Cobi Vitler feared his horse would clip heels after the lights went out in Toowoomba

Apprentice jockey Cobi Vitler feared that his mount would clip heels when the lights went out during a race at Toowoomba on Saturday night.

Steady Ready sizzles the turf at Eagle Farm last Saturday to frank his credentials for the $750,000 King Of The Mountain slot race. Picture: Grant Peters, Trackside Photography.

Apprentice jockey Cobi Vitler feared that his mount would clip heels when the lights went out during a race at Toowoomba on Saturday night.

The track was plunged into darkness shortly into race six when a contactor in a distribution board burnt out.

The five jockeys continued to ride, although stewards later declared a no-race, as the generators kicked in to supply the track safety lights.

“I think I found it worse than everyone else in the race because I had tinted goggles on and I couldn’t see anything,” Vitler said.

“I had horses inside me, outside me and in front of me. I was probably in the worst spot to be honest.

“I had no idea if I was about to take a heel or what was going on.

“It was good there were only five of us in the race and we’re all pretty experienced.

“If they had been some younger apprentices or first-timers going around then it probably wouldn’t have been so well managed.”

Englishman Vitler was riding the Mark Currie-trained gelding Ten Trinity Square when the lights went out.

Toowoomba Turf Club boss Grant Sheather said the timing of the blackout “couldn’t have been worse”.

“The generators supplied the track safety lights, that part did its job,” he said.

“You wouldn’t want to race in those conditions but it’s enough to pull a horse up or whatever.

“It’s a safety mechanism. It’s good it was a small race field. We’ve got all the contingencies in place but it was just one of those things unfortunately.

“The stewards weren’t quite sure that everyone had an opportunity to compete fairly so they made it a non-race which I think was the right decision.”

Racing Queensland acting chief executive Lachlan Murray said the right call was made to abandon the last two races of the meeting given it would have taken at least an hour to test the lighting system.

“The broadcast shows it worse than what it actually is,” Murray said.

“From a safety point of view, which is obviously paramount, the safety lights and the back-up generators were there for this reason.”

Sheather said he expected the lights to be fixed by Monday afternoon.

Regardless, the prestigious $750,000 King Of The Mountain slot race on Friday week is not in jeopardy given the final race of the meeting finishes at 6pm.

Sheather said the club had sent a letter to Queensland Premier David Crisafulli asking for government funding to install a new lighting system.

“We do have an ageing lights infrastructure and certainly we’d like to see something done about that in the very near future,” he said.

Toowoomba was the first racing club to host meetings under lights in 1992.

The Gold Coast Turf Club hosted the $2 million Jewel Day at night on Saturday, although the wagering figures are yet to be released for the rescheduled meeting.

Originally published as Cobi Vitler feared his horse would clip heels after the lights went out in Toowoomba