Craig Williams will continue his fight to ride in the Melbourne Cup when he takes his case to the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal on Monday.
He will be joined by Nash Rawiller after both lost appeals against careless riding suspensions in front of the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board on Friday.
Williams has been booked to ride French horse Dunaden in Tuesday’s Cup with Japan-based Christophe Lemaire on standby for the mount on the second favourite.
Rawiller had a meeting shaved off his suspension allowing him to ride on Saturday week but like Williams, he will seek a stay of proceedings from VCAT so he can ride Unusual Suspect in the Cup.
Both suspensions are due to begin after Saturday’s Derby day meeting.
If Williams can ride in the Cup and win it, he will become the first jockey to claim the Caulfield Cup-Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup treble in the same year.
Williams tried in vain to convince the RADB the interference he caused in a support race on the Bendigo Cup program was minimal and did not warrant a suspension.
However, Judge Russell Lewis said the panel rejected the assertion the shift by Williams, coincidentally to Rawiller’s mount, was only slight and said the stewards had ruled appropriately in issuing a suspension to begin after Saturday’s Derby day meeting.
Lewis also rejected submissions from Williams’ counsel Matthew Stirling that it was a special case because of what was at stake for Williams.
“The penalty is out of proportion to the crime,” Stirling said.
“He is not charged with a serious offence, it is a traffic offence.”
Williams was disappointed with the result and said he would keep going in his bid to ride in the Cup.
“I’m very disappointed with the result which goes without saying,” Williams said.
“It’s still my dream to be able to ride Dunaden in the Melbourne Cup.
“I was very confident but of course disappointed with the end result.
“I course I came here not wasting anyone’s time and it was not what I was hoping for.”
Williams won the Caulfield Cup on Southern Speed who he rides in Saturday’s Group One Mackinnon Stakes and took last Saturday’s Cox Plate on Pinker Pinker.
Sydney’s premier jockey Rawiller was found guilty of shifting in onto another horse in a different race at Bendigo.
He rides glamour mare More Joyous in Saturday’s Group One Myer Classic for Gai Waterhouse.
AAP TURF
