecil.

But Parsons said: “Richard is taking the day off. He needs a rest.”

The meeting at Sandown on Sunday could be hit by a jockeys’ boycott as the row over the use of mobile phones by the riders on racecourses continued.

The Jockey Club met riders’ representatives on Tuesday in a bid to end the dispute over the new rules.

But the riders were unhappy with the outcome and Philip Robinson, their main spokesman throughout the dispute, said: “At this moment in time a lot of jockeys are planning to take Sunday off. I think there are a lot of tired jockeys wanting to relax.

“It’s not a strike as we haven’t taken any rides on Sunday. We are just not accepting rides on Sunday.”