Blinkers On is a weekly column covering the biggest issues of the spring racing carnival.
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Blinkers → cover → carnival
Racing Victoria needs to be transparent this week as it digs into the reasons behind the death of horse Ohope Wins following Saturday’s $6 million Caulfield Cup.
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it → need → Cup
Now more than ever, the public deserves a proper and thorough review of the circumstances surrounding the tragic mid-race tumble that resulted in Chris Waller’s talented mare being put down and two jockey’s lives being put at risk.
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lives → deserve → risk
While we all agree that the two-horse fall was an accident, and a terribly sad one at that, there is an obligation to provide transparency.
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fall → agree → transparency
The Melbourne Cup was brought to its knees by public pressure in 2020, following seven horses deaths in seven years, largely due to soundness issues – which was not the case at Caulfield.
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which → bring → Caulfield
Stewards face an important task.
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Stewards → face → task
They opened an inquiry on Saturday and it will be ongoing this week.
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it → open → Saturday
Detailed findings of their review need to be released.
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findings → need → review
It does not help that the industry continues to erase footage of such catastrophic events from its archives – a long-standing policy to avoid viewer “distress”.
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industry → help → distress
But such censorship not only airbrushes history, it removes the public’s right to form a balanced view on who or what was to blame.
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it → airbrush → who
Several key factors will need to be taken into account.
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factors → need → account
While Mark Zahra (Half Yours) and Jye McNeil (Ohope Wins) were the victims of the fall, thankfully escaping largely unscathed as did last year’s winner Half Yours, there was an ugly bumping duel immediately before the crash between Rachel King (Green Spaces) and Jabez Johnstone (Kings Valley).
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winner → escape → King
While this column is not suggesting they caused the carnage that followed, their actions need to be assessed for the good of the sport.
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actions → suggest → sport
With the rail out three metres and the horses racing on a fast surface, it presented a leader bias that might have contributed to tighter, messier racing.
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that → race → racing
All of this will, and should be, examined by stewards.
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All → examine → stewards
It’s important that the public is kept informed as well.
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public → ’ → ?
‘Turf’ war: Dispute over Caulfield coverage
To see just how big an impact horse safety has on the industry, you need look no further than the “Turf” war that erupted over Saturday’s broadcast.
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that → see → broadcast
The ever-cheery and normally unflappable Seven commentator Jason Richardson found himself defending his network and colleagues on social media on Saturday night over an alleged “lack of information” in the immediate aftermath of the tragic fall.
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himself → find → fall
“Richo” took umbrage at an X post from racing personality John Rothfield, aka Dr Turf, who alleged there had been an “attempt to sanitise what we had just witnessed”.
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we → take → what
Dr Turf wrote: “The lack of information, the misinformation and the absence of opinion following the dreadful fall at Caulfield today highlighted how out of their depth both 7 and RDC (Racing.com) broadcasters are when incidents of this nature occur.”
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incidents → write → nature
Richardson, who co-hosted the coverage from Caulfield, replied with “absolute garbage, mate”.
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who → co → garbage
“We broadcast all of the information provided to us by the stewards,” he said.
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he → broadcast → stewards
“Would you like us to guess?
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us → like → ?
He also defended Seven’s on-course news reporter Xander McGuire, saying: “Was he ‘out of his depth’?
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he → defend → depth
Racing.com’s mounting yard expert and Mornington trainer Amy Yargi also took aim at Dr Turf, posting on X: “that is absolute drivel”.
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that → take → X
But Dr Turf was not finished.
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Turf → finish → ?
He clarified his earlier post with, “I was not referring to information … I was referring to the absence of opinion surrounding the incident that caused the fall itself”, alluding to the “aggressive riding” of several jockeys.
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that → clarify → jockeys
Dr Turf has previously been a panellist on several Racing.com programs, and racing radio station RSN, and currently co-hosts a regular podcast with Richmond great Kevin Bartlett.
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Turf → co → Bartlett
He has not been shy in his criticisms of racing in Victoria in the past.
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He → race → past
In May last year, he publicly slammed Racing Victoria, which owns Racing.com, for its decision to axe on-air media talent.
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which → slam → talent
“I don’t want to talk about the amateurish, appalling administration of racing in this state and the media platforms such as RSN and Racing.com and the ineptitude that oversees them,” he said on his podcast at the time.
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he → want → time
Seven backed in its Caulfield Cup coverage when contacted by this masthead.
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Seven → back → masthead
Racing Victoria said Racing.com played an important role in updating the public on the condition of riders and horses once relevant people had been notified and information was available to be shared.
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information → say → riders
A lost tradition
While on the touchy subject of racing’s need to protect its social licence, it seems the traditional Melbourne Cup parade through the streets of the city has been lost in time.
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parade → lose → time
The event, where horses and the Cup moved down Swanston Street before thousands of cheering families on the first Monday in November, was cancelled in 2023 and is not expected to make a reappearance any time soon.
Racing Victoria CEO Aaron Morrison was asked about the parade’s future at last week’s launch for national thoroughbred week (running from November 20-30).
“I think the political climate’s changed,” Morrison said.
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Morrison → move → November
“This year, obviously, it won’t be happening, but we’ll work with Melbourne major events groups and see what we can do with that going forward.”
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we → happen → that
Morrison has been strong on promoting safety protocols and the aftercare of retired horses and said the spring had seen a resurgence in “younger people – under 35s – and a lot of females”.
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spring → promote → females
“I think that’s a credit to the entertainment that we’re putting on, the great events, and a lot of great work being done by the clubs,” he said.
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he → think → clubs
“I also think we’ve done a lot with the social licensc of the sport.”
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we → think → sport
Melbourne Cup week is broadcast by Nine, the owner of this masthead
A numbers game
Racing is often seen as a game of inches, but now it might also be a game of percentages, especially when it comes to the potential return of the Cox Plate to Moonee Valley.
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it → broadcast → Valley
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
