Superracing review (part two): A glance back at the 2014-15 season
RACING in the season 2014-15 will be remembered mostly for the wrong reasons. But it wasn’t all bad as we look back on the season that was.
Racing
Don't miss out on the headlines from Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News.
RACING in the season 2014-15 will be remembered mostly for the wrong reasons.
An industry riddled by drug use, plagued by internal conflict and beset by both horse and human fatalities, but it wasn’t all bad. He’s our take on the season that was.
SUPERRACING AWARDS (PART ONE)
TAP HERE: HAVE YOUR SAY ON HORSE/RIDE/RACE OF THE YEAR
COBALT CHAOS
THE saga that began when David Hayes was accidentally sent eight bottles of cobalt in January last year is far from over. The bottles were handed over by Hayes to chief steward Terry Bailey, who then was integral in the creation of a threshold that has become a net.
It has caught out three famous trainers in Victoria — Peter Moody, Mark Kavanagh and Danny O’Brien — and many others around the country.
O’Brien and Kavanagh are pointing the finger at reckless vets at Flemington Equine, other trainers have simply shrugged, offering no explanation, while also claiming innocence.
This will potentially play out for many months. If found guilty of administration, these trainers face career-crushing disqualifications.
Many are prepared to take appeals as far as they can go. There will be winners, of course, regardless of outcomes — the lawyers.
ICE OVERLOAD
LEADING NSW country trainer Luke Griffith was banned for four years after three horses in his care tested positive to ice.
The addictive drug rose to prominence within the industry this season — on and off the track. Champion trainer David Hayes urged fellow trainers to start drug-testing their staff after fellow trainer Matt Laurie’s horse Shockaholic became the first Victorian runner to test positive to methamphetamines. Laurie said: “There is no reason to believe that the racing industry is isolated from the prevalence of drug use in the community generally.”
Tasmanian jockey Troy Baker was banned for a year after testing positive in May, while another rider, Ric McMahon, was banned for six months after confessing he took ice in a desperate attempt to shed the kilos.
FEMALE JOCKEY DEATHS
FOUR female jockeys lost their lives to leave a dark pall hanging over the industry for the second successive year.
Popular 19-year-old South Australian jockey Caitlin Forrest died after a four-horse fall in a race at Murray Bridge in October. Her death came just one day after the life support of 26-year-old Carly-Mae Pye was switched off after she fell in a jump out at Rockhampton.
Their deaths were followed by two further trackwork fatalities, both at Caulfield.
English-born track rider Lizz Rice, 26, was found unconscious after falling from a horse near the racecourse pool in January. Rice was initially in a coma but later died from her injuries.
Then last month German track rider Friederike Ruhle, 25, was killed after she fell from her horse while working on the sand track.
The deaths continued a bleak theme of deaths in the female riding ranks.
Darwin jockey Simone Montgomerie and Queensland rider Desiree Gill both lost their lives in the previous season in race falls.
ADMIRE RAKTI
WHAT started out as a fascinating story of the spring quickly soured when Melbourne Cup topweight Admire Rakti collapsed and died in his stall from a heart attack immediately after the running of the famous two-mile race.
Jockey Zac Purton, having already piloted the Japanese visitor to a grand Caulfield Cup triumph just three weeks earlier, sensed something was amiss on straightening for home and eased the distressed import out of the race.
Owner Riichi Kondo had instructed his entourage not to bet on Admire Rakti for fear of “using up too much luck”, but even he could not have foreseen the tragic final minutes of his prized racehorse’s life.
If that wasn’t enough, seven-year-old New Zealand stallion Araldo was put down after breaking a leg when it was spooked in bizarre circumstances on returning to the mounting yard.
The Mike Moroney runner was euthanised later that night after reacting to a large Australian flag being waved and kicking out at a small fence.
Sadly, the two events heavily overshadowed the superb victory of German horse Protectionist, who put on a clinic and won easily.
