THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - A QUERY ON PRE-RACE 'INCIDENT' PROTOCOL

By Graham Potter | Sunday, December 8, 2013

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily

Young Alisha Taylor’s grit and determination were recently tested by the pre-race antics of an unruly Cyclone Billy at Doomben

In a two-part assault Cyclone Billy firstly reared up high and pawed the air prompting Taylor to press the eject button. Then, once remounted, Cyclone Billy took off down the track going from nought to thirty-something kilometres an hour in a matter of strides.

Again Taylor took voluntary evasive action, slipping off the side of Cyclone Billy, seemingly taking a bump to the head as she landed on the turf, but she was quickly to her feet and was once again ‘ready to roll’ … if you’ll pardon the pun.

Cyclone Billy did race. He finished second last.

Now rewind to the incident with Jim Byrne a week earlier, where he was similarly twice dislodged from Cheapskater, and it seems logical that punters would be perfectly within their rights to ask the question, who vets the rider’s fitness to continue in these circumstances?

Byrne was thrown from Cheapskater when his mount was ‘spooked’ by something leaving the parade ring at Eagle Farm.

There is no question that Byrne is as tough as nails and quite predictably he shook himself down and went to remount the still troublesome Cheapskater. Or should I say, he hobbled towards his mount. He looked to be in some pain.

That ‘pain’ impression was confirmed when Byrne tried to remount Cheapskater unaided. Normally that would be an untroubled hop, skip and a jump which he would have done a million times. This time though it became a hop, skip and a grimace as Byrne pulled out of the leap into the saddle.

All was clearly not well with the rider.

Byrne was then helped into the saddle but Cheapskater was having none of that. He dumped Byrne once again, at which stage stewards called a halt to the horses’ involvement in the race.

My point is that if Byrne had stayed on the second time, Cheapskater would have probably have made his way to the start and taken part in the race.

Would that have been fair on the punters, given that Byrne, as brave as he was, appeared to be physically restricted to a degree which arguably could have compromised his ability to ride his horse out on its merits?

Now I’m no doctor so who knows just how badly, or otherwise, Byrne and Taylor were feeling after their respective incidents, but for officials just to ask them how they are and then let them remount as if nothing had happened … which seems to be have been the case on each occasion as no other relevant activity was spotted … hardly seems to be sufficient protocol to protect those who have invested on horses in these circumstances.

I’m not casting any aspersions on the work of the stewards, the riders or the club doctors.

I am querying the protocol.

Horses that may have been compromised have to be examined before they can be cleared to run.

That is to protect everyone’s interests.

Surely the same should apply when it comes to the jockey.

Which brings us back to the question, when that situation described arises, who vets the jockey?

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