Brilliant Australian rider Damien Oliver has flown home to Perth to consider his Hong Kong future. Oliver, who was given a three-day suspension for careless riding at Sha Tin's Easter Monday meeting, is free to ride at the big Grand National meeting at Happy Valley on Saturday, but last night it was unclear if he would be on duty for retaining trainer David Hayes. Oliver, one of the best young riders Australia has produced in the past 10 years, has had constant media attention since the original ICAC swoop at Sha Tin on March 16. The Melbourne Cup-winning jockey was pictured in scores of newspapers entering and leaving the anti-graft body's Murray Road headquarters, having been briefly interviewed by officers there. From the Sydney Easter Sales, Hayes, who is jointly leading the battle for the trainers' championship, said yesterday: 'All I know is that Damien has gone to the family home in Perth and he is thinking over his future. 'What he eventually does is entirely his decision and I will simply go along with it. 'He has had a pretty tough time of it lately and it may be that a break will do him good. 'I think he is a brilliant young rider and he is a tremendous asset to my stable. It certainly wouldn't help my efforts to win the premiership if he did decide that his future was in Australia.' Hayes' hope is that Oliver, who has notched 32 winners and lies second to champion jockey Basil Marcus in the table, will emerge refreshed from the suspension and ride until the end of the season. Hayes said: 'There is not a lot more I can say. Damien told me he was going to Perth to think it all over, and I have told him that we could have a lot more winners between now and the end of the season. 'He is mentally very tough and always has been. That showed early this season when he got a lot of stick - and it wasn't deserved - from some sections of the media.' Oliver is known to have had good offers to return to Australia, and it is now considered virtually certain that his longer-term future - beginning next season - will be back home in Australia. Given the strength of the Hayes stable and his current superb form, Oliver is not out of it in the battle with Marcus for the title, although the long-serving South African is the odds-on favourite. Close friends have said Oliver has become frustrated with the constant attention focused on him since the ICAC swoop, which ended with seven licensed persons, including trainers Stephen S. L. Leung, for whom he rode a number of horses, and Tony P. H. Chan being suspended. Those suspensions run until April 17, a decision made by the Jockey Club to maintain the confidence of the public in the conduct and integrity of local racing. Oliver, who is a popular figure in the weighing room and with the racing media, is not immediately expected to make any statements about his future, and will inform the Jockey Club first if he decides not to continue here. Oliver is definitely ruled out of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup through suspension. He was banned following interference when he crossed the field on Beas Glory, eventually beaten narrowly. He was due to ride Australian hope Perfect Bound for trainer Jim Meagher, but the mount may now go to Grant Cooksley. Meanwhile, trainer Geoff Lane yesterday lost Owner's Bliss to rival Brian Kan Ping-chee in a move that underlined the unpredictability of local racing. Owner's Bliss won at Happy Valley last Wednesday, but it would seem the success was not entirely expected. Kan said: 'They offered me the horse and I have taken it.'