Sporting Post reader and racehorse owner Eric Joell writes in our mailbag that he was in KZN for a few days and visited Greyville on Wednesday 21 March as his filly was participating in a barrier trial.
He writes:
My wife and I stayed for the entire meeting and we were there to witness the shambles at the starting stalls in the last race.
The winner is on the left – or was it on the right? Sherman in the black and gold was declared the eventual winner
Your header article in last week’s paper (SP 2445) doesn’t do justice to the shambolic state of both the starter and the way the incident(s) were handled.
If I am not mistaken the faulty stall was number 10. There was a first false start and a rerun of the race commenced without the favourite, and another horse, who were both scratched by the vet.
The starter proceeded to load a horse into the ‘faulty’ number 10 stall.
The number 9 stall then opened early and the number five horse got about a half a length jump on the field and won the race by five lengths from the new tote favourite.
The number five horse was then declared a non runner “as he had an advantage on the field from the start”.
My questions to the authorities are:
Why did the starter load a horse into a clearly faulty starting stall? Does he have no idea what is going on ? He could have used his iniative and left the number 10 pen empty.
Why was another false start not called as the number five horse jumped half a length early?
The race was allowed to continue when it was clearly another false start and the number five horse was subsequently declared a non runner.
I could clearly see the jockey on the horse in the outside stall holding his horse back and looking at the starter, as he expected to have a false start declared.
Is the starter not watching the pens with his naked eye and/or is there not an automated system that declares a false start?
Clearly the starter at Greyville needs to be trained properly.
If I, as a member of the public and a non professional racing person can see this, then surely a person whose job it is to start the horses correctly can see this?
The poor owner who thought she had won the race gave a post -race interview so she must be really upset. The punters who tore up their tickets must also be upset.
The Stipes reported:
- a) A false start was called as a result of SECRET STATUS (M van Rensburg) breaking open the gates prematurely. All horses were pulled up before the 1300 metre mark – with the exception of SANDCASTLE (*S Moodley) – and returned to the start. Examined by the Veterinary Surgeon and FIRE SONG (A Marcus) and SANDCASTLE (*S Moodley) were scratched.
- b) SHERMAN (S Randolph), GLITTERROCK (W Kennedy), SECRET STATUS (M van Rensburg) and HIGH RANGE (G Wright) all lost 1 length.:
- a) SHERMAN (S Randolph), the winner. Selected for the taking of specimens for analysis. Trainer N I van Wyk advised (TN).
- b) A race review was called regarding the start of this race and after reviewing the patrol videos of the start the Stipendiary Board was of the view that LORD OF GLENCOE (*K Sakayi) had broken the front gates open prematurely and had gained an advantage over the field. In terms of Rule 61.6.11 LORD OF GLENCOE (*K Sakayi) was declared a non-runner.
- c) SANDCASTLE : Galloped to 900 metre mark as a result of false start. Scratched by the Veterinary Surgeon at 17:23:25. 90/1 in the betting at the time of withdrawal (NHA). Rule 53.5 does not apply.
- d) FIRE SONG : Galloped to the 1300 metre mark as a result of false start. Scratched by the Veterinary Surgeon at 17:25:02. 19/10 in the betting at the time of withdrawal (NHA). Rule 53.5 does not apply.
- e) LORD OF GLENCOE : Declared a non-runner in terms of Rule 61.6.11.
Financially I was happy as I had R200 on the favourite and he was eventually given the race – just letting you know this so you don’t think I am speaking on behalf of my wallet!
Blinder
On a second issue with the Greyville TV feed, can you please ask Tellytrack why the producer zooms in on the first horse at the last 200m of the race?
We race enthusiasts (who may have runners in a race) can’t see how the other horses in the race are running or finishing.
I am personally of the opinion that this is one of the main contributors to declining tote turnovers. Punters cannot see how the other horses run and therefore do not bet.
Ed – Gold Circle Producer Raymond Rogers responds regarding the TV Feed:
It is of my opinion that the writer checks his facts before he puts pen to paper.
The camera situated on the finish line at Greyville captures as many horses as possible in the field depending how the field is spread out at the finish, we then proceed to the slowmo for the finishing order of the race followed by the head on camera and then a close up of the winner.
We never concentrate on the winning horse during the last 200 metres of the race. This procedure happens at all the major tracks in South Africa in Cape Town, Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal.
