Printable View
R3 at GP the gp1 2yo Fillies, just come through now as I type - The War Nurse disqualified from 2nd spot.
I should think so - the driver had committed to go inside the markers before there was any trouble inside him
What took the stewards so long ?
http://www.harness.org.au/meeting-re...wa#GPM30061740
Had to laugh at that one- Woodley must have known he was going to be pinged. The race caller and others were'nt aware that it had happened either. All in all a poor drive and the stewards were slow in making a decision on something that was obvious. Probably cost Elle gant player a place as well.
You CANT do that can you?Quote:
Originally Posted by Messenger
Yes you can, to avoid danger. I might be different but I'd expect my driver to look out for my horse as a priority, and his own neck.
An experienced head, foresight and intuition, a 2yo race. Full marks M Woodley.
He didn't drive/urge the horse before re entering.
With the stewards, an argument for not gaining an advantage.
We will have to beg to differ on this particular race Wayne, he committed to going inside very early in my book (great intuition?) and although I naturally agree that the safety of horse and driver is paramount, I think your choice is to pull the horse up.
Racing is much safer with the pegs nowadays but in the old days he would not have had the choice he took
I reckon he had no choice, he was half a length behind the horse to his outside went it came down the track quite sharply, in the old days when we had a running rail he would have hit the deck. At no stage did he drive the horse out even when he got back outside the pegs up the straight so I'm guessing he knew his second placing would struggle to stand.
Obviously I agree with Dan and good point, his lack of vigour once he got back on track. Will be an interesting steward's report, driver suspended for 28 days. Maybe he got pinged for not trying!? ...
Doubt it.
I'm still going with intuition. Hoping the stewards didn't ping him for taking evasive action, like you would(?) have Kev?? Remembering it's a 2 yo race, who knows how they were going to react...let alone locking wheels, they may never have, even, been bumped hard before.
He's stuck between a rock and hard place, retire his horse or re enter the race. If his horse was the perpetrator and he goes inside the pegs, fair enough he has to go back before re entering.
As for stewards taking time, I think the deliberation would have been him gaining an unfair advantage... or not. Not his decision to cross the pegs.
What are you suggesting Kev, something sinister, he thought he'd cheat and get away with it...his courage???? Otherwise we, what... pretend we still have a running rail? Wait for a horse to hit the deck, sulky flip to the inside in front of you, horses legs thrashing about for your wheel to run over (and flip) then decide I'll try to pull up?! Might as well bring back the rail.
For mine, I'd be happy he brought my horse back in one piece. Not risked him, the driver, at the minimum, getting flipped out of the cart and my horse career around driver-less. As for my horse being disqualified, I'd go with their decision.
Totally unrelated but about marker pegs, what are people's thoughts on this scenario.
Start of the race, first turn incident, the inside horse is trying to hold the lead but is forced over the marker pegs for some distance by an outside horse trying to take the lead. The inside horse's driver doesn't pull back, only appearing to take hold whist his horse "leapfrogs" the pegs but stays on his feet with his horse's front legs inside, level with the other horse's sulky wheel...holding his position then re-enters the race track and regains the lead.
Should that driver have retired his horse? If he did retire his horse or pulled back so he might be able to negotiate the marker pegs more safely at a slower speed, should he be penalised...copped a suspension/fine?
As for the driver of the outside horse, no question, guilty of an offence but would you classify it as a low grade offence (even though first turn has a high penalty loading) because the inside horse didn't come to grief, had the "ability" to leapfrog/negotiate the pegs at speed and ultimately hold the lead?
I'm out voted. I was ready to be convinced but looked at it again and still think it starts (2.32 in) with him going where there was no room for him to go. I am guessing (of course) that he thought he could fit or at worst bump a peg or two but then when the trouble developed in front of him, he had nowhere else to go other than right inside the pegs - he definitely didn't drive it out as he knew he was in trouble and in my book may as well have pulled it up.
In your lead battle scenario Wayne, I think the driver can continue as he is in no way to blame and I do not think the Stewards can have an issue other than to QDT if he was running a 25 Q1
Wayne, regarding your scenario about first turn marker pegs incident, I got a fortnight at Newcastle a couple of months or so back, which I reckon I deserved, but what shits me is that in todays world is the driver I was squeezing kept on pushing forward whilst inside the pegs for about 200 metres and got zero penalty or even admonishment for it....AGAIN in the old days when we had a running rail, he would have grabbed hold when he knew he wasn't gunna hold the position and /or hit the deck.........it equates to how certain people have been able to turn "playing the victim" into an art form to the detriment of fair racing.........
Kev, you were mostly right on this one although Woodley did claim some inferred interference ahead of him and pleaded not guilty. Found guilty of trying to get an advantage and failing to restrain the horse and get it back into the running line after he went inside the marker pegs. Hard to say why they took 30 mins to release that info and therefore delaying the next race.
Seems as though stewards accepted his decision to avoid inteference.
I didn't notice the flick with the whip.
http://www.harness.org.au/stewards-r...fm?mc=GP300617