KEY POINTS:
Top jockey Mark Du Plessis is able to resume riding after being told on Wednesday he would be stood down for six weeks.
Du Plessis took a fall at the midweek Avondale meeting and he was initially expecting a stand-down period of three weeks.
But a New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing official told him it would be six weeks because it was his second bout of concussion within a short period. He had also taken a fall on July 28.
Du Plessis expected he would need a clearance from a neurologist to have the six-week period reduced.
But all that changed yesterday when Du Plessis gained a clearance from his general practitioner and it was accepted by NZTR.
That means he is able to resume riding immediately although he said he would wait until next week.
"I'm a little bit sore and very bruised, so I probably shouldn't ride until next week," he said.
Du Plessis was also in line for a possible Melbourne Cup ride on Tuesday but has decided to pass that up as well.
His Melbourne Cup mount was to be Desert Master, who is on the fringe of gaining a start in the 24-horse field to be declared on Saturday night.
Victory by Desert Master, trained former New Zealander Brian Jenkins, in the Saab Handicap at Flemington on Saturday would assure the horse of a Cup start
- NZPA
