Nash Rawiller suspended and ruled out of Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate

Nash Rawiller has been forced to give up top rides in both the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate.

Nash Rawiller aboard Montefilia after winning the Hill Stakes at Rosehill recently. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Champion jockey Nash Rawiller has been forced to give up top rides in Saturday’s Caulfield Cup and next week’s Cox Plate after being suspended at Randwick on Wednesday.

Rawiller pleaded guilty to a careless riding charge and was handed a seven-meeting ban.

The Sydney premiership-winning rider elected to commence his suspension immediately, forcing him to hand up the ride on Montefilia in Saturday’s $5m Group 1 Caulfield Cup.

He has been replaced by Blake Shinn.

He will also forgo the ride on last Saturday’s King Charles III Stakes winner Fangirl in the Cox Plate as well as Espiona in the Manikato Stakes next week at The Valley.

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“You can’t get a bigger kick in the backside,” Rawiller told stewards when pleading his case against a ban.

Despite pleading guilty, Rawiller argued the incident shouldn’t have happened, telling stewards “he (Brett Prebble) was inside me when he shouldn’t have been”.

“I feel and what I felt out there was Brett was letting me go,” he said. “You can see I look three time before I move in.

“He (Prebble) said in his own evidence he gave his horse a shovel up to stay inside me.”

When Rawiller did shift in, Prebble was taken in onto Galano, which in turn was taken in across McHale which had to be checked by his rider Tommy Berry.

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Rawiller pleaded with stewards that he shouldn’t be held to account for the full responsibility of the incident due to the costly nature of a suspension at this time of year.

“They are two bloody important meetings to miss,” he said. “I know how my record reads.

“You haven’t spoken to me hardly. I haven’t been in here lately.

“I am doing my best not to cause interference as I did in this case. I looked three times to make sure I’m clear.”

When handing down the seven meeting penalty, Rawiller’s poor record over the past 12 months worked against him, adding a 50 per cent premium onto the suspension but it was shaved back to seven meetings after deductions for his guilty plea and due to him missing feature meetings.

Rawiller’s suspension ends 24 hours before he partners Hawaii Five Oh in the $10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill on November 4.

Originally published as Nash Rawiller suspended and ruled out of Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate