EAGLE FARM REVIEW (SAT, APR 18)

A review of the meeting held at Eagle Farm on Saturday, April 18.

Track rating - Slow 7. Slow 6 (after race 3). Rail - out 3m.

Race 1:

1MW Handicap - 2100m
1st - Mister Tivoli; 2nd - Dawns Queen; 3rd - Winmara

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Rex Lipp: “That was a good run that day when he was second to Hume two runs back ... and it was a very good run at Dalby (last time) under the big weight. All I was worried about today was actually the three weeks break. He loves the soft going. It was close today, it was a bob of the head, and we were lucky to get the bob in. I guess I’ll have to lift his (Tony Pattillo’s) suspension now. I suspended him. I haven’t had him on for a while.”

Jockey Tony Pattillo: “It was a beautiful win. I’ve been having a run of outs for Rex (Lipp). Just having no luck. So he suspended me. It’s never ever a definite thing. He’s one of my luckiest trainers. Yeah, it was good to get back on for him. First ride back from a suspension and you’re on winner. It’s good. The horse loved the extra ground today. He had a little bit left in the tank ... a little bit. He’s still got a bit of improvement in him.”

Apprentice jockey Owen Turpin, rider of Winmara (who finished third) lodged an objection against the winner, so the action moved from the track to the Stewards Room.

Apprentice Owen Turpin (giving grounds for his objection): “At the 350m and then again at approximately the 250m, I was forced to stop riding my horse on two occasions and then pull my horse around Tony Pattillo’s heels as he came across, drifting in to obtain my run – which I had. My horse came home very strongly. Without that interruption in the run and without having to stop riding it and pull back on two occasions, I feel I would have won the race."

Jockey Tony Pattillo (questioning Owen Turpin): I’d like to know at what point you had to pull back?”

Owen Turpin: “Once at the 250m and once at the 350m.”

Tony Pattillo: “What was your reason for having to pull back?”

Owen Turpin: “I was at jockey Jim Byrne’s heels. His horse was to the inside and your horse was laying in on top of my horse, so therefore I had to try and keep off Jim Byrne’s heels to stay up.”

Frank Phillips (trainer of the third-placed Winmara – making his statement): “I go along with what Owen Turpin said until the 250m, and I feel the way the mare finished the race off after the second time she was squeezed, to be only be beaten by a half-length, maybe a long-neck, we would have won the race had we not been restricted in our run.”

Jockey Tony Pattillo (making his statement): “I believe on straightening, Owen Turpin shifted out and made illegal contact with me ... and pushed me a little ... a touch wider on the track. He then proceeded to have a run between me and Jim Byrne (on Blue Ego). I believe Jim Byrne has shifted out in the order of a quarter of a horse which put Owen Turpin on a backward motion. Further down the track, yes, my horse does shift over, but it doesn’t have any bearing on it, because it is the initial shift from Jim Byrne that puts the mare in restricted room ... that sort of puts her in a backward motion. I don’t believe Owen Turpin has ever had to pull back. In-between that little squeeze when Jim Byrne shifted out, yes, it has made things very, very tight, but I don’t ever see Owen actually pulling back on the horse. From then on, down the track, I’m clear of him when I shift over in front of him. He has to ... sort of have to control his horses steering, what have you, but, there is never ever a point where my movement has on the bearing of the race. I really think that Owen Turpin and Mr. Phillips have failed to see the inside horse shift.”

Owen Turpin (questioning Tony Pattillo): “You’re saying that you believe the shift was from the inside runner to keep me out of the run?”

Tony Pattillo: “You’re in the run!”

Owen Turpin: “I was in the run.”

Tony Pattillo: “If you have a look, Jim Byrne comes out a quarter of a horse, which in turn puts you out, which in turn knocks me out half a horse.”

Owen Turpin: “So you’re saying that your horse hasn’t shifted in, say, three or four horses?”

Tony Pattillo: “I’m saying further on down the track, but you’re already on a backward motion from Jim Byrne’s check. There is no possible hope in the world that my shifting over in front of you has any bearing on the result, because you’re already back behind me.”

