Leading jockey Glen Boss will appeal a ban which rules him out of the Cox Plate ride on Puissance De Lune.
In a dramatic sequel to the Caulfield Cup on Saturday, stewards hit Boss with a 12-meeting suspension for careless riding meaning he will miss the ride on the leading Melbourne Cup contender.
Boss pleaded guilty to shifting ground on Silent Achiever approaching the winning post for the first time, forcing Nick Hall on the eventual winner Fawkner to hamper Glencadam Gold who hit the rail and was severely checked.
But Boss said when he realised what was happening he immediately moved out again.
He said Hall could have moved out with him and, in doing so, mitigated the interference.
“I didn’t see Glencadam Gold, I just feel I’ve been dealt an unlucky hand,” Boss said.
The stewards accepted Boss looked before he moved his horse inside but said the incident was in the high range of carelessness.
The suspension ends on October 30, but Boss said he would lodge an appeal on Monday.
If Boss’s appeal is unsuccessful, he will miss the Cox Plate as well as next Wednesday’s Geelong Cup and the Manikato Stakes meeting at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
His suspension follows that of Damien Oliver who lost the ride on Gai Waterhouse’s well-fancied Cox Plate runner Fiorente when he was suspended at Wednesday’s Caulfield meeting.
Caulfield Cup-winning jockey Nick Hall was also suspended for an incident in an earlier race.
Hall is out for 10 meetings, meaning he will miss the Cox Plate in which he would have had ridden one of Lloyd Williams’ runners.