Glen Colless to fight suspension
Glen Colless will fight to clear his name after being given a suspension which could wreck his winter carnival.
Colless was stunned when he was the one charged and found guilty of careless riding in the BTC Cup a week ago.
Fellow jockey Michael Cahill fell when Artlee was checked after the line in the Group One race won by Colless on Malaguerra.
The inquiry was reconvened on Saturday with stewards’ video footage showing Delectation going for a run on the inside of Two Blue, Malaguerra and Dothraki but outside Artlee who was on the rails at the 100m.
Past the line there is crowding and Artlee is eventually forced into the fence.
In a sometimes heated inquiry on Saturday night Colless said it was obvious when Jason Collett had gone for a run on Delectation there had been room but Two Blue had rolled in and the run disappeared.
“You can see from the shadow on the track that Two Blue moves in. There is clear air between me and Two Blue and I had no influence on him,” Colless said.
Stewards agreed but said Colless had shifted in on the line.
“We wouldn’t be here if Malaguerra doesn’t shift in,” steward Martin Knibbs said.
Colless replied he had shifted in but there shouldn’t have been three horses inside him.
“How can I be held responsible for interference that was already happening behind me,” he said.
“There wasn’t room for three horses but they were there.”
Colless, who was suspended from May 28 to June 14, will lodge an appeal on Monday or Tuesday in an attempt to get a speedy hearing..
He has not been booked to ride Malaguerra in the Stradbroke on June 11 but had expected to be offered the ride.
Cahill suffered concussion in the fall but was back riding at Doomben on Saturday, winning a Listed race on Palazzo Pubblico and riding three stakes placegetters including Artlee who ran third in the Group Three BRC Sprint.