The leading Australian jockey Craig Williams won't be riding in today's Melbourne Cup after failing with an appeal against a careless riding charge.
Having ridden the winners of the Caufield Cup and Cox Plate in recent weeks, Williams had been aiming at an historic sweep of the three biggest races of the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
He'd been booked to ride one of the favoured northern hemisphere runners, Dunaden this afternoon, but the French stayer will now be ridden by a French jockey, Christophe Lemaire.
