Williams, Dee suspended at Flemington
The premiership hopes of Craig Williams remain intact despite a careless riding suspension at Flemington.
He was outed for six meeting after pleading guilty to careless riding aboard Black Tomahawk at the 150m mark in Saturday’s Bitalli Handicap.
Stewards deemed the interference in the low range and took Williams’ good riding record into consideration.
The suspension means he misses Sandown on Wednesday but is free to return for the final city meeting of the season at Caulfield next Saturday.
A winning double at Flemington put Williams three winners clear of Dwayne Dunn in the premiership race.
At first, Williams put up a spirited defence after stewards charged him with shifting in at 150m when not sufficiently clear of Dylan Dunn’s mount, Bold Sniper, but he later changed his plea.
Meanwhile, Michael Dee’s hopes of winning the Melbourne apprentices’ premiership have been dashed after he was suspended for 10 meetings.
He was found guilty of careless riding aboard eventual winner Royal Rapture while passing the 1100m mark in the Flemington Event Staff Handicap (1600m).
Dee’s suspension rules him out for the rest of the season, meaning he cannot catch Dylan Dunn in the apprentices’ premiership.
Dunn is two wins clear.
Earlier, Dean Yendall was suspended for six meetings for careless riding aboard Rock’n’rollrock in the Murray Cox Handicap.