THE biggest losers after a Group 1 weekend of racing has to be the Melbourne Racing Club.
They need to lift their act and ensure there is no repeat of Saturday’s embarrassment when safety changes had to be made because of problems with the Caulfield track.
The question that needs to be answered is why it was left to the jockeys at the 11th hour to highlight a serious issue that should have been detected by the track staff earlier in the day?
The MRC can band-aid the wound by announcing a Review – which hopefully will be independent – but the fact remains that heads should roll. If track walkers employed by the jockeys made them aware of the problem, why was the track staff asleep at the wheel?
This isn’t the first time safety issues have embarrassed the MRC. Surely, the Stewards inspect the track when they arrive and one has to ask why they didn’t see the troubled area either which caused the rail to be moved out several metres to allow the G1 meeting to continue. Fortunately that did not appear to have any influence on the results.
Another question the Review needs answered is why weren’t these troulesome plugs that hadn’t knitted properly detected earlier, and why wasn’t the rail moved before race day?
Not only did Ben Melham ride the two Group 1 winners (Birdman and Angel Capital) for the Chris Waller stable but he was one of the first jockeys to discover a huge hole in the turf which could have proved disastrous or even fatal if a horse had placed its leg in same.
Critics of Victorian racing – like some selective Sydneysiders – have been quick to pounce. They should have a look in the mirror. Two of their metropolitan tracks have been heavily biased for months and even on Saturday out wide wasn’t the place to be. And we won’t even mention some of the ‘goat tracks’ they race on regularly in the bush of a Sunday.
HERE’S what you had to say about the big meeting at Caulfield, apart for the track debacle, which hopefully we have covered fully above.
DAN from GEELONG wrote:
OF course the focus was on the winning G1 double by Waller at Caulfield when more should have been made of the disgraceful performance of Lindermann.
Blake Shinn blamed the uncharacteristic last of the stablemate of the winner Birdman on his failure to handle the anti-clockwise way of going. Surely a stable of this success would have trialled him that way before coming to Melbourne.
And Stewards didn’t even require the horse to trial before he races again. Par for the course with Waller, Lindermann will come out and bolt in on home turf and the local scribes will just way what a wizard his trainer is.
A rival trainer, tongue in cheek, reckons co-trainer CALVIN McEVOY, was behind the ‘interesting’ naming of Saturday’s Classics Preview winner, QUICK FINISH.
The filly is by Group 1 winning stallion GRUNT out of GENTLE STROKES. Plenty of thought put into the naming of this one.
STORY goes BEN MELHAM copped an almighty spray from trainer PETER MOODY after he was narrowly beaten on odds-on favorite BRIDAL WALTZ by his good mate Mark Zahra on POINT BARROW in the G3 How Now Stakes.
Moody, renowned for giving jockeys a piece of his mind if they get beaten in circumstances that did not please him, apparently felt that Ben had gone to sleep leading on Bridal Waltz.
His blast must have woken Melham from that alleged ‘slumber’ as he came out and subsequently won the two Group 1 races on the card for the Chris Waller stable.
STEWARDS REPORTED:
JOCKEY Ben Melham reported that Bridal Waltz would appreciate tracks with more give.
JOCKEY Blake Shinn reported that Lindermann was not comfortable racing in an anti-clockwise direction and was disappointing. A post-race veterinary examination did not reveal any significant findings. A sample was taken for analysis. Stable representative Darren Beadman concurred with the views of Shinn that Lindermann did not appear to travel comfortably in the anti-clockwise direction. Beadman added that the stable will assess Lindermann in the days subsequent, with consideration given to the transfer of the gelding back to the Sydney stable. Stewards will follow up with the stable.
JOCKEY William Pike reported that Cosmic Crusader failed to travel comfortably throughout and would appreciate tracks with more give. However, he was satisfied with the performance.
JOCKEY Blake Shinn reported that after having to make use of Evaporate in the early stages, the gelding failed to finish off as expected. Shinn added that the gelding may be better suited contesting events of a greater distance than 1400m. A post-race veterinary examination revealed the gelding to be lame in the near hind leg. A veterinary clearance is required prior to being permitted to race or officially trial again.
CRUISERWEIGHT: Near the 1300m shifted out and made contact with Betwitchery. Near the 50m was steadied when crowded for room by Fiorenot (Jordan Childs) which shifted in. Rider Childs was severely reprimanded and advised that he must ensure that when his mounts shift ground, he must ensure he stops riding and straightens. Rider Ethan Brown reported that in his opinion the gelding may be better suited to tracks with more give and may also have come to the end of its preparation. The Hayes’ stable advised they will make an assessment in the coming days as to the gelding’s immediate racing future. A post-race veterinary examination did not reveal any significant findings. Stewards will follow up with the stable.