Owen Turpin: “I believe you have tried to hold me in for a run there. Then on the second occasion, I’ve actually had to stop riding again and wait for his heels to get out of the way before I could come around and actually ask my horse for its full ability. You saw the way my horse came home very strongly. If I wasn’t being pushed in onto heels I would already have been asking my horse, but I didn’t have an opportunity to do that.”

Rex Lipp (trainer of Mister Tivoli): “Jockey Turpin said we were pushing him in. He was actually trying to come out ... and Jimmy’s horse did roll out when Owen went for the gap.”

Tony Pattillo: “What you’ve also have to look at is that we made our runs at the same time. It just hasn’t had a bearing on the result.”

The protest was dismissed.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Mister Tivoli): 13.00 out to 14.00.
Favourite (Rabbit Nagina): 4.00 in to 3.80. Finished fourth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Acting on veterinary advice that Derivative Receipt was found to be sore in the near-hind leg, stewards declared the horse a late scratching at 11.47 a.m. Trainer K. Hiscox was advised that a veterinary certificate of fitness must be provided prior to the horse starting again. Intheway (B. Calkin) raced wide in the early stages.
Stewards considered an objection lodged by apprentice O. Turpin, the rider of 3rd placegetter Winmara, against Mister Tivoli (A. Pattillo) being declared the winner, on the grounds of alleged interference near the 300m and the 150m. After taking evidence from all parties and viewing the patrol footage stewards found that near the 300m Winmara had to be steadied when tightened between Blue Ego (J. Byrne), which shifted out, and Mr Tivoli, which shifted in. It was further established that near the 150m Winmara had to be eased away from the heels of Mr Tivoli which shifted in. After considering all the evidence, stewards were not comfortably satisfied that the interference suffered to Winmara as a result of the incident at the 150m had a material effect on the placings and dismissed the objection.


Race 2:

2yo QTIS Handicap - 1200m
1st - One Lickety Split; 2nd - Ready To Venture/Our Moscato (dead heat)

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Gordon Yorke: “He’s a nice pony, yeah. I’ve just got a hunch that he has a big future this horse. It was an impressive win at Grafton. I was just talking to the owner beforehand and I said he’s done everything right, yet people would be looking and saying he’s only had one start. That’s one win from one start, but he’s also had three barrier trails - he’s had two this prep ... and he’s just learning and learning and he’s every bit a professional, you know. I said to young Luke (Cumberland), just settle him and if you get shuffled back, don’t care. I said, all I want you to do is balance him in the straight, take your time, aim him and then let him go because it’s not over till his done. That’s what Luke did. The owner bred him, did a great job with him. They were going to geld him and I said, don’t geld this horse, he’s just brilliant as he is. I don’t know how good he is on the dry. My plan has been to avoid the dry because it jars two-year-olds up. I said to him before the Slipper, I could qualify this horse. He said, would you run it? I said no - so he said, don’t bother. It’s not about one race. It’s about a career and, like I say, I think he’s got a big future.”

Apprentice jockey Luke Cumberland: “It was a very good win. It was never travelling at any stage. He struggled the whole way through the going. As soon as I gave him a dig at the top, he found two extra gears, no worries. He just let down. A gap opened up. He found another gear. He’s definitely a good race horse this one.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (One Lickety Split): 4.00 in to 3.40 out to 3.50.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Arc Of Light (B. Evans) and Maraetai(S. Seamer) jumped away awkwardly. Femina Fashion (R. Goltz) made contact with Our Moscato (L. Rolls) on jumping away. Duel Show (J. Bowditch), Femina Fashion, Arc Of Light and Captain Clayton (L. Cassidy) raced wide throughout. Mr Tracey (C. Reith) laid out under pressure in the straight.
When questioned concerning his riding tactics on Duel Show, jockey J. Bowditch stated that he had been under no specific instructions, however as the horse had jumped well he elected to ride the horse in a forward position. He added that whilst racing forward the horse was then caught three wide without cover and did not finish the race off as expected. Trainer P. Duff confirmed that he had offered no specific instructions given the horse's wide barrier. A post-race veterinary examination of Duel Show failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 3:

