Millions protest call right, but Melham let-off baffles
Racing Queensland stewards got one decision absolutely right in Saturday’s Magic Millions Guineas and another very wrong.
A protest where a $1.60 favourite and heaviest-backed horse of the day is involved was always going to skew opinion.
Self-interest factor wins with most.
Betsy ran a poll, and 60 per cent were in favour of Ninja’s protest being upheld. But what would the poll say had the roles been reversed?
The result would have been even more skewed, if winner Torque To Be Sure had been the protester in the Ninja role.
There is no doubt a protest had to be lodged in the Magic Millions Guineas. But under the rules, stewards had to find the level of interference had cost more than the winning margin.
It simply didn’t.
However, for Ben Melham to escape a suspension in the incident is amazing.
He was fined $1000 for breaching the whip rules.
Even in isolation the drift of Torque To Be Sure, without being straightened, of at least six horses and the bump should have been deemed careless.
The whip breach and drift in concert showed a level of carelessness at the end of a $3 million race that should be unacceptable.
Melham is required to straighten his mount when it begins to shift and he didn’t.
He got the desired result, but should have paid a penalty with a suspension.
Back to the protest, it’s very hard to win an objection with a three-quarter of a length margin, particularly when the interference is in the final 100m.
How many horses make up that margin in the final charge to the line?
Tommy Berry had, understandably, saved Ninja for one final charge after being posted wide in the race.
He had nursed him and didn’t ask for the final surge until the 200m, where he was still on the bridle.
By this time Torque To Be Sure, to his inside, had got first run on him and was at his top. Ninja was building to his top and closed to a neck when the bump occurred.
But it meant Torque To Be Sure’s hindquarter bounced off Ninja’s shoulder, instead of the horses being side by side, which could have been the case if Ninja went a little earlier.
Ninja lost about a quarter of a length from the bump, but as Torque To Be Sure drifted there was a second piece of interference which was more significant.
Berry had to put his whip away and gather, losing about a half-length. This was inside the 50m mark and the margin stayed similar to the line.
If the margin was a half-length, the protest would have been upheld, but at three-quarters of a length, there was enough doubt for Torque To Be Sure to hold the race.
Collett calls wife from the track
Jockey Jason Collett was lucky to escape serious injury when he fell from Private Legacy in the Magic Millions Subzero, but was clear-headed enough to call his wife Clare from the track.
“I knew that would have looked bad, so I wanted to let her know I was all right,” Collett said. “The barrier boys were there straight away, and I know starter, Kenny Watson, and said to him ‘do you have a phone?’.
“I gave him Clare’s number and talked to her while on the track.”
It’s not a surprise Collett passed concussion tests after he remembered his wife’s number, but he was stood down for the rest of the day.
“I’m a bit sore and will see how I am later in the week,” Collett said.
Good rating, no good for Amore Veloce
Trainer Robert Heathcote called for stewards to show “some common sense” after a black-and-white ruling saw Amore Veloce scratched from the final race on Magic Millions day.
The seven-year-old had been targeted to run on Magic Millions day with Heathcote scratching her because of the firmness of Eagle Farm at her last start. It resulted in Amore Veloce being banned from running on a Good 4.
Stewards waited until after race 9 to scratch Amore Veloce because of the expectation of rain but their hands were tied under the rules.
“It’s where they should have used common sense, it was perhaps her final run and we had owners come up to watch her on a big day,” Heathcote said. “She likes cushion in the track, which you get at the Gold Coast. It’s just really firm ground that she does like and that’s why I scratched her at Eagle Farm, but because of that she could run on a Good 4.”
Drenched Rosehill given favourable reviews
When it starts to rain in Sydney on Saturday mornings, it usually cues the track bias conversations. Not with Rosehill on the weekend.
First-up after a renovation, Rosehill raced well with the favourites rolling in late in the day, leaving no room for complaints by punters.
“We did the Randwick reno on it and it handled the day really well,” Australian Turf Club tracks boss Michael Wood said.
“We had 20 millis before the meeting and another 11 millis during it, and it raced really (well) and showed the benefit of our work.”
Legal eagles circling ATC drama
Expect some of the big names to be thrown into the Australian Turf Club’s battle with Racing NSW in the next month. The regulator and club are far from happy campers together.