HORSE TO FOLLOW FROM CAULFIELD MEEETING: PROFLIGATE.
RANDWICK
A horse can’t do anything more than win but it seems some expected more of AUTUMN GLOW in the Group 2 Seven Stakes on Saturday.
It wasn’t a walk in the park for Australia’s newest champion but jockey James McDonald declared he never had cause for concern.
Autumn Glow extended her record to 13 wins from 14 starts and close to $10mn in prizemoney so the connections are laughing all the way to the bank as she heads to the King Charles III Stakes.
Sadly there were only 10,000 at Randwick to see the champ in action. Over 50,000 attended Everest Day last year. But that’s still a pittance considering the 80,000 plus that attend Derby Day at Flemington or the 90,000 for Melbourne Cup Day.
But compare racing to Australia Rules & Rugby League which has attracted close to 100,000 to grand finals, then the gallops have a problem crowd-wise which can’t be blamed on live TV coverage which all three receive.
KA YING RISING was preparing for his departure for Australia and another Everest tilt when some of his main rivals in that blockbuster were chasing him the enigmatic Mazu in the G2 Shorts at Randwick.
As one cynic suggested: ‘Mazu must have had the connections of Ka Ying Rising shaking in their boots.’
With respect it was Joliestar’s first start since returning from the UK and the favorite Headwall wasn’t suited by the way the race was run and certainly deserves a slot in The Everest.
STEWARDS REPORTED:
FUNDAMENTAL NATURE: When questioned regarding her riding, apprentice Shannen Llewellyn reported that she was instructed to ride the horse in a more forward position. She said that after beginning well, she allowed runners to her outside to cross in an attempt to obtain cover, where she then hoped to shift down to the rail. She said, however, that when Cosmeena maintained a position to her inside, she was unable to cross to the rail. She said that Fundamental Nature was inclined to race keenly through the early stages, however, she was satisfied with the position she was able to obtain, where she was trailing the eventual winner Night Agent from the 1000m. She added that Fundamental Nature continued to race keenly through the middle stages and, approaching the 600m, became badly unbalanced when bumped heavily and forced wider by Spicy Lu, which shifted out abruptly. She said that from this point she was trailing Barbaric Lad rounding the home turn and, when attempting to obtain clear running between Barbaric Lad and Phantom Major on straightening, she was disappointed for this run and had to check when Phantom Major held a tight line to her outside and Barbaric Lad shifted out slightly. Fundamental Nature was then held up for clear running until after passing the 300m. When questioned as to whether there was an opportunity to shift to the outside of Barbaric Lad prior to Phantom Major improving to her outside, App. Llewellyn stated that, having regard to the racing manners of her mount, she was reluctant to shift wider and have Fundamental Nature race very wide and without cover from that point. She therefore elected to remain racing with cover behind Barbaric Lad rounding the home turn.
NIGHT AGENT: When questioned regarding the horse settling in a forward position, James McDonald stated that he was issued no specific instructions as to where to ride Night Agent but in pre-race discussions he indicated to connections that he did not want to take the horse back from a wide barrier. He said that after beginning well, he rode the horse neutrally in the early stages to identify whether there was a position he could obtain with cover. He said, however, when the pace of the race in the early stages was not as strong as anticipated, rather than endeavour to obtain cover on Night Agent, he allowed it to stride forward, whereby it settled in a prominent position.
FORMAL DISPLAY: When questioned regarding his riding in the early stages, Apprentice Braith Nock stated that he was instructed to ride the horse in a forward position and, if available to him, he had the option to lead. He said that after beginning well, he rode his mount initially to obtain a forward position. He said that in the early stages he anticipated that Headley Grange would ease and shift down to the rail, which would have afforded him a position with cover behind General Salute. He said, however, that when Headley Grange maintained a one-off position behind General Salute, this resulted in Formal Display being caught wide and without cover. App. Nock added that while he considered making a forward move to cross General Salute, he felt that he would have had to make too much use of Formal Display to do so, therefore, he elected to remain racing wide and without cover. App. Nock was advised that, particularly having regard to his instructions, he should have been more positive on Formal Display in the early stages to obtain a leading position rather than have the horse race wide and without cover throughout the event.
HORSE TO FOLLOW FROM RANDWICK MEETING: AELIANA.