Class 6 Handicap - 1300m
1st - Pit Lane; 2nd - Worth Doing: 3rd - Palace Lover

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bryan Guy : “He’s come up (from Victoria to join the Guy Stable) in good order. His first-up run was good.” (Pit Lane finished second when resuming, only going down to Carry On Doctor by a neck). “This was his second-up run, and ... probably second-up was my only main worry. But, he’s worked really good the horse. He worked great on Tuesday morning and I thought he would win today. I didn’t give any instructions how he should be ridden from the wide barrier. I just left it to Jimmy (Byrne). You don’t have to tell them much and they don’t listen to you anyway. It worked out well. He went good.”

Jockey Jim Byrne: “He bounced pretty quick, he had a bit of a bad gate ... but he bounced pretty quick and put himself in the race. He put the writing on the wall after his last run. He was a bit unlucky his last run because he never really handled the track. Albeit he’s won on wet tracks before, but he doesn’t really get through them that well. I think he is better on top of it. He’s always got that bit of a bad leg so the soft track will always help him a little bit.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Pit Lane): 7.00 in to 5.00.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
At the 1000m Shooting Scene (L. Rolls) and Lennon (A. Taylor) were both hampered and raced in restricted room as a result of Pit Lane (J. Byrne) shifting in and away from Palace Lover (B. Evans).
Jockey S. Scriven, the rider of Deception Bay, was found guilty of a charge of careless riding in that leaving the 1100m he permitted his mount to shift in when not sufficiently clear of No Technique (O. Turpin), resulting in that horse being taken in on to Tears’N’Cheers (J. Bowditch), resulting in that horse having to be checked when tightened for room between Teary Eyed (L. Cassidy) and No Technique. S. Scriven's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 meetings, with the term of suspension to commence at midnight on Wednesday, 22 April, and expire at midnight on Sunday, 3 May 2009.
Jockey K. Pope, the rider of Ulladulla, was found guilty of a charge of careless riding in that he permitted his mount to shift in near the 900m when insufficiently clear of Lennon (A. Taylor), which was taken in on to Release Me (Michael Palmer), which was severely crowded and had to be steadied. K. Pope's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 6 meetings, with the term of suspension to commence at midnight on Sunday, 19 April, and expire at midnight on Friday, 1 May 2009.
Jockey S. Galloway, the rider of Malandrina, was found guilty of a charge of careless riding in that near the 800m he permitted his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Ulladulla, resulting in that horse being taken in on to Lennon, which shifted in resulting in Release Me having to be checked to avoid the heels of Lennon and losing its rightful position. S. Galloway's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 meetings, with the term of suspension to commence at midnight on Wednesday, 22 April, and expire at midnight on Sunday, 3 May 2009.
When questioned as to the disappointing performance of Rocklet, rider S. Seamer stated that although the horse had raced wide it was under pressure approaching the home turn and tired considerably thereafter. Trainer K. Kemp also expressed his disappointment in the performance of Rocklet and undertook to advise stewards of anything which may come to light in the following days which may explain the mare's performance. A post-race veterinary examination of Rocklet (S. Seamer) failed to reveal any abnormalities.
Following the running of this event the track was upgraded to Slow 6.


Race 4:

3yo Fillies Princess Stakes Plate (Listed) - 1600m
1st - Moulin Lady; 2nd - La Bella Luisa; 3rd - Returntosender

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Alan Bailey: “She got back a bit on top of the ground today. She’s a big, heavy filly and I think, even though she gets through the slow, I think she is better when she gets on top of the ground. She stepped up in distance today. She is by Reset, you know, so she was going to get over the journey. It was good. She got a hit in the eye the other day and we had to put something on her to help her a bit.” (Referring to the gear changes). “She’s got a bit of a spot in her eye, so we had to put something to cover it over. We couldn’t do anything about that.” (Moulin Lady had winkers off for the first time and pacifiers on for the first time). “But she’s a nice filly this. Just the other day (in her last start on a heavy track) Tony (Pattillo) went back on the inside and that track had no bottom to it so she got bogged down. She’s a big, heavy filly. Today, we got her back on top of the ground and it made the difference. Joe (Bowditch) said they were getting a bit of grip on the track today, whereas the other day they were just going to the outside. A few more runs and she should be nice and fit and ready for the Carnival.”

