Johnson slapped with 17-meeting suspension
Top jockey Chris Johnson will miss 17 riding days after falling foul of the judiciary three times over recent race days.
Johnson and Matthew Cameron were among a number of riders to come out the wrong side of judiciary decisions over the weekend.
Both will spend time on the sideline, however, the most action came at Friday’s Timaru meeting where five suspensions were handed down, Johnson and Gosen Jogoo copping a double whammy.
Last season’s premiership winning jockey will be out of action until November 8, fortunately he will be back for the three-day New Zealand Cup carnival starting on November 11.
Currently sitting on 17 wins alongside Cameron and behind Alysha Collett and Lisa Allpress (19 wins) on the premiership table, Johnson was in trouble twice at Timaru on Friday and again at Winton on Sunday.
His ride on Director at Timaru proved costly for the experienced rider after he was charged on two separate counts of careless riding.
The first came at the 1400 metre mark when checking Blue Print and cost him a suspension of four riding days, and the next at the 300m mark when shifting ground when not clear of Verna Audrey which cost him an additional five day suspension.
Favourite for the race, Director ran second while Johnson’s winning ride on The Lustre at Winton cost him another careless riding charge and a further eight day suspension.
His mount shifted in on apprentice jockey Kim Kwo’s horse She’s Fun who clipped heals and dislodged Kwo who was uninjured in the incident. Kwo was examined by paramedics and cleared to ride his remaining mounts at the meeting.
Riding Lady Davonne at Timaru, Collett was handed a four day suspension for careless riding and is out of action from October 16 to October 21 inclusive.
Jogoo faced two charges and was suspended for two days on the first and three on the second resulting in a break from October 16 to November 5.
Cameron admitted a breach of careless riding aboard Deals in Heels at Matamata on Saturday and had his license suspended by the judiciary from the conclusion of racing on October 21 up to and including October 28, four riding days.
On top of that Shankar Muniandy was fined $100 for failing to make contracted weight in final race on the card.
Meanwhile across the Tasman, former Kiwi jockey Michael Walker has expressed his deep disappointment at being suspended.
Walker has been outed for 10 meetings on a careless riding charge aboard his Caulfield Guineas-winning mount Mighty Boss.
The suspension rules Walker out from riding Main Stage, equal favourite in the Victoria Derby, in next Saturday’s Caulfield Classic.
He was also in the running for the Lloyd Williams-owned Sir Isaac Newton in the Caulfield Cup.
Racing Victoria stewards charged Walker with careless riding near the 500m mark of the Caulfield Guineas on Saturday when he permitted his mount to shift out leaving insufficient racing room for Azazel.
Chief steward Terry Bailey said his panel took into consideration Walker’s guilty plea, his recent good record and the time spent out through injury, but could not overlook it was a Group I race.
Walker’s suspension started following Sunday’s Cranbourne Cup meeting and he can return for the Geelong Cup meeting on October 25.