![Hellsing and Tom Sherry were declared winners of the $3 million Big Dance after a successful protest against first-past-the-post Formal Display. [Bradley Photos]](https://betsy.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/2387786.jpg)
A dramatic finish to the $3 million Big Dance had an even more extraordinary instalment in the stewards room when a protest by Nash Rawiller on fourth past-the-post Gringotts against Chad Schofield on original winner, Formal Display, was upheld.
In a messy affair, Formal Display ($8) was badly held up for a run in the straight but surged through a late opening to nail his Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained stablemate Hellsing ($26) by a short head, with Matias ($12) another short neck behind him.
Gringotts, who started a $2.80 favourite and was chasing his third successive Big Dance (1600m) trophy, also had a checkered passage to finish fourth, 1-1/4 lengths from the winner.
Rawiller fired in a protest against Schofield on Formal Display, alleging interference between the 600m and 500m when he shifted off the fence and caused Gringotts to lose significant ground.
“It’s probably put us from being a long neck off Chad to being three lengths behind him and trying to pick up the pieces,” Rawiller told stewards.
“It was quite severe interference at a difficult point of the race.
“I would have been three lengths closer, and travelling, and picking the runs as they opened.”
Schofield conceded his horse stepped away from the fence on the bend, but felt there was room for Gringotts to hold his position, adding the horse to Gringott’s outside, Puntin, contributed to the interference.
He also felt Formal Display would have won the Big Dance by much further with clear running.
“My horse was held up until the last fifty metres of the race. If he gets a gap, he goes on and wins by three lengths,” Schofield said.
Stewards, led by chief stipe Tom Moxon, deliberated for some time before upholding Rawiller’s objection, Moxon estimating the bump before the corner cost Gringotts “in excess of two lengths”.
He further found that without the interference, Gringotts would have followed Magnatear into the straight and had “an unimpeded run to the end of the race”.
“Having regard to the incident and the ground lost, and how the horse did then close the race off, the stewards can be comfortably satisfied that, had that interference between the 600 metres and 500 metres not occurred, Gringotts would have finished in advance of Formal Display and therefore, we uphold the protest,” Moxon said.
Hellsing was elevated to first, Matias second and Gringotts third, with Formal Display relegated to fourth.
The prizemoney differential cost connections of Formal Display $1.485 million, and robbed Schofield of a lucrative Sydney spring carnival treble after he won the $20 million Everest (1200m) on Tempted and $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) on Skyhook.
Hellsing’s jockey, Tom Sherry, said a protest result wasn’t an ideal way to win, but he was nonetheless thrilled, albeit his joy was tempered by Schofield’s misfortune.
“I was cursing Chad after the line, just because he’s on heat at the minute,” Sherry said.
“It was the first good chance I’ve had to win a race, so I wasn’t too happy with him, just because he won. I feel a little bit bad for him now, to be fair.
“It’s not how we want to win, but we’ll take it.”
