Payne might be in hot water over social media criticism of Goodie
MICHELLE Payne could be censured after the Melbourne Cup-winning rider’s social media criticism of Flemington track manager Mick Goodie.
SuperRacing
Don't miss out on the headlines from SuperRacing. Followed categories will be added to My News.
MICHELLE Payne could be censured after the Melbourne Cup-winning rider’s social media criticism of Flemington track manager Mick Goodie.
Despite not riding at headquarters during Saturday’s Australian Guineas meeting, Payne claimed the track was not a fair surface, questioning whether Goodie’s position should be reviewed.
“Maybe Mick Goodie’s position needs to be reviewed? He has no one to answer to, gets away with it time and time again,” Payne tweeted.
“It’s not very nice to upset people but I’ve been there many times (to) our premier track, walked it and felt like going home.”
The tweets were later deleted but not before Racing Victoria stewards became aware of them.
RV’s social media policy allows has scope for licensed operators to be called before stewards if there are perceived breaches.
@MattHeraldSun @RSN927 maybe Mick Goodie's position needs to be reviewed? He has no one to answer to, gets away with it time and time again.
— Michelle Payne (@mj_payne) March 5, 2017
@MattHeraldSun it's not very nice to upset people but I've been there many times our premier track, walked it and felt like going home.
— Michelle Payne (@mj_payne) March 5, 2017
Payne, who won the Melbourne Cup two years ago on Prince Of Penzance, has ridden in only one race in five Flemington meetings this season.
She told Racing.com “horses that raced on the inside few metres had a significant advantage” on Saturday.
“Mowing the grass shorter on the inside because it’s different grass, he should put the rail out if he wants to avoid that patch of grass,” Payne said.
“He’s got 30 metres of track and sometimes you might want to be on three metres of that track.
“It can happen anywhere but it just happens time and time again at Flemington.
“Obviously a very hard job to be a track manager, there’s no doubt about that, but this shouldn’t be happening so many times on our best track which is a beautiful big, track.”
That Flemington track on Saturday played exactly as expected, nothing wrong with it at all?
— Tom Gilmore (@tgilmore_92) March 5, 2017
Goodie is believed to have mown the inside section slightly shorter than other parts of the track to offset growth of kikuyu grass.
RV chairman of stewards Terry Bailey would not be drawn on Payne’s comments other than to say “We are aware of the tweets.”
It was reported that Goodie was happy with the way the Flemington track raced on Australian Guineas Day at the weekend.
What the jockeys said: 2025 CF Orr Stakes
This is what the jockeys had to say after the running of the CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
‘We love you, Col’: Jamie fulfils Group 1 dream with Another Wil
Jamie Melham had her wish come true when Another Wil won the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes for late owner Colin McKenna, days after what would have been his 75th birthday.