Jockey Ben Melham is clear to ride Mirage Dancer in the Melbourne Cup despite a suspension at Moonee Valley.
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The former Ballarat boy plans to appeal the severity of an eight-meeting suspension for careless riding aboard Broadwayandfourth in Saturday's listed Crockett Stakes (1200m).
The suspension starts immediately, ruling Melham out of next Saturday's meeting at Flemington where he has the ride on Southern Moon in the Victoria Derby (2500m).
Southern Moon sits on the fifth line of betting at $11 for the Derby.
As it stands, his suspension finishes at the conclusion of the Flemington meeting, enabling Melham to return to ride Mirage Dancer, currently a $26 chance, in the Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 5.
Ballarat's Mitch Freedman trains both Broadwayandfourth and Southern Moon.
Freedman is now weighing up his options with Broadwayandfourth.
The group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) next weekend at Flemington remains a possibility for the horse.
"She's got a lot of ability and I wouldn't rule out a race like the Sangster Stakes in Adelaide for her in the autumn," Freedman said after the win on Saturday.
"I'd like to give her a break and let her grow and develop a little more and then maybe target a race like that."
Also on Saturday, La Falaise and Fascino dead-heated in the group 2 Antler Luggage Fillies Classic (1600m). La Falaise is trained by Henry Dwyer and Fascino by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