MAIDEN GROUP 1 GLORY
PREMIER Victorian female jockey Linda Meech has been riding for more than 15 years and amassed well over 1000 wins but it took until this year’s Coolmore Classic to snare her maiden Group 1.
In a thrilling finish, six horses flashed over the line together but it was Meech on Plucky Belle who’s number went into the frame.
James Cummings also enjoyed a historic maiden Group 1 win when Hallowed Crown won the Golden Rose at Rosehill in September.
Cummings has been training in partnership with his famous grandfather Bart since August 2013 and Hallowed Crown’s Golden Rose triumph was their first Group 1 together.
Their stable star would return in the autumn to win another Group 1 with the Randwick Guineas.
But for James, and he would undoubtedly agree, his biggest success came from away from the track when he and his wife Monica became proud parents to daughter Adeline.
RT RECOGNITION
ROBERT Thompson might have won more races than any other jockey in Australian history, but an unprecedented 11th Jungle Juice Cup — the biggest race of the year at Cessnock, his home track — was yet another extraordinary achievement from an extraordinary man.
Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in June and inducted into the Racing Hall Of Fame, it became a year of recognition for the great RT.
For the record on that fateful day last month, Thompson piloted Youthful King to his fourth win in the cup, also giving his trainer and the jockey’s close friend, Jeremy Sylvester, his eighth.
WHO’S YOUR MUMMY?
THE queen of the turf Black Caviar became a mum when she gave birth to a filly in the NSW Hunter Valley on a brisk September morning.
Regarded as “the people’s horse” and unbeaten in 25 starts, Black Caviar’s venture into motherhood was openly welcomed, with social media going into a spin.
The bay filly has a small white marking on her forehead and has two “white socks” on her front feet. And for those lucky owners, she will not be sold.
Black Caviar's new foal is thriving - see our exclusive photo gallery: http://t.co/6br3JioUEv pic.twitter.com/plhJ2ZfRFM
— Superracing (@superracing) September 19, 2014
It's a girl! The equine equivalent of a royal baby has arrived in the form of Champion racehorse Black Caviar's... http://t.co/4pZjI9LI0y
— ABC Rural (@ABCRural) September 16, 2014
It's a girl! Black Caviar has just given birth to her first foal - a filly out of Exceed & Excel. Pic: @DarrenBirdie pic.twitter.com/YeYpWTqpWv
— The Racing Guild (@TheRacingGuild) September 13, 2014
Congratulations to the Queen of Australian racing Black Caviar on the birth of her baby filly foal #RoyalBaby #blackcaviar #BabyCaviar
— Ladies of the Turf (@LadiesoftheTurf) September 12, 2014
THE TRACKS
IT was hard to find a good racing surface in Sydney after summer. Wet weather forced the postponement of the feature Doncaster meeting at Randwick in April, while the Kensington track was shut down after ongoing problems with its surface.
Down south, the first thoroughbred racecourse built in Victoria for almost 40 years was officially opened at Tynong in March.
The $72 million complex became the new home of the Pakenham Racing Club.
In July, the Palaszczuk Government approved funds for the second phase of the Eagle Farm racecourse development. Racing Queensland is hopeful of having Eagle Farm up and running in time for next year’s winter carnival.
QUEENSLAND CRACKDOWN
THE fallout from the live-bating greyhound scandal was felt heaviest in Queensland, with the Palaszczuk Government sacking all directors of the state’s four racing boards after a Commission on Inquiry report into the scandal, which was released in June.
“Today we are starting with a clean slate,” Premier Palaszczuk told Queensland parliament.
Racing Queensland chief executive Darren Condon and RQ integrity operations general manager Wade Birch were stood down during the crisis.
TV RIGHTS FURORE
TWICE during the year the racing viewing public were the losers in what became known as the Vision Wars.
Just before Christmas last year, Racing NSW decided it would withdraw from its arrangement with TVN, which left the racing vision company in turmoil.
