FIRSTLY, what a bloody great finish we witnessed in the Battle of the Bush qualifier at Longreach on Saturday.
Four horses crossed the line together in the closest photo finish I can recall seeing at a bush meeting.
However, a mistake by the QRIC-employed judge left a sour taste in the mouths of a few, including bookmakers.
The judge declared the Bevan Johnson-trained Scorched Land as the winner, with Hurricane Thunder the runner-up and favourite Fine Shot as third.
This information was relayed to betting services and Sky Racing, who semaphored the numbers and punters were paid out.
In 2026, virtually every corporate bookmaker, and the TAB (with tickets) get paid out immediately on fixed odds bets once the numbers are posted.
However, the QRIC-employed judge completely missed the actual winner, the Raymond Williams-trained Entrepreneurial, which was closest to the fence.
The mistake was rectified fairly quickly and correct weight declared, meaning those who backed the right winner got paid, while many who backed the runner-up also got paid, but it does raise some eyebrows.
Firstly, it’s an amateurish mistake to make. Watching live, the numbers were declared by caller Scott Power within about 30 seconds of them crossing the line.
Secondly, why was it not mentioned in the Stewards’ Report?
There is nothing at all about the mistake, only this: “Correct weight was delayed to allow connections of all placed runners to view the photo finish and after doing so were satisfied with the judge’s decision and correct weight was declared.”
I’d expect better from experienced stewards Russell Hanson and Steve Larkins, who were present at Longreach.
The connections of Scorched Land certainly deserved better.
For a minute they had a runner in the Battle of the Bush final, only for it to be hastily taken away.
