It seems that misfortunes come in pairs and following on the heels of Saturday’s controversial objection in the first race at Turffontein, the fifth at Scottsville yesterday was declared null-and-void after the riders failed to heed a call of a false start.
The race was won in a canter by odds-on favourite Magic Memory.
Explaining the start, Chairman of the Stipendiary board, Shaun Parker, said they did not have an option.
He explained that the bridle on Dundrum had come loose in the stalls and while the handlers where trying to get it back in place the start was effected. “The rider was not seated and the starter called a false start.” It would appear that not all the riders heard the call and carried on with the race. “Some said they heard the call and others said they did not,” said Parker.
He said that there would be an investigation into the start but pointed out that once the starter had declared a false start it “was just that”. The option was to re-run the race later or to declare the race null-and-void.
This is the second time within three months, also at Scottsville, where a race has continued with some jockeys declaring that they had not heard the starter’s call of a false start!
Dame Eleanor (Nkosi Hlophe)
Jockeys – and trainers for that matter – have long been critical of the Scottsville straight course, for years maintaining that you can only win from a low draw. Recent results have demolished that long held myth as Anthony Delpech confirmed when winning the first from the extreme outside draw yesterday. “We need to forget about the inside draw. The track is very even and very fair. In fact I now prefer to be drawn wide.” His view may have been coloured by the fact that he had just scored aboard the Mike de Kock first timer Dame Eleanor – a difficult customer by all accounts. “She’s a bit hot but she handled herself quite well,” remarked long-time assistant Nathan Kotzen.
If anything the following two races confirmed Delpech’s view. He was aboard favourite Sir Edmund in the MBK Agencies Maiden but after giving his mount every chance from gate 7 he was swamped by three runners drawn way on their outside. Roy’s Magic (12), Cabinda (15) and Amazon King (16) all jumped from outside gates with Roy’s Magic making it two-from-two for Australian-breds in the opening exchanges, the Life Is Good form proving reliable with the first three past the post having finished behind Alyson Wright‘s runner.
Bubka, racing in blinkers for the first time, got a peach of a ride from visiting Highveld rider Marco van Rensburg, who was carted off to the doctor after being dumped by his mount by Natatela in the sixth. Also drawn deep at 15, Van Rensburg arrived late on Pat Lunn’s gelding and although this was not the strongest of fields, blinkers appear to have extracted the best out of the lightly raced four-year-old.
The Michael Roberts-trained Seatops, a reluctant starter, put it all behind her to get up on the line in a tight finish to the KZN 3YO Series to deny favourite Anime in a tight finish.
Andrew Harrison
