Cooper: Let's end dispute

Sandown clerk of the course Andrew Cooper today called on jockeys and the Jockey Club to settle their differences as the damaging row over banning mobile phones in weighing rooms threatened to escalate into a full-scale walkout.

Jockeys have targeted Sunday's meeting at Sandown for protest after compromise talks broke down last night, leaving Cooper in a dilemma over a meeting which has attracted over 200 entries at the five-day stage. Young riders seem sure to come under pressure from owners and trainers to ignore the action but Cooper admitted the prospects of Sunday's meeting going ahead were "completely up in the air".

He added: "As a Jockey Club-owned course it's understandable that Sandown has been targeted, and I'm afraid we're caught in the crossfire. We're very keen to race and put on the best show possible, but it seems that the positions have become entrenched.

"Someone should surely be talking to someone in order to narrow the gap, but I'm not getting good vibes about it at the moment."