No-one wants to witness a pile-up such as the one which had six apprentice riders either hospitalised or treated by ambulance officers at Taree Wingham Race Club’s TAB meeting last Monday.
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Unfortunately, race falls happen and it is probably due to the compulsory protective gear worn by jockeys that more serious results are minimised.
Leading apprentice jockey Samantha Clenton, on Port Macquarie four year-old grey gelding Bazza’s Boy, was about to try to add to her 81 victories so far this season when her mount crashed.
Another five apprentices, two of their mounts also crashing over Bazza’s Boy, had varying injuries as a result. The worst, besides Clenton, was Jackson Murphy on Blinkin Rules. Only the Saturday before, he had celebrated one of his best days at the track with a winning double at Kempsey’s TAB meeting.
Clenton’s surgery entailed her clavicle being fixed with a plate and screws and she has further problems with her left knee. Murphy, apprenticed to Wauchope trainer Grant Prosser, had internal injuries, and was admitted to John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, close to his parents who live nearby. The others were either treated at hospital or given treatment for minor injuries.
Unfortunately, Bazza’s Boy, trained by Jenny Graham and owned by Wauchope’s Dale Miller, who was trackside, was humanely euthanased. The gelding was promising as a middle distance galloper after a close fourth over 1800m in a Highway race at Royal Randwick on February 13.
It hasn’t been a happy season for Miller who lost promising Lightning Striker, trained by Graham, in a track accident, she also losing promising Deceptive (four wins).
Breeding success
Krambach Race Club committee man, Peter Killen, a successful racehorse owner prior to retiring as a teacher, started his hobby breeding career on a winning note with the first of his progeny, three-year-old filly Capital Magic, scoring at her fifth start for a big contingent of local owners.
“She missed the kick and still won,” he said of the $13 chance trained at Taree by Bob Milligan and ridden by Grant Buckley. He thought she may have been short of a run but the filly made good ground from last at her first start from a spell to score by a half length.
Killen mated his Taree winner Firefly Magic with Recapitalize and the result proved a good result at his first breeding venture. He has another two by Haslington out of the mare at home and might be on the verge of having a dynasty of winners.
Kempsey trainer Barry Ratcliff was vindicated for keeping four-year-old gelding Like My Brother in his stable, despite the galloper kicking him and putting his life at risk. He had the last laugh, although still nursing an injured kicked leg, when the galloper scored by a long neck at $6 at Taree. The lightning blow was dealt a couple of months ago but Ratcliff, a hardy fellow at most times, thought little of the injury until things started to go wrong. His leg swelled to such a degree that doctors had no hesitation in placing him in hospital. The result was “about 400 stitches”.
He said the win would allow him to “pay the nurses a sling and the doctor’s bill”, he being a part owner. “The result was that the horse nearly killed me,” said Ratcliff.
The trainer bought the gelding – “not a bad maiden”- off the internet for $5000 but the near $18,000 prize money so far is bound to soothe things, bank and injury wise.
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The cash windfall following the NSW state government’s better taxation policy for the state’s racing fraternity has resulted in Racing NSW calling for 27 new positions to ensure the ongoing production of qualified racecourse curators.
Taree and Port Macquarie clubs will benefit from having new positions created to work in turf management and green keeping.
Apprentice sports turf management/greenkeeper; Cert III 4 year apprenticeships offer unique career opportunities and information can be obtained from Racing NSW on 9551 7568 from Mark Brassel or the clubs involved.
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Racing returns to Bushland Drive Racecourse this Friday for an eight-race TAB meeting, featuring the Wingham Cup.