KEY POINTS:
A decision on a charge against top jockey Chris Johnson of not giving a horse all reasonable chance to win a race is not expected for at least a week.
The charge stems from a race at Tauherenikau on February 6 when Johnson rode the Jeff Lynds-trained Futureproof to second in a $12,000 rating 92 event.
At a five-hour hearing in Wellington on Monday chief stipendiary steward Cameron George claimed Johnson twice failed to take advantage of opportunities to improve his position.
Futureproof, racing at the back of the field, was eventually pushed through a gap in the straight and came home strongly to be beaten a long neck.
Johnson's lawyer John Tannahill said if Johnson had improved wide, as George suggested, the horse might not have been able to produce the same finish.
Lynds and the horse's owner said they were satisfied with Johnson's ride.
* Australian Brett Prebble's quest for the Hong Kong jockeys' premiership struck a hurdle when his appeal against a careless riding suspension was dismissed yesterday.
Prebble closed to within three wins of six-time champion Douglas Whyte after scoring a double at Sha Tin on Sunday, including the rich Hong Kong Derby on the Paul O'Sullivan-trained Vital King.
He appealed against the suspension, incurred for careless riding on Silent Dragon on March 7, but stewards ruled the ban would stand.
Prebble's suspension takes immediate effect and will expire on March 26.
