Graeme Hawkins.
A visibly disappointed Gold Circle Chief Operating Officer Graeme Hawkins said that the racing operator ‘could not force the jockeys to ride’ and that they were ‘not on the same page ‘ when advising that the Greyville night meeting had been abandoned after just one race.
“We didn’t uphold the jockey protest but we really can’t force them to ride. They are on the backs of the horses and their safety is paramount and the most important consideration,” he said.
“We are at an impasse both from an NHA perspective and an operator viewpoint,” said Hawkins in an obvious reference to the reality that negotiations between the three parties had broken down, with the jockeys digging their heels in.
“There is no evidence both from the video and after chatting to the guys after reviewing race 1 that the horses are not striding freely or that the track is unsafe. On the other hand the jockeys feel that there are areas that are not safe,” he said.
He added that the jockeys were unanimous and did not wish to continue with the meeting.
He said that Gold Circle were of the opinion that the track was ‘far better than when we raced here three weeks ago’.
“The track has been under full irrigation with the new automated sprinkler system and by their own admission the grass is visibly thicker and has grown. But there are patches that have not completely healed,” he conceded.
He went on to say that there had been ‘significant progress made with the polytrack” but said that Greyville was still essentially a ‘construction site’.
Hawkins confirmed that the track had been inspected at 9am and horses were galloped at 2pm.
He did add though that jockey Anthony Delpech had galloped a horse later in the afternoon and was concerned that the animal had ducked. “There was some equipment on the side of the track that may have caused him to react like that and we removed it,” he said.
Adding that it was a ‘terrible disappointment’, Hawkins apologised to on course patrons and customers.
The Greyville meetings scheduled for 14, 21 and 28 March must now be in the balance.
The pressure will be on for the track to be ready in time for the KRA Guineas on 3 May.
