The major moments that shaped the racing industry in 2024
Racing in 2024 dished up any number of major moments with the team at Racenet settling on their top 11 where there will be few surprises as to what is ranked number one.
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If you love a headline, racing has a habit of delivering in spades.
And the year 2024 was no different.
As the curtain closes on another year we look back at the top 25 racing moments that shaped racing in the year past, be it the good, the bad or the sometimes ugly.
• READ PART 1: (25-12) Triumph, scandal and tragedy – the moments that shaped 2024
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11) Darren Weir saga continues, slapped with further 2 year-ban
Darren Weir was back in court in July with the Victorian Racing Tribunal handing the former Melbourne Cup winning trainer a further two-year ban for using an electronic shock device on three horses.
The move was Weir’s latest attempt to return to the training fold after initially receiving a four-year ban for the possession of a jigger which expired last year.
Racing Victoria stewards pushed for a further 10-year-ban saying Weir’s conduct jeopardised Racing Victoria’s “social licence” while Weir’s representatives said he had “suffered additional punishment through extensive media coverage and loss of his livelihood and identity”.
It’s a storyline only set to continue in 2025.
READ: Weir slapped with new two-year ban … but start date remains unresolved
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10) 2021 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant dies
Racing said goodbye to a few former champions in 2024 including 11-time Group 1 winner and 2021 Melbourne Cup champion Verry Elleegant.
In tragic circumstances, Verry Elleegant passed away in Ireland in February due to complications when giving birth to her first foal.
Sadly the foal also didn’t survive.
Chris Waller, who trained the mighty mare for the majority of her career, said following her passing: “She was in fantastic hands on a farm who did all they could for her, and we would like to thank them for their efforts which we will be forever grateful for,” Waller said.
“We all saw the courage she had on the racetrack over many seasons, and she will never be forgotten by those close to her as well as the wider racing public who followed her career and loved her so much.”
Waller had to endure further heartbreak in September when his Derby hero Riff Rocket died from a colic attack.
READ: ‘Brought me to tears’: J-Mac devastated by Verry Elleegant death
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9) Rosehill Inquiry Captures All Kinds Of Headlines
The NSW Legislative Council’s inquiry into the proposed sale of Rosehill Gardens at times played out more like a soap opera than it did a bona fide inquiry into the sale.
Barbs were flying thick and fast between committee members and witnesses, with a decent chunk of discussions deviating well away from the actual Terms of Reference.
And while it made for good viewing, whether it provided anything of meaningful substance remains questionable.
At the end of it all the situation remains where it has always been … in the hands of the ATC members.
Another storyline that will play well into 2025.
READ: Rosehill sale inquiry: V’landys takes aim at ‘smear campaign’
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8) Winx offspring sells for staggering $10 million
It was standing room only at the Inglis Easter Sales in 2024 when Lot 391 rolled into the sale ring and for very good reason.
The lot was the first offspring of the great Winx, with the now two-year-old filly by Pierro eventually knocked down to Winx’s part owner Debbie Kepitis for a record $10 million.
“I don’t know what I was thinking – stress, anticipation, doubt, every emotion you could think of really,‘’ Kepitis said looking back on the day.
“I will never forget it when the gavel came down but mainly it was a feeling of relief.
“Relief because we knew the filly was staying with us but it took a lot of determination to go to the amount we knew we may have to go to.
“You are never prepared to spend that amount of money and yes we may have stretched ourselves more than we wanted to but she just tore at our heart strings.”
READ: Quinceañera: The story behind $10m Winx filly’s name
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7) Monster fines for international jockeys after Lake Forest wins $10m Golden Eagle
The international contingent added plenty of intrigue to the 2024 $10m Golden Eagle but no one was anticipating what was to unfold in the 1500m showpiece.
In a thrilling finish, and one that more resembled a demolition derby, it was the William Haggas-trained Lake Forest which prevailed over French raider Lazzat by half-a-length.
But it was in the stewards room that the event got really interesting with Cieren Fallon, rider of Lake Forest, slapped with a $100,000 fine and one-month suspension while Antonio Orani, rider of Lazzat, was hit with a $30,000 fine and one-month suspension.
On appeal, Fallon got his fine halved, ensuring he kept a larger bulk of the sizeable winning riding fee in Australia’s second richest race.
READ: ‘Not a good advertisement for racing’: Hoop cops record fine
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6) Racing mourns passing of the invincible Black Caviar
A dark shade of sadness covered racing midway through August when news filtered through that the great Black Caviar had passed away on the eve of her 18th birthday.
More affectionately known as Nelly, Black Caviar was invincible on the track, winning all of her 25 races including 15 at Group 1 level, with Luke Nolen in the saddle on 22 occasions.
“She was a remarkable horse who gave us all the ride of a lifetime and wonderful memories,” her trainer Peter Moody said.
