Holland handed 14-day ban

It took just three strides for jockey Darryll Holland to be relegated from hero to villain at Chester today.

Having already taken the Breitling Watches and Waltons Of Chester Ormonde Stakes on board St Expedit, Holland was only a matter of yards from completing a memorable double on board Island House in the SIS Huxley Stakes (for the Tradesman`s Cup).

However, while looking to have the 10-furlong Listed event sewn up despite the attentions of the fast-finishing Adilabad, Holland dropped his hands for just three strides allowing Kieren Fallon to get the 4-5 favourite up on the line for a short-head success.

It was a costly error by Holland who had a maximum 14-day suspension slapped on him by the local stewards ruling him out of the high-profile Goodwood meeting at Goodwood in 12 days` time together with Sandown`s Bank Holiday meeting and the Irish 2000 Guineas on the same weekend.

Stewards` secretary Jeremy Ker told the waiting media that Holland had admitted the offence.

'He stopped riding for three strides in the last 50 yards and held his hands up to it,' said Ker.

Holland had no complaints at the outcome of the inquiry.

'I thought it was fair,' he admitted. 'I`ll say no more than that.'

Until his faux-pas Holland had ridden the perfect race.

Content to sit in behind early leaders King`s Travel and Gold Academy, Holland ensured his mount was positioned top get first run on Adilabad which was the case as the quartet of runners rounded the final bend.

He immediately got to work on the Grand Lodge entire and stole a clear lead and despite Adilabad`s flying finish the result looked in no doubt until the jockey`s misdemeanour.

'I couldn`t believe he would get up,' said winning trainer Sir Michael Stoute. 'He did well to win having decelerated when they straightened up.'

However, that was before he viewed the big-screen replay of the finish through his binoculars. Once he put hisglasses down he admitted it was a fortunate success.

'Oh good, we got lucky,' he added.

Fallon sympathised with Holland.

'I should have won easier, Darryll rode a good race,' he said. 'He knew I was the one to beat it just went so horribly wrong for him.'

Stoute has the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in mind for the winner.

'That would be the case,' he said. 'Although if, for any reason, Kalanisi didn`t go for the Tattersalls Gold Cup we`d send him there.'

The Sandown race would come 'a bit quick' for Island House, according to a philosophical Geoff Wragg, trainer of the runner-up.

'We were a bit unlucky. He might go to Royal Ascot for the Prince Of Wales Stakes rather than the Hardwicke,' he said.

Things had gone to plan perfectly for Wragg and Holland around half an hour earlier when St Expedit led his four rivals a merry dance with a 10 lengths all-the-way success over Pairumani Star.

'I said to Darryll before therace that it was such a small field that if no one goes on he should make the running,' said Wragg, who will decide later upon any plans for the winner.