Because of this move vision of Victorian races left the Sky Racing station for a period of three weeks before an impasse was agreed to and racing returned to the screen.
The next casualty in the war was TVN itself, which ceased operation in mid March.
Sky Racing continued to show Victorian races during this period.
The next flare up was in early June when Racing Victoria announced it has come to an arrangement with the Seven Network for it to show a Victorian only product from August 29 on Digital station 78.
As a result, Tabcorp and Sky Racing decided to opt out of showing Victorian races as they were only showing them on a rolling interim agreement.
For a few weeks punters could only watch Victorian races digitally.
Seven Network though decided it would show the Racing. Com digital vision on 78 as a gesture of goodwill until its official launch, which takes place on Memsie Stakes Day, August 29.
VALE ROSS McDONALD, BONECRUSHER & TAKEOVER TARGET
THE racing industry mourned the deaths of three legends in the 2014-2015 season — larrikin Caulfield trainer Ross McDonald, Kiwi superstar Bonecrusher and the people’s champion, Takeover Target.
McDonald, from the old school of horse trainers, had been fighting a series of health issues since a heart operation. He was a larger-than-life figure on the Australian racing scene for more than three decades and trained 22 Group 1 winners, including the 2007/08 Australian Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler.
Bonecrusher, known as “The Big Red”, died in his homeland of New Zealand at the age of 32. He was best known for winning the 1986 Cox Plate in what was is regarded as one of the greatest races ever.
Bonecrusher and fellow compatriot Our Waverley Star took off together at the 800m mark that saw late commentator Bill Collins quip “have the Kiwis gone too early?” as they settled down for the battle of all battles. Collins would remark at the finishing post that Bonecrusher raced his way into “equine immortality” with his win.
Then there was the death of a national cult hero — Takeover Target, who was put down after injuring himself in a paddock accident. Purchased for $1400 as an unraced four-year-old with career-threatening leg injuries, Takeover would race on for 21 wins from his 41 races, eight at Group 1 level and earn more than $6 million in stakes.
He would win in every state capital city except Hobart and triumph in England, Japan and Singapore. As an unknown Queanbeyan taxi driver and part-time racehorse trainer, Joe Janiak played a big role in racing’s fairytale story as Takeover Target took on and beat the world’s best. The champion sprinter was 15 years old.
THE LIGHTER SIDE OF RACING
ABSOLUTE CRACK UP
THE sun might have been shining bright at Canterbury in April but punters around the country were left staring at a full moon when Blake Shinn’s pants gave way.
The Melbourne Cup-winning jockey suffered the ultimate wardrobe malfunction as he and the Chris Waller-trained Miss Royale crossed the finish line.
Winning jockey Tommy Berry quipped: “What a great race to win. It meant I was the only one that didn’t have to stare at Blake’s arse the whole way up the straight.”
Jockey Blake Shinn's pants slip revealing his backside:instead of giving his horse a crack of the whip he was giving it a whip of the crack!
— Greg Robson (@GSRobson) April 24, 2015
@blake_shinn ???😳 pic.twitter.com/U2aZk0Nk7l
— RacingB*tch (@Racingb_tch) May 21, 2015
SANDWICHGATE
WHAT started out as a canteen commotion over lack of sandwiches at Pakenham races ended up being quite a crummy outcome for trainer Bryce Stanaway.
When told the sandwiches had run out on race day, Stanaway lost his temper and sensationally scratched his three runners.
Stewards bought into the feud and fined him $2000 — potentially making it the world’s most expensive sanga.
‘I’m pinching myself’: Baker keeps winning with Randwick treble
The Bjorn Baker juggernaut continued at Randwick with a treble and the trainer has already surpassed his Sydney winning tally from last season.
Perfect four for Coffey ends ‘lean patch’
Harry Coffey had a perfect day in the saddle at Caulfield with four wins from as many rides to break a self-described lean run.