Lloyd Williams said Frankie Dettori will “always be first choice” for his Melbourne Cup artillery, raising hopes the world’s most famous jockey could have one last crack at winning the race that has tormented him.
Dettori, 52, announced on the weekend he would be retiring from riding in 2023. It has left the door open for one last trip to Australia to chase a Melbourne Cup, which has eluded the flamboyant hoop for years.
Williams has been his biggest supporter. He doesn’t yet know which horses he will have in next year’s race, but confirmed to the Herald in a message he hopes Dettori can have one last fling at the Cup.
“He would always be first choice,” Williams said. “You never know, we may have a horse that could suit him. In nine months we will have a better idea.”
Dettori made a controversial visit to Australia during this year’s spring carnival, but given it was organised at the last minute, couldn’t pick up a Melbourne Cup ride and instead headed to Sydney for the $10 million Golden Eagle and $2 million Big Dance.
Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club will want next year’s farewell tour to include Sydney again. Who could blame them?
Frankie Dettori after riding Master Of Reality in the 2019 Melbourne Cup.Credit:AAP
But there would be a romance in the great one having his final Australian ride in the Melbourne Cup.
The enduring memory of Dettori’s trips to Australia was summed up in one stunning image from former Age photographer Vince Caligiuri after the 2019 race, the jockey’s last ride in the Cup.
Dettori had just ridden a Williams-owned horse, Master Of Reality, to second past the post (he was later relegated to fourth on protest). He stood with his head in his arms on the side of a placegetter’s stall, the horse’s name on the saddlecloth in the background. It was his 17th ride in the Cup. Afterwards, all he said was: “I feel like crying”.
He might have one chance with Williams to complete the CV.
Blake Shinn on My Yankee Girl (yellow) was relegated to second behind Invincible Caviar (pink) for whip breaches after dead heating at Flemington.Credit:Getty
Victoria open to overturning results for whip breaches
Racing Victoria’s chief steward Robert Cram said his panel will treat every future whip breach protest on a “case by case basis”, which means the prospect of a result being overturned for a horse beaten by a narrow margin remains.
Cram took the near unprecedented action on Saturday — it happened once prior in Queensland almost seven years ago — of overturning a result for a jockey flouting whip rules.
Victorian stewards ordered Invincible Caviar, the daughter of the incomparable Black Caviar, an outright winner at Flemington despite dead-heating across the line with My Yankee Girl.
My Yankee Girl’s rider Blake Shinn had excessively broken the whip rules with 12 strikes before the 100 metres (five are allowed) and six consecutive hits.
“We’ll still operate the same as we did prior to [Saturday],” Cram said. “With respect to [Saturday], the stewards were satisfied if the rule breach had not occurred Invincible Caviar would have finished ahead of My Yankee Girl.
“When you consider the factors: the zero margin and a gross breach, we came to that decision.”
It was the right one, despite what many will argue.
So will the stewards start upholding more whip-related protests, even if a horse is beaten a minor margin like a nose or short half-head?
“If it’s dead heat it’s possible, or even a very slim margin, but we’re not allocating margins to a number of strikes over,” Cram said. “
It will be case by case, as it was [on Saturday]. That is not changing.”
Bookies play it safe with Anamoe
Anamoe will open as favourite in six different group 1 races over the autumn carnival with Tabcorp as the country’s biggest bookmaker refuse to take any risks with the Cox Plate champion.
Anamoe is favourite for a slew of autumn carnival majors.Credit:Racing Photos
Tabcorp will unveil their next batch of markets on Monday, and it’s no surprise Anamoe will feature heavily across a number of them.
But Godolphin’s pin-up boy will be at the top of betting for the Orr Stakes, Chipping Norton Stakes, Futurity Stakes, Canterbury Stakes, George Ryder Stakes and Ranvet Stakes. He’s already heading markets for the All-Star Mile and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
But which races will Godolphin target? It’s no secret an overseas mission is in store for 2023 to broaden Anamoe’s appeal to northern hemisphere breeders, and his autumn campaign in Australia, whatever races it might include, will be briefer than usual.
In Secret will be top of betting for the Surround Stakes, Newmarket Handicap and The Galaxy.
McDonald proves greatness again
If ever you wanted a window into what makes James McDonald so good, then Saturday was it.
There wasn’t a group 1 race in sight, nor even a stakes race. He rode winners — he always does — but just walking through the gates at Royal Randwick showed enough conviction.
A tumble at Canterbury on Friday night where he initially thought he’d broken his collarbone should have put him on ice for the off-season meeting less than 24 hours later. He didn’t want to know about a day on the couch.
Playing through pain is a hallmark of many great athletes.
You can add McDonald to that list.
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