Jockey Joe Bowditch: “I thought she was beat around the corner, but she ended up getting a nice run into the race. Just around the corner ... she’s a nice big filly ... she just struggled to get around the corner. She had a bit of pressure coming from horses inside her and she just struggled to get around and lost a bit of ground on the turn. Once she straightened and balanced up she hit the line good. She’ll probably get a bit further too. She’s got a bit of scope about her. She’s a lovely relaxed filly.”

Bowditch was injured before the first race in Adelaide on Easter Saturday. He certainly didn’t seem to be struggling with any after effects from that incident.

Joe Bowditch: “Yeah, I did hurt myself last Saturday. I had a suspected fractured fibula, but the x-rays all came back clear. There is just a bit a bruising and it’s a bit sore. It’s gone alright today. It’s a little bit tender, but I am getting away with it, so it is all good.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Moulin Lady): 9.00 out to 11.00.
Favourite (Strawberry Field): 3.50 out to 3.60. Finished seventh.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Player Run (B. Evans), Moulin Lady (J. Bowditch) and River Perfume (S. Drake) jumped away awkwardly. Seesawing (S. Scriven) and A Little Knowledge (T. Chambers) bumped on jumping away. Lilleelavee (B. Stewart) and Little Pumpkin (T. Treichel) made contact on jumping away. Leaving the 1400m River Perfume (S. Drake) had to be steadied when tightened for room by Tunes of Gold (A. Pattillo) which shifted in. A short distance later River Perfume again had to be steadied when tightened for room by Tunes Of Gold which was taken in by La Bella Luisa (S. Galloway). Both A. Pattillo and S. Galloway were reprimanded and advised to exercise more care in similar circumstances. When the pace steadied leaving the 1200m Player Run improved up on to the heels of Moulin Lady and when being restrained shifted out resulting in Lilleelavee having to be restrained to avoid that horse's heels. At the same stage La Belle Luisa (S. Galloway) and A Little Knowledge had commenced to over-race and near the 1100m Tunes Of Gold (A. Pattillo) had to be steadied when A Little Knowledge (T. Chambers) shifted in despite the efforts of its rider. Lillelavee, Little Pumpkin and Strawberry Field (J. Parr) raced wide throughout.
Stewards sought an explanation from apprentice A. Taylor, the rider of Sharjah, in relation to her decision to restrain that mare when it was over-racing near the 1200m and relinquish the position outside the leader to Cashelot (Matthew Palmer). This then resulted in Sharjah being obliged to improve forward three wide as a result of its continued tendency to over-race. A. Taylor explained that she had attempted to settle Sharjah as she was of the opinion that the filly was suspect at the 1600m, however the horse resented being restrained and raced ungenerously. A. Taylor further added that when it became apparent to her that Sharjah would not settle, she then elected to improve forward three wide and assume the lead. Stewards noted the explanation.


Race 5:

Members Handicap (Quality) (Listed) - 1600m
1st - Sam's Express; 2nd - Eleda; 3rd - Humma

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Mick Nolan: “The fact it was wet probably helped him a little bit today. We put him up in distance the other day (over 2020m), but he just didn’t run it out, you know. We thought we’d just come back to the mile. This is the race we targeted and we just freshened him up. Brent (Evans) was told to lead and then when he let one around him that was Brent’s decision. He won pretty easy there. It just panned out nice. I’d love to know how many winners Brent has ridden for me. That’s his second win out of three rides on this horse.”

