Partiers to fight big bans

THREE of the “Airbnb Five” jockeys involved in an illegal house party at Mornington have lodged appeals against the severity of their penalties.

Premiership winner Jamie Kah and fellow riders Ben Melham, Ethan Brown, Mark Zahra and Celine Gaudray were suspended for three months for ignoring stewards’ orders regarding Covid restrictions.

Brown, Melham and Zahra have all lodged paperwork with the Victorian Racing Tribunal to appeal against the length of their bans, which will keep all five riders out of the spring carnival if they stand.

Kah and Gaudray have until 5pm on Tuesday to file their paperwork if they wish to join their fellow riders in appealing against their penalties.

The Victorian Racing Tribunal is likely to expedite the appeals because the spring carnival started with last Saturday’s $1m Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. They could be heard before the end of the week.

On Monday, stewards hit the five riders with the serious charges of giving false or misleading evidence about the attendees at the Mornington Peninsula party on August 25.

The riders could face further suspensions of a month or significantly more if found guilty.