KUALA LUMPUR,  31 March 2007

Jockey Kelvin Oh has withdrawn his appeal against a nine-month suspension.

Oh was suspended nine months last month after the conclusion of an inquiry into his handling of IMPACT in January when the three-year-old by Eternity Range from the Marooned mare Petite Angel came from last to finish fifth in a Class 4, Div 4 - 1200m sprint in Penang.

The Chong Keng Leong trained IMPACT went on to win his next two starts by five and four lengths respectively.

Oh was found guilty of a charge of incompetent riding under MRA Rule 44(9)(e).

The particulars of the charge were that:

1. Whilst riding IMPACT, and after a slow start, between the 1200m mark and the 800m mark he showed a lack of initiative and got back further in the field than he needed to be;

2. Thereafter in the home straight between the 400m and the 300m, he erred in electing to look for a clear run on the outside of JOKER DE BEST and CHINA TOWN KING as this opening only materialize at about the 300m mark; and

3. Thereafter he used his whip in the right hand when IMPACT had a tendency to lay inwards which resulted in him having to steady his mount on two occasions prior to the finish of the race.

Oh filed an appeal against the severity of sentence but withdrew it early this week.