Apprentice jockey Brent Evans: “We always knew there wasn’t going to be too much speed in it and he’s a horse that goes that good. He can get racing pretty strongly though, but once we found the front I found that he relaxed under me nice. I let one go around me at the 1000m, half mile there, which made him relax that little bit more and have a breather. I thought I would just take a sit on it. The leader was on and off the fence, you know, summing up his options and I knew he was always going to come off and the run was always going to be granted. So I just waited, waited, waited. As soon as I straightened and let him down he was right. He showed a nice turn of foot and just sprinted. They were never going to catch him. They brought him back in distance. He’s definitely a stronger miler.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Sam’s Express): 9.00 in to 8.00.
Favourite (Eleda): 3.50 out to 3.90. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Riva San (S. Seamer) jumped in the air as the start was affected and lost ground. Doug’s Mate (J. Byrne) and Eleda (L. Cassidy) jumped awkwardly. Near the 1200m Imvula (J. Parr) and Nellie Got There (D. Browne) were forced to race in restricted room to the inside of Sam’s Express (B. Evans), which shifted in when not clear. Apprentice B. Evans was reprimanded under AR. 137(a). Humma (Matthew Palmer) raced wide in the early stages. Hard To Catch (B. Stewart) raced wide throughout. Imvula over-raced for a short distance leaving the 1200m. Leaving the 1000m Vietnam (S. Scriven) shifted in of its own accord and made contact with the running rail. Near the 700m Scattergun (S. Galloway) improved on to the heels of Fulmonti (J. Bowditch) and had to be checked.
When questioned regarding the poor performance of Scattergun, jockey S. Galloway stated that he felt the pace of the race did not suit Scattergun and added that the horse gave the impression that it may not have backed up after its last start in the heavy going. The explanation was noted.
Post-race veterinary examinations of Hard To Catch and Scattergun failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 6:

Dr. John Power Handicap (Quality) (Listed) - 1200m
1st - Rampant Lion; 2nd Simplest; 3rd - Nuclear Medicine

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Lindsay Gough: “He had a setback in training probably a month ago, maybe six weeks. He ate alright the night before Shane (Scriven) rode him in work. Shane came back and said, mate he’s buggered. I don’t think anything happened in the gallop. I don’t know how he got the injury. I’d say he got cast or something. I tell you I’ve never seen a horse so sore. I walked him back from the end of the gallop to the stables and he literally groaned all the way. I had a tear in my eye, you know. I thought that was the end.
“You must understand that setback came when he was coming back from a spell after his Melbourne campaign. We went to Melbourne (in October, November last year). It was a nightmare. He got an abscess in his foot in Melbourne. It was a nasty foot abscess and it just come at the wrong time. Taking on the type of opposition we were facing down there, you had to be one-hundred and ten percent fit, not ninety percent which we were. You know, we struggled and struggled ... and because we were away from home I suppose, we probably made a few mistakes. At one stage he was in a really bad way. Then to bring him back from that – and everything was going alright – and to have a second major setback was quite devastating.
“After that training mishap, the vet pretty much scanned every part and bone of his body. He sort of discovered a little bit of a lump on his neck. He said, I want to scan that and he found it was inflamed. There was inflammation there. It wasn’t a big, bulky lump or anything. He just said, I’m just worried about this part of his neck. Whether he got cast or whether he hurt himself rolling, I don’t know, but he scanned it and, sure enough, there was inflammation there. That’s where the pain was coming from. So he treated that and we just nursed him ... nursed him back. The vet said we should just relax and take it easy. He said we’d eliminated everything else and that was all we could put our finger on, but I kept saying to myself, I don’t think it can be that simple. But anyhow, that’s what it was.
“Having said that I thought it might have been the end of the horse’s career when I walked the horse back that day when he was groaning, once his neck had been diagnosed as the problem, we then knew what we were dealing with. So from there we didn’t really consider retiring him after that because we now knew it was something that was treatable. He was hypersensitive for quite some time – not just the shoulder, but all over really. I guess he must have strained himself with that gallop on the day. We gave him time off. The vet treated him. We walked him for a week. Then we got him back up again. He worked brilliant on Tuesday morning, but we probably never thought he would win today. You know, an eight-year-old distance horse first-up over 1200m, after all his problems ... well, winning wasn’t exactly the main point on our radar. So yeah, it is quite an emotional win.
“He ran second in the Doomben Cup last year. We were hoping to run him in the Doomben Cup again, but because of the injury we are behind the eight-ball. We are not going to make it in time. We just can’t get there. It is only four weeks away. He’ll run in the Prime Ministers’s Cup in a fortnight over 1300m. Two weeks after that there is a mile race, a Weight For Age race on Doomben Cup day and then ... well, that’s the fork in the road. We’ll see where we go from there. Whether we go to the staying races or whether we freshen him up and consider the Stradbroke, which might not be out of the question.Like I say that will be the fork in the road. We’ll know more then and be able to make a decision.”

