A suspension to Luke Currie for overuse of the whip in a winning ride at Sandown will not impact on the jockey’s upcoming feature race commitments.

Currie rides Hey Doc, one of the leading chances in Saturday’s $1 million Group One Memsie Stakes at Caulfield and will start a six-meeting suspension after that meeting.

He will not miss a Saturday through the ban which was incurred for using the whip 15 times before the 100m, 10 more than allowed, in Wednesday’s Ladbrokes Info Hub Handicap (1800m) on eventual winner Torreggiante.

Ben Melham, however, will miss an upcoming Saturday meeting unless he successfully appeals the severity of a seven-meeting suspension from Sandown.

Melham was outed for careless riding aboard Miss Vixen in the straight in Wednesday’s opening race.

Melham rides multiple Group One winner Le Romain in Saturday’s Memsie with his ban due to start after that meeting, ruling him out of the following Saturday.

Currie has formed a successful association with Australian Guineas winner Hey Doc and the jockey is happy the gelding has come up with barrier one in the star-studded Memsie field.

“He won the Guineas from barrier one,” Currie said.

“He’s a better chance from an inside draw than an outside draw.”

The 12-horse Memsie field features nine individual Group One winners with Hey Doc on the third line of betting behind Vega Magic and Le Romain.

“It’s a million-dollar Group One. They don’t give them away,” Currie said.

“It’s a good horse’s race and he’ll have to be a good horse to win it. But I think he’s well up to it.”

Apprentice Ben Thompson was another suspended for careless riding at Sandown, with his nine-meeting ban also to start after this Saturday while fellow apprentice Lucinda Doodt was outed for 12 meetings to start after Friday.

Credit: AAP