FROM THE SHERIFF'S DESK: YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHY WE SHOULD HOLD JOCKEYS IN HIGH REGARD

By John Schreck | Wednesday, August 30, 2017

John Schreck, a former Chief Steward in both Sydney and Hong Kong, has seen both the colourful and the dark sides of racing. His wealth of experience and his deep knowledge of racing matters across the board is unquestioned and the reputation he built as a racing ‘lawman’ remains firmly entrenched in racing’s history. Schreck’s personal blog, ‘From the Sheriff’s Desk', appears exclusively on HRO.

Going three laps on a racehorse without a bridle ... as Laura Cheshire did at the Murwillumbah Cup meeting last Friday ... yet again brought home two home-truths about riders who ply their trade in the racing industry.

Firstly, race riding is a hazardous occupation.

The bridle coming off is most unusual. I’ve seen bits break and that sort of thing but for a bridle to go is usual and Cheshire’s heart would no doubt have been in her mouth going around like that.

As I say, it is just another example of the dangers faced everyday by the people who ride racehorses and she did a wonderful job to just let it run and ease it down when she could to help ensure that there a happy ending to a difficult situation.

Secondly, the quality and standard of horsemanship that most jockeys have at their disposal should be appreciated and applauded.

In the case in question at Murwillumbah, to go around and around in a little saddle with no steering gear and to come back safely is quite an achievement really ... but, day after day, under full race conditions, every jockey’s expertise is put to the test.

People don’t fully understand the job they do.

They race in little saddles with their knees up above the horse’s withers. They ride boot to boot at around forty miles an hour with little protection.

It is quite amazing really.

As I’ve stated many times, I have the greatest regard for people who ride racehorses and when you have an extreme situation, as Cheshire was faced with at Murwillumbah, it does the showcase both the dangers faced and the skills of our riders ... albeit in a circumstance that we would prefer not to happen.

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I can recall Tom McGinley ... who was famous for his association with a horse called Crisp who finished second to Red Rum in a Grand National at Aintree ... completing a steeplechase race at Flemington years ago without a bridle.

He rode it just with the martingale ... that’s all he had, the bridle was gone ... and when I say completed the course I mean just that ... jumps and all.

McGinley, a Scotsman, was probably one of the best steeplechase jockeys Australia has ever seen. He was just a wonderful jockey.

At one stage Tom was trying to get more rides on the flat. One day he asked a leading trainer for rides. The trainer, not that keen having Tom ride for him ,said, "Tom, you haven't done much riding on the flat.”

Tom replied, “That’s simply not right.” The trainer then asked, “Well Tom, where have you ridden on the flat?”

Tom snapped back,”That’s easy, from bloody jump to jump.”

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The Murwillumbah Cup itself was not without incident with the false start siren being set off accidentally as the starter was leaving his stand.

A couple of runners were pulled up and some other riders were distracted by the siren ... but then the bulk of the field raced on and completed the contest

That, no doubt, meant that it would have been difficult for the stewards adjudicating on the matter on the day to make a call on the validity of the race.

Over time riders have been directed that they are to pull up if the siren goes off. In other words if the siren goes off they have got to obey the call because otherwise complete confusion reigns ... and obviously there was a fair degree of confusion at Murwillumbah.

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To me, there were three options for the stewards to consider.

One ... would be to treat it as an accidental occurrence and let everything stand meaning it would just be bad luck for those who eased out of the race or who were compromised at all.

Two ... would have been to void the race completely and, because it was a feature race, run it at some other time in the future.

Three ... would have been, as they did, to declare the horses that were seriously impacted as non-runners and let the rest of the result stand.

Unless you were there in the steward’s room listening to all the evidence from all of the jockeys it would be very difficult to comment either way on the decision that was taken.

Suffice to say that the impact of the siren going off was obviously tangible and could be seen as far as least three runners were concerned (see stewards report below*) but there would have been an intangible effect certainly, I would have thought, in that others would have momentarily have slowed down ... so you really wouldn’t know what the overall impact was on the race.

The stewards took some time making their decision suggesting that careful consideration was given to all of the options in front of them.

Then they made their call.

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Changing course, I know that the supply of stewards in New South Wales is very tight and I am aware that they are advertising for stewards (plural) in harness racing in Queensland ... including the Chief Steward.

It will be very interesting to see both the number and quality of people that apply for these positions.

I would be surprised if the numbers are high and the quality is high because, from my understanding, racing authorities around Australia have not being doing enough in recent times to bring into the sport young men and women and train them as judicial people.

Of course, it is essential for that arm of the industry to be strong filled with people of substance with solid training behind them ... so it will be interesting to see how this latest recruitment drive plays out.

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*EXTRACT FROM THE OFFICIAL STEWARDS REPORT, RACE 6 MURWILLUMBAH, AUGUST 25.

Prior to the declaration of correct weight stewards inquired into the reason jockeys R. Stewart (Cauthen’s Power) and Robert Agnew (Celtic Tiger) had restrained their mounts in the early stages and took no competitive part in the event.

Evidence was taken from the official starter Mr Rex Kelly and all riders in the event and the official video footage viewed.

Stewards established that after the start of the race was effected, Mr Kelly dismounted his stand and unintentionally knocked the false start siren remote control to the ground which resulted in the false start siren engaging for a short time before he was able to terminate it.

R. Stewart and R. Agnew advised stewards that upon hearing this false start siren they were under the impression that it was a false start and restrained their mounts accordingly.

Jockey L. Rolls (Steal a Diamond) advised stewards that after hearing the false start siren he too was of the opinion it was a false start and commenced to ease his mount resulting in it going from an off pace position, consistent with its normal racing pattern, to a position worse than midfield.

L. Rolls stated that passing the 1200m, when the remainder of the field continued to race competitively, he endeavoured to take a competitive part in the event.

Of the remaining riders, a proportion advised they were unaware the siren had sounded and the remaining indicated that whilst they were momentarily distracted by the siren they had continued to race competitively and had not taken any action that had materially prejudiced their mounts.

After considering the evidence of all parties, the response of riders to the siren and the settling positions of all runners in the event the stewards were satisfied that the only runners that had been materially prejudiced by the false start siren being inadvertently effected were Cauthen’s Power, Celtic Tiger and Steal a Diamond.

Consequently, those horses were declared non runners and stewards ordered that all wagers on them be refunded and that all successful wagers placed with bookmakers be subject to deductions.

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