Jockey Shane Scriven: “He’s a freak of a horse. He was nearly dead six months ago. He didn’t pull up real good in Melbourne. We were leaving Melbourne (where Scriven rode the horse in all four starts in his Victorian campaign) when we got the news from the vets saying he was in a really bad way. I don’t know what it was exactly. We thought we might lose him. But Lindsay (Gough) got him home safely and the vets went over him. They umm-ed and ahh-ed about retiring him. He was in ... and then he was out. Then he had another setback in training. He was so sore. I’ve never heard a horse groan like that. So he was gone again. For the second time, we thought that was it. The vet had to go over him again and he found something wrong in his shoulder. From there we just had to wait it out. We had to be careful because the horse will just go for it. I mean he will run through a brick wall for you. He just won’t give in. So he needed to be given time. Then, when he thought the horse was ready, Lindsay bit the bullet and decided to put him in a race just to see what happens and then he comes out and does something like that. When I saw that Simplest had kicked away from him, I didn’t want to be knocking him around. I was just giving him a few back-hands and he just took up the challenge himself and like cantered in. It’s quite amazing. I’ve got a history with the horse. He is special. He’ll go on ... he’ll go on from here.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Rampant Power): 15.00 out to 16.00.
Favourite (Simplest): 3.50 out to 3.90. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Main Vein (L. Rolls) jumped away very awkwardly and lost ground. Vocalic (A. Pattillo) and Mr Hornblower (M. Cahill) raced wide for the majority of the event. Leaving the 100m Bareena (J. Byrne) shifted in under pressure resulting in its rider having to stop riding and straighten that mare. A post-race veterinary examination of Deacon (C. Reith) failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 7:

JUANMO FILLIES & MARES HANDICAP (Quality) (Listed) - 1200m
1st - Russeting; 2nd Hurl; 3rd - Calchris

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Donald Baker: “The other day at Dalby she beat nothing ... I don’t want to say nothing, she beat a fair few horses, but nothing like today. This was a big test. This is my first Listed race win. She is due to go to the sales in June. I’ll talk to the owner and see if he is still going to sell her ... to just see what he is going to do. I might be able to hold him off. A lot of credit for this win has to go to Ronnie (Goltz). Ronnie does a lot of work on her. He’s such a reliable jockey. If he says he is going to be there to ride work at 4am, he is there at ten to four. So all credit to him.”

Jockey Ron Goltz: “The first run back (in Dalby) was more of a fitness thing. There were no trails coming up for her so he gave her a run out there. It’s five weeks between runs. She’s been going really good. She got a great run from a good barrier. I hadn’t moved on her until inside the two hundred, so I was quite positive that she was going to hold them off. She finished off good. The 1200m has been her best distance last time in. She has run third over 1300, but I think she’s best over 1200m.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Russeting): 9.00 out to 10.00 in to 9.00.
Favourite (On The Fridge): 2.80 out to 3.30. Finished ninth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
A Little Dabl Doya (J. Bowditch) and Go Johemma (T. Treichel) were tightened for room on jumping away between Momentously (A. Pattillo), which shifted out, and Colonial Lass (Matthew Palmer), which shifted in slightly. Seething Duck (C. Reith) and On The Fridge (L. Cassidy) jumped away awkwardly. Michelle Cafea (D. Craven) raced ungenerously and got its head up for a short distance rounding the first turn. Approaching the 600m Seconde (B. Evans) was momentarily crowded for room between She’s Meaner (S. Scriven) and On The Fridge (L. Cassidy), which shifted in. Near the 300m Seconde shifted out hampering On The Fridge. Leaving the 200m Seconde shifted out inconveniencing Colonial Lass (Matthew Palmer). A post-race veterinary examination of Decibella (S. Galloway), which finished a distant last, failed to reveal any abnormalities.
When questioned regarding the performance of On The Fridge, jockey L. Cassidy stated that the mare began only fairly and was obliged to race wide during the event. He added that in the circumstances On The Fridge, in his opinion, finished the race off reasonably well. A post-race veterinary examination of On The Fridge failed to reveal any abnormalities.
A post-race veterinary examination of Michelle Cafea (D. Craven), which compounded after racing wide throughout, failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 8:

