October
MarchTyrannosaurus Ken
That dinosaurs still roam our racetracks and meander along the corridors of newspaper buildings became obvious to me when I opened up the racing page of a Sydney newspaper on the morning of Monday February 25.
On that page was an article written by a veteran racing writer who declared that, in his opinion, connections of Miracles of Life were "totally mad" for having engaged Lauren Stojakovic to ride their horse in the Blue Diamond Stakes, when they could have had their choice of some of Australia’s top male jockeys.
He went on to say that Lauren "battles for rides on the South Australian provincial circuit" and that her only experience of riding in Victoria "had been at Swan Hill and Mildura." He even mentioned that she was back riding at Balaklava the day after her Group 1 success.
It’s a great pity that the majority of racing writers know little or nothing about horses or riding. Premiership-winning jockey Clare Lindop had no doubt connections of Miracles of Life had chosen the right jockey.
Interviewed prior to the Blue Diamond, she had this to say: "Lauren has a perfect and complete feel for Miracles of Life. She’s been with her every day and understands every little quirky part of her make-up.
"In the case of major two-year-old races like this, connections have made the right decision. It’s a two-year-old race where horses can be erratic because basically they’re very new to what they are doing, and an intimate understanding of a horse’s habits is just vital whereas tactics aren’t as important."
I wrote in Your Say recently that Australia has some very talented female jockeys whose records would be even more impressive if they were given the opportunities their talents deserve.
The "inexperienced", "mature age", "female" apprentice (the words of racing writers, not mine) Lauren Stojakovic further validated my argument last Saturday.
In fairness I should point out that Brent Zerafa, writing in the Sydney Daily Telegraph, said of Stojakovic’s ride: "George Moore couldn’t have ridden her (Miracles of Life) better."
• Editor’s note: The dinosaur in question, Ken Callander, went on to write: "Thank God money isn’t everything to everybody and congratulations to the horse’s owners, manager Iris O’Farrell and trainer Dan Clarken for letting us live the dream and giving racing the feelgood story of the year
."
Blackheath (NSW)