Punters the ones feeling sore after magistrate’s decision on Waterhouse’s More Joyous appeal

IT has been a shocking weekend for racing, writes Ken Callander.

Hugh Bowman wins on Catkins in what Ken Callander judged the ride of the day.

IT has been a shocking weekend for racing and I am not talking about the breakdown of Gai Waterhouse’s star youngster Fighting Sun.

The decision by Magistrate David Armati, acting as the Racing Appeals Tribunal, to uphold Gai Waterhouse’s appeal against a stewards decision, that she was required to report soreness in the neck and lameness of star mare More Joyous, could have far reaching effects on the survival of racing.

Without punters, racing cannot survive and, legal loopholes or no legal loopholes, punters won’t bet if they suspect information regarding the wellbeing of horses is being kept from them. Gai Waterhouse herself has said, “The Punter is King.”

Fortunately Peter Vlandy’s, CEO of Racing NSW, immediately came to the defence of punters and said the ruling will be challenged in the Supreme Court. The Appeals Tribunal has the status of a District Court.

I have no problem with Armati’s legal expertise. He is a former private practice solicitor and Chairman of the Licensing Court and Liquor Administration Board of NSW.

I found it interesting that Armati called for the help of expert assessors in the recent Racing NSW case against jockey Matthew Cahill and he was assisted by former jockey Gary Willetts and by former jockey and steward Brian Killian.

He called for no assessors in the Waterhouse case electing to go it alone, obviously confident in his own expert knowledge.

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The other lowpoint of the weekend was the condition of the track at Rosehill on Saturday.

After the driest period in years and a minimum of rain before the meeting, the track at Rosehill was slow. I know of one big punter who went home straight after the first race.

Racing NSW needs to ask questions.

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I went to Nowra races on Monday and, not only did I have a wow of a time, but I came away with great respect of how much voluntary work is put in by committees at country clubs to keep racing going.

Full marks to Nowra, but no marks to the bright sparks at the TAB who elected to have a TAB greyhound meeting at the Nowra dog track (500 metres away) at the same time as the races. Is this how they accommodate the rise in TAB greyhound meetings from 534 to 869 per year?

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Bill Perry, one of the great newspaperman of my time and, over the past 20 years, a regular at every Sydney and provincial racetrack, died in Sydney yesterday morning.

Perry, a former news editor and chief of staff of Rupert Murdoch’s Daily Mirror and the winner of a Churchill Fellowship, loved the characters and camaraderie of the track. He was a top class bloke and will be missed.

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Gerald Ryan is one of the very best trainers in Sydney and what a job he has done with Lightning Stakes winner Snitzerland. What a week it will be if he can cap it off with Rubick winning the Blue Diamond on Saturday.

Ryan is in the top group of trainers every year and, if he gets a horse good enough, he will get it to G1 level.

Brenton Avdulla too deserves plenty of kudos for his rides on the Ryan horses. Avdulla, alongside the Berry boys, James McDonald and Jason Collett is part of a particularly strong group of Sydney riders who are all in their early 20s.

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RIDE OF THE DAY

Hugh Bowman on Catkins. Showed there is more to riding than slather and whack. Beautifully timed.

RUN OF THE DAY

Fighting Sun. A terrible shame we won’t be seeing more of him in coming weeks. Quality colt.

FORGET IT RAN

Streama. The moderate early tempo and a check in running killed the chances of this quality mare.