Frankie Dettori yesterday lodged an appeal against a four-day whip ban that would rule him out of the prestigious Champions' Day meeting at Newmarket this day week.

The Jockey Club confirmed that the Italian jockey had given them notice of his intention to try to overturn the suspension meted out by the York stewards. "A letter has arrived from the jockey stating that he wishes to appeal and the hearing will take place next week, though it won't be on Monday," said a Jockey Club spokeswoman.

The ban is scheduled for next Friday and Saturday and the following Monday and Tuesday. Dettori was punished after the stewards deemed that he had used his whip with excessive force on Sheikh Mohammed's Strahan at York on Wednesday.

With the benefit of Dettori's urgings John Gosden's colt managed to get up in the dying strides to win by a head. Senior stewards' secretary Patrick Hibbert-Foy insisted that it was the hardest he had seen Dettori hit a horse for some time.