“You don’t think it affects you but you are being stupid not to think it doesn’t. It’s impossible not to get attached to most animals let alone one like her.”
Two days before Christmas, Nelly’s legacy lived on, when the Moody-Coleman-trained Persian Caviar, a daughter of Black Caviar, won on debut at Wangaratta.
READ: Black Caviar’s passing after giving birth devastates owner
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5) Iron girl Bella Nipotina lands The Everest, caps off incredible 2024
Well, what can you say about that girl Bella?
She makes the list courtesy of her The Everest victory but it was her body of work during all of 2024 that makes her truly special.
The iron girl campaigned here, there and everywhere during the year, starting on 14 occasions in four different states, picking up three Group 1s.
But it was her The Everest triumph that stood above the rest, winning the race for race sponsor TAB in the most courageous of fashion.
“The plan was simple – we just had to trust ‘Bella’,” Craig Williams said post race.
“We knew from her outside barrier that we were unlikely to get across but I had to ride her positively and put her into the race.
“There was nothing else we could have done. This was her summit and to get there she was going to have to be tough.
“I spoke to Ciaron and he said ‘I love the plan, let’s go and do it, let’s execute it. Have faith in her’.”
READ: ‘The plan was simple – trust Bella’: Racing’s iron lady wins The Everest
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4) Knight’s Choice creates history in Melbourne Cup
It was the stuff of fairytales.
Outsider Knight’s Choice only won the one race in 2024 but he certainly made it count, annexing the Melbourne Cup in thrilling fashion for Sunshine Coast trainers Sheila Laxon and John Symons.
The win kept Laxon unbeaten in the Melbourne Cup after Ethereal won the race in 2001.
The triumph was also a boon for Queensland with Knight’s Choice the first winner trained from the sunshine state.
“We wouldn’t be in here if we didn’t think we could (win it),” John Symons said in the race aftermath.
“What a great ride by Robbie (Dolan), you know he stayed in, he took the risk, went through the pack.
“I was worried he got further back than we talked about, but great ride, what a thrill, what a thrill.
“You work with these horses 24/7 and you know where you’ve got them. You’d be disappointed if he didn’t run a good race.
“To run top five in a race like this, you’ve got to walk away happy. To win it, it’s a dream come true. She’ll (Laxon) be partying somewhere here. She got all the kids flown in from overseas to be here.”
READ: Right choices lead to fairytale Melbourne Cup win
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3) For that man Robbie Dolan
The Melbourne Cup has a habit of making rock stars out of winning jockeys, hey, they even make movies about some of them, and deservedly so!
But no one was readying for Irish hoop Robbie Dolan, already half a rock star anyway courtesy of his well documented singing prowess, entering the fold in 2024.
The story of how Dolan came to ride for Sheila Laxon and John Symons, meeting Laxon on a cruise ship, grabbed any number of headlines after Knight’s Choice’s Melbourne Cup heroics.
One of the great storylines of 2024.
READ: Ride of his life: A day when Dolan couldn’t lose
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2) Via Sistina soars to new heights in Cox Plate after trackwork mishap
The eight-length Cox Plate romp was special in its own right but it was the frenetic lead up that made the performance all the more remarkable.
On the Tuesday prior at Breakfast With The Best, James McDonald became dislodged from Via Sistina with a picture of the champion hoop sitting upright on the turf watching Via Sistina blaze away unattended one of the snaps of 2024.
After the mishap every man and his dog had an opinion as to whether the superstar Yulong mare should start, with trainer Chris Waller remaining poised and leaving a decision until race morning.
In the end she started and as they ‘the rest is history’, delivering one of the most remarkable Cox Plate wins in the event’s steep history.
READ: ‘She won like Winx’: J-Mac claims 100th Group 1 in record Cox Plate triumph
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1) Pride Of Jenni stuns racing world with Queen Elizabeth romp
Dubbed ‘the run of the century’, it is hard to properly quantify just what Pride Of Jenni did for racing in the Queen Elizabeth of 2024.
In a performance that had to be seen to be believed - in front by 30 lengths at one point - Jenni’s 6 ½ length romp, with Declan Bates in the saddle, will be forever embedded in thoroughbred racing folklore.
Racing is armed with sizeable marketing budgets but money can’t buy what Pride Of Jenni delivered for the industry in the QE.
“Unbelievable!” trainer Ciaron Maher said after the race.
“I’ve never seen anything like that, ever. Just phenomenal.
“Leading by 40! In a Group 1! And not just any Group 1!
“I don’t think it will get any better than that. That is the biggest win I’ve ever seen, let alone had anything to do with.”
READ: Pride Of Jenni stuns in jaw-dropping Queen Elizabeth romp
Originally published as The major moments that shaped the racing industry in 2024
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