Silvestre de Sousa has landed a winner on his first ride back from his 10-month suspension, with the Brazilian rider returning with a bang at Newcastle in England on Tuesday night.

Outed from Hong Kong in May last year, De Sousa enjoyed a successful comeback by steering the Andrew Balding-trained three-year-old Superb Force to a commanding two-and-a-quarter-length success on his only ride of the evening.

The 43-year-old, who rode 136 winners in Hong Kong, was hit with the lengthy ban after he pleaded guilty to betting offences relating to a race at Happy Valley on April 26.

De Sousa was found to have helped fellow jockey Vagner Borges place a bet on his mount Young Brilliant, who finished seventh at $18.

De Sousa, who finished 11th aboard David Hayes-trained $19 outsider Satirical Glory in the same race, had enjoyed 45 winners for the campaign after returning to Hong Kong full-time at the start of last season.

A three-time champion jockey in the United Kingdom, De Sousa enjoyed Group Three success aboard the Frankie Lor Fu-chuen-trained Money Catcher in last year’s January Cup (1,800m) and initially intended to appeal against the severity of the sentence, but withdrew it on May 30.

The Brazilian began riding out again in Newmarket last month in preparation for his return and will ramp up his number of rides in the coming days, with two at Southwell on Thursday night and three at Wolverhampton on Friday.