By Danny Russell
In hindsight, Pride Of Jenni and Jamie Kah might have been better spending the weekend in Melbourne.
By avoiding The Everest meeting at Randwick they would have avoided a day of disappointment.
Strapper Sammie Waters, owner Tony Ottobre and jockey Declan Bates will be at Moonee Valley on Saturday for the Cox Plate.Credit: Getty Images
Kah headed north to ride three-year-old colt Traffic Warden in the $20 million mega-sprint race only for her horse to be scratched in the seconds before they jumped.
In contrast, Pride of Jenni started and finished second in the $5 million King Charles Stakes, but her colourful owner Tony Ottobre was left bemused after the event.
In the post-race wash-up, the emotional Ottobre queried whether a rival jockey’s tactics in the race had cost his front-running super mare the winner’s cheque. First past the post earned $2.95 million, while the runner-up got $850,000.
Ottobre had a point. Adam Hyeronimus, on 100-1 shot Major Beel, kept $2.70 favourite Pride Of Jenni 10-wide for the first 500 metres of the straight of the 1600m race, even veering out slightly at one stage, before she could cross for the lead.
Major Beel and Pride Of Jenni stay wide of the field in the first 500m of the 1600m King Charles Stakes.Credit: Racing NSW
Pride Of Jenni felt the pinch in the last 100m and was collared by winner Ceowulf just 50m from the line. Major Beel finished second last.
Ottobre asked Racing NSW stewards whether the “tactics were designed to particularly impede the chances of Pride Of Jenni?”. He had every right to ask.
Stewards questioned Hyeronimus and Pride Of Jenni’s jockey Declan Bates and ultimately found that no rules of racing had been breached. Not all punters agreed.
‘Cheeky’ ride
If Adam Hyeronimus’ riding tactics annoyed the Pride Of Jenni camp, his post-race comments would have provided little consolation.
“The plan was to be a little bit cheeky, and we were,” he said of Major Beel’s run. “The horse has gone really well. He has actually gone really well.”
Hmmmmm. Major Beel finished second last, beaten by almost eight lengths. We would hate to see when he goes badly, although admittedly, his horse started 100-1.
It would have been hard for Ottobre to swallow that his mare was held off the fence for so long by a rank outsider with no winning chance – even though the tactics were ticked off by stewards.
The saving grace for Heronimus was that Major Beel adopted a similar pattern in his previous start in the Epsom Handicap, sticking to a wide line for hundreds of metres before crossing to the fence.
Ceolwulf beats Pride Of Jenni in the King Charles Stakes at Randwick.Credit: Getty Images
The jockey told stewards on Saturday that his instructions were to ride “positively” in the King Charles Stakes as his horse generally leads. Trainer Adrian Bott agreed.
Interestingly, in the Epsom Handicap, Major Beel (51.5kg) finished seventh of 20, 3.7 lengths behind winner Ceolwulf (54kg). In Saturday’s King Charles Stakes – a weight-for-age event – Major Beel (59kg) finished 10th of 11, 7.6 lengths behind winner Ceolwulf (58.5kg).
As for Pride Of Jenni, she will have a two-days break – in and out of a spa and a hyperbaric chamber – at Ciaron Maher’s NSW property before returning to Melbourne for an assault on Saturday’s Cox Plate.
A day to forget
Jamie Kah must be wondering what she has done to upset the racing gods.
She chose to bypass the $5 million Caulfield Cup to ride in the $20 million Everest, but her horse never started.
Traffic Warden, a three-year-old Godolphin colt, became fractious in the barriers, reared and then sat down before becoming momentarily cast. On-course vets advised stewards to scratch the horse from the race.
It was Kah’s first day back in the saddle after serving a three-week suspension. She had five other rides for the day – a second, a fourth, an 11th, and a 17th of 17.
It was a trying day for the image-conscious, 14-time group 1-winning star. She also took to social media on Saturday night to vent her frustration over a story that had appeared in a tabloid paper about her riding career that day.
“After all I do to help promote this industry that has been my whole life for so many years, to read this absolute garbage breaks my heart,” she wrote on X.
“It’s all nothing close to the truth.”
Kah has a chance to flip her fortunes in coming weeks. She rides highly rated three-year-old Broadsiding in the Cox Plate, and will partner fourth-favourite Point King in the Melbourne Cup.
Craig Williams celebrates his second win in The Everest.Credit: Getty Images
Williams climbs Everest
At least the trip north was worth the effort for hoop Craig Williams, who is building a resume that should one day rank him among our great jockeys.
He has won a Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, two Caulfield Cups, a Golden Slipper, a Queen Elizabeth, an All-Star Mile and can now add a second Everest to his CV.
That he edged out Giga Kick on Ciaron Maher’s Bella Nipotina in Saturday’s $20 million dash for cash at Randwick must have given him a small sense of satisfaction.
Williams won The Everest on Giga Kick in 2022, but was sacked from the horse after connections were dirty on his ride in last year’s group 2 McEwen stakes. He missed the start and then rushed around the field before tiring to finish third.
It wasn’t his best ride, but Williams seems to attract criticism beyond any other jockey. That vitriol reached its lowest point in 2017 at Moonee Valley when a punter spat at him after the running of the 2017 Manikato Stakes.
Not that he ever complains. It is testimony to his resilience and professionalism that he never bites back. He will ride Mr Brightside in the Cox Plate.
Cox Plate six pack
Saturday’s Cox Plate at Moonee Valley is shaping as a field of quality over quantity.
The weight-for-age championship of Australia could have as few as six runners – Pride Of Jenni, Mr Brightside, Via Sistina, UK import Docklands, Japanese runner Prognosis and three-year-old Broadsiding.
The field and barrier draw will be finalised at the Valley on Tuesday morning after the Breakfast With The Best track gallops.
There are still 26 acceptors, but the majority of these are either not good enough to race in such elite company or will seek easier options.
It is a pity for organisers that Pride Of Jenni’s conqueror on Saturday, Ceolwulf, will be sent for a spell, while Caulfield Cup runner-up Buckaroo is likely to bypass this Saturday and will continue on to the Melbourne Cup.
Arch rivals Mr Brightside, left, and Pride Of Jenni will clash again in Saturday’s Cox Plate.Credit: Getty
Still, if the match race between Pride Of Jenni and Mr Brightside at the Valley on AFL grand final eve was any sort of entree, we are in for a hell of a main course. And Ottobre will be thrilled to know there are no pesky 100-1 frontrunners likely to gain a start.
Whips are cracking
The spectre of racing’s whip rules continues to hover over the sport.
There remains an ongoing threat that a big event could be decided by a protest in relation to a breach of the rules.
Last year, Mark Zahra was fined $50,000 and suspended for seven meetings for excessive use of the whip when winning the Caulfield Cup by a head on Without A Fight. He was found guilty of using the whip nine times before the 100m mark – four more than permitted.
Connections of runner-up West Wind Blows did not lodge a protest.
In the 2020 Melbourne Cup, jockey Kerrin McEvoy was fined $50,000 for breaching the rule on runner-up Tiger Moth, using the whip eight times more than allowed before the final 100m.
Breaches continue to happen in lesser races. Ben Melham and Billy Egan were both fined $600 at Caulfield on Saturday for breaking the rule, while Jaylah Kennedy was fined $300 at Flemington on Turnbull Stakes Day.
Terry Henderson is one owner who says he would consider lodging a protest if his horse is beaten by a rival whose jockey breaks the whip rules. Let’s hope it never comes to pass.
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