3yo Handicap - 1000m
1st - Leapfrog; 2nd - Zahas Pride; 3rd - Bruleur

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bruce Hill: “He went back to 1000m. I just wanted to give him another run because I have got him entered in the Gold Coast Guineas. We missed a run on Monday (when Eagle Farm was abandoned) so we put him into this. He’s been going terrific the horse. We felt really confident going into the race because he worked with Calchris on Tuesday and he just went sensational, you know. He rides him good too, young Luke. Yeah, it got real close. All that matters is that it is your number that goes up.”

Apprentice jockey Luke Rolls: “I’ve had four rides on him three wins now. We dropped back in distance today. We just missed a few runs with races being called off. We had to run him today before the Guineas. It was a big effort today over the 1000m, because we thought it would be too short for him. He is a 1200m to 1400m horse. The only reason we ran him today is to get him ready for the Guineas.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Leapfrog): 9.00 out to 11.00.
Favourite (Zero Rock): 2.00 out to 2,50 in to 2.20. Finished fourth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Rothera (R. Goltz) and Alphonse (J. Byrne) jumped away awkwardly. Express Air (B. Evans), which jumped away awkwardly, had to be steadied shortly after the start between Rhodamine (J. Taylor), which shifted out, and Zero Rock (D. Browne), which shifted in. Lots Of Allure (K. Pope) and Little Raptor (S. Galloway) made heavy contact on jumping away.
Jockey D. Browne, the rider of Zero Rock, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under AR. 137(a) in that approaching the 800m he permitted his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Little Raptor (S. Galloway), resulting in that horse being taken inwards on to Lots Of Allure (K. Pope), which had to be checked when tightened for room between Little Raptor and Kirra Lyn (A. Pattillo). D. Browne's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 6 meetings, with the term of suspension to commence at midnight on Wednesday, 22 April, and expire at midnight on May 2, 2009.
Near the 350m Gundy Son (J. Bowditch) shifted out slightly obliging Leapfrog (L. Rolls) to shift wider to obtain clear running. In doing so Leapfrog came into contact with Zero Rock. Approaching the 200m Gundy Son shifted out taking Leapfrog out on to Zero Rock. Meet George (A. Taylor) was unable to secure clear running over the concluding stages.
When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Express Air, B. Evans stated that the horse began only fairly resulting in it getting back further in the field than anticipated. He added that when he placed Express Air under pressure near the 600m it failed to respond to his riding and tired over the concluding stages.

STEWARDS RACE DAY SUMMARY EXTRACT:
Summary of action concerning licensees:
Suspensions:
Race 3. S. Scriven - careless riding - 7 mtgs (m/n 22.4.09-3.5.09) - AR. 137(a)
Race 3. K. Pope- careless riding - 6 mtgs (m/n 19.4.09-1.5.09) - AR. 137(a)
Race 3. S. Galloway - careless riding - 7 mtgs (m/n 22.4.09-3.5.09) - AR. 137(a)
Race 8. D. Browne - careless riding - 6 mtgs (m/n 22.4.09-2.5.09) - AR. 137(a)

Summary of action concerning thoroughbred horses:
Horses swabbed pre-race:
Returntosender, Strawberry Field, Lilleelavee, Walk In The Park, Seesawing, Malandrina, Pit Lane, Hopeson, Kilkenny Queen, Rabbit Nagina, Derivative Receipt, Deception Bay, Go Johemma, Hurl, Russeting, Fire Hazard.
Horses swabbed post-race:
All winners and 2nd placegetters in Races 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7.
Warnings/bars:
Derivative Receipt - vet certificate prior to starting.