October
AprilInsensitive
I have written to you fairly frequently recently, and had decided to give it a "spell", but I have been absolutely incensed by the ignorance and insensitivity of Spero Kartanos, who has criticised officials for withdrawing Smart Missile from the Golden Slipper. He believes this should not have occurred because it was the Golden Slipper. How mercenary can you get ?
Spero, mate, a horse is a horse, regardless if it is pulling a cart, running in a bush maiden or second favourite for the Golden Slipper. No one, not even the vets by their own admission can assess, in less than a minute, how much damage may be done to a horse physically, emotionally or psychologically when it has been subjected to casting, even if such injury is not in evidence immediately after the incident. No one can make anything like an accurate assessment until the horse has cooled down, and even then, the horse can be hurting for days without showing any evidence of injury.
I notice Smart Missile was a very early scratching from last Saturday’s Sires’ Produce at Randwick. I know from a previous interview it was Anthony Cummings’s original plan to run. I do not know why he was scratched but suggest to Spero the Golden Slipper incident is possibly very significant as to the fitness of the colt, who was presumably in fine condition before the accident.
Spero, horses are living, breathing animals, and they suffer pain. They are not little toys on the TV screen for you to bet on like a poker machine. The stewards, vets and all officialdom know this, and this is why the rule of automatic withdrawal was put in place ages ago.
You refer to the value of the race. If value was to be a consideration it is even more reason why the rule should be used in a Golden Slipper or similar high-valued race than a lower class event. Surely the relative value of a Golden Slipper competitor would be much higher than a bush maidener or cart horse, and on monetary value alone, which you advocate, should be entitled to greater caution.
You refer to the stewards imposing greater fines because of the value of the race. Of course they do. Is it not logical that a jockey aware of his potential monetary gain would be prepared to take more risk of fine or suspension in a Golden Slipper than the same jockey may do in a bush maiden? Work the percentages Spero.
Glen Boss, according to a report I read, in an interview after the race admitted he was at fault in criticising the vet, for which he apologised. He obviously believed he had a second-to-none chance on Smart Missile, and one can understand his disappointment and frustration at having that excellent chance stolen from him by fate at the last minute. The stewards certainly did and did not issue a fine or reprimand, which would have been mandatory in your bush Class 1.
I can’t even understand Spero’s beef if he had backed Smart Missile. I know if I had I’d be grateful to get my money back, rather than let it run on a horse with unknown fitness.
Maybe you backed Sepoy and were more concerned at the effect on your pocket caused by the deductions after the withdrawal of a horse high in the market. As I said earlier, how mercenary.
Brighton (Qld)