WILLIE CARSON'S appeal against his five-day riding ban will be heard at 2.30 tomorrow at the Irish Turf Club's headquarters at the Curragh.
Carson is seeking to overturn a suspension which would prevent him from riding Bint Salsabil in the Epsom Oaks on Friday week.
The five times former British champion was punished for wearing an unapproved helmet when winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas on Matiya on Saturday.
With the appeal hearing pending, Carson was reluctant yesterday to say much about the episode but he indicated that he had been given inadequate warning by the Irish Turf Club's medical officer Walter Halley.
"Walter Halley talked to the other jockeys in the weighing room but I was not privy to that" he said. "I don't want to go into my case before it comes up because that would only jeopardise it. But I got in touch with the lawyer, Andrew Coonan, and he contacted the Turf club, but he hasn't come back to me yet."
The Turf Club's chief executive Cahir O'Sullivan explained that the stewards at the appeal had a variety of options. "They could uphold the appeal, reject it or alter the length of the suspension," he said.
O'Sullivan insisted that the stewards at The Curragh had not been particularly harsh in giving Carson a five-day ban. "In similar cases to this riders have been given 14-day suspensions," he added.
The Irish episode came just a week after Carson was banned for seven days for dropping his hands on Kamari at Lingfield and losing a race he should have won.
The first day of the Irish ban coincides with the last day of the Lingfield suspension.
Fortunately .for Carson, the Jockey Club will not be applying their normal practice of making bans run consecutively
In that instance the Irish suspension would have started a day later and Carson would have missed the ride on Alhaarth in the Epsom Derby.
Shantou may have booked a late berth among the field for the Vodafone Derby after securing his first victory in the Prime Maiden Stakes at Sandown yesterday evening. The colt justified odds-on favouritism when holding Rocky Oasis by three quarters of a length, the pair pulling six lengths clear of the third Ginger Fox.
And his trainer John Gosden indicated he could yet line up in the classic in 11 days time, for which he earned a 66-1 quote.
"If the ground is good or good to soft he will probably run. It would then become a test of stamina and I would like to be involved," he said.
"He has missed a fair bit of work since his last race at Chester. He had a nasty bruise in his near fore foot which is plugged now."
