STEWARDS MAKE A STRONG STATEMENT AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE HEART OF THE CARNIVAL
By Damian Browne | Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Damian Browne is rated right up there with the best jockeys in Australia. After severe injury setbacks which would have ended a lesser man’s career, this eleven-time Group 1 winning jockey has fought back against the odds to establish a solid reputation both as a person ... through the calm, confident and professional manner in which he goes about his business ... and as a rider, where he has built an enviable race record largely courtesy of his exceptional expertise as a horseman. Damian’s column, ‘Brownies Blog’, will appear weekly on Wednesdays ... exclusive to HRO!
The stewards certainly made a statement when suspending apprentice Luke Tarrant for six weeks after finding him guilty of a reckless riding charge from Saturday’s meeting.
I haven’t seen the replay ... ... so it would be unfair for me to comment on this particular outcome ... but I do know some of the boys weren’t too happy coming back.
There is a fine line between careless riding and reckless riding but, once it is deemed to be that bad, tempers can run quite high at times.
It is a start where there is quite often interference in that first corner going out of the straight at Doomben and also in the run leading up to it. I suppose that is where experience comes into play.
You have to leave a little bit more room. Obviously it was decided that Luke didn’t and he’s suffered the consequences.
We’ve all suffered from interference and we’ve all caused it at some stage but, as I say, it is a fine line between being careless and reckless and if your ride is judged to fall into the latter category you are in dangerous territory as safety has to be paramount at all times.
If it is decided you have compromised safety, you will be in trouble.
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Everybody involved in the Stradbroke is waiting on the weight rise which will come into effect if the current top weight Boban does not accept for the race.
I think this situation just indicates that the quality of the field itself this year probably hasn’t got as much depth as it has had in previous years ... when one horse can compress the weights like that.
It’s good for me if the weights do go up. Srikandi will go up to 55kg which will suit me a lot better than the 53kg she was originally allocated.
I’ve had people on the phone ... owners and trainers ... wanting to know whether I can ride their horse with the weight rise, or not.
My understanding is that Boban is not running and the weights will go up.
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Interestingly, I was offered the ride on Hot Snitzel who will probably start as one of the favourites for the Stradbroke, but due to my prior commitment with Srikandi I’m going to have to stick with her.
You have got to make the call as you see it at the time and I gave my commitment. It is always a juggling act though and things change but I like to honour my commitment if I make one.
If you don’t, in the long term, it can come back and bite you on the bum.
Sometimes you’ve just got to do the right thing.
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That’s not to say Srikandi is not without a chance in the Stradbroke either, but she is probably going to have to improve a length or two on her latest couple of runs.
Immediately after the race on Saturday I was very disappointed with her effort.
I got a similar run at the Gold Coast in the Victory Stakes and she was able to really sprint and put them away.
Turning for home in the 10 000 I thought I was in the same position. I thought I was going to be very hard to beat ... but she just didn’t seem to sprint as well as she did at the Gold Coast.
From my understanding they were very careful with her as far as how much work they did with her after the incident in the BTC Cup.
She wasn’t able to do the work that I think they wanted to do with her ... so I think she will take some improvement from her latest run, but, in saying that, she’s probably going to need to.
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Platinum Witness falls into the same sort of category after her unplaced run in the Roses on Saturday as she heads towards the Oaks.
I rode her quite negatively on Saturday because they were worried about her over-racing and pulling too hard ... just to try to get her to settle and find the line.
I don’t feel she handled Doomben that well. It was her first time going right handed. She got on the wrong leg a number of times, particularly turning for home. She wanted to get out.
She is going to need to draw well in the Oaks to be any hope at all, but she is too good a filly to write off completely ... but she is going to need to do things right.
Bohemian Lily was very impressive and we all know what Winx can do.
They are the standouts and she is going to have to be at the top of the game to beat them.
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I’m also on Index Linked, my Caloundra Cup winner, in the Group 2, Eagle Farm Cup.
His acceptance took me by surprise to be honest.
He wasn’t nominated originally. He was supposed to be running the following week ... but obviously there was a change in plan after nominations for the race were extended ... and I’m more than happy to run with that.
Till next week,
Damian
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