Champion Australian jockey Nash Rawiller will appeal against the severity of a suspension incurred in Japan - a ban that has "thrown a spanner in the works" of his Hong Kong stint and also a plum ride during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Rawiller took out the Group Three Niigata Kinen on Sunday, but collected a careless riding charge that stops him from race riding until October 5.
The 39-year-old, who was due to make his season debut at Sha Tin on September 21, could now not only miss key rides at the National Day Cup meeting on October 1, but also the ride on star mare Silent Achiever in Melbourne.
"We won't be trying to get the charge overturned entirely, but trying to have the suspension shortened," Rawiller told the Post yesterday.
"As it stands, I would miss nearly a month of important days in Melbourne and some key meetings in Hong Kong, so we will hope to get a few days shaved off.
"We will try and make a case that it is a much more severe punishment than it would be had I been riding in Japan in that time, where they do not race as often."
Rawiller will lodge a written application and still plans to arrive at Sha Tin on September 15 to begin riding trackwork.
"It's thrown a spanner in the works for my starting date in Hong Kong, but I will get the chance to ride plenty of trackwork before I do start and get familiar with the set-up and trainers," he said.
Meanwhile, Neil Callan hopes his all-the-way win on Glory Awaits in the International Topkapi Trophy in Istanbul on Sunday will assure owners and trainers he is ready for Sunday's season opener after an off-season injury scare.
"If there was anyone who saw that I had injured my ankle back home and had some doubts about my fitness, that was the perfect way to prove to them I am ready to go," Callan said.
