金拖鞋大賽大熱門 More Joyous 的下場
The Silver Slipper curse on the Gai Waterhouse stable struck for the second year running with hot favourite More Joyous pulled out of the race by Nash Rawiller shortly after the start when the odds-on favourite put on a buck jumping display.
With the favourite out of the picture it was the Gerald Ryan-trained Melito who claimed the prize in the $200,000 Group II Franklins Supermarket Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill today.
More Joyous' jockey Nash Rawiller explaining what happened - photo by Steve Hart
Last year Waterhouse was celebrating the victory of Amelia’s Dream but as quickly as the bookmakers promoted her to short price favourite for the Golden Slipper she was ruled out of the race through an injury she has suffered during her demolition of her rivals.
But today, the curse struck a matter of strides after the barriers opened with More Joyous’ girth strap shifting noticeably and she started to buck until jockey Nash Rawiller was able to pull the filly up.
“After I went about five strides I noticed the saddle slip back half a metre back under her stifle,” Rawiller told stewards in an inquiry following the race.
“From my experience any other horse would have kept bucking until it killed itself and me.
“I can’t blame the filly one bit, I just hope she doesn’t have to trial again because it could do damage to her Slipper campaign.”
More Joyous owner John Singleton just shrugged his shoulders following the race and kept things quite simple when assessing what had unravelled in front of him.
“Favourite in the Slipper – now not in the Slipper,” Singleton said.
“The racing gods we’re not smiling on us today.”
Though still able to produce a smile, Gai Waterhouse said, “I’m as baffled as anyone”.
Stewards ordered More Joyous must trial prior to racing again.
"I will have to change her program," Waterhouse said.
"I do think i can get her into the Slipper."
Earlier in the day another Golden Slipper aspirant Essaouira put herself out of contention in the Listed Chairman’s Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield when she put on a bucking display at $1.55.
“Don’t ever think you can’t come to the races and see something way out of the ordinary, I just can’t believe it, it’s amazing what a horse can get into its head,” Essaouira trainer Lee Freedman said.
我睇馬咁耐都未見過呢個情境...出閘跑左2步馬鞍突然滑後之後隻馬係咁buck....唔知係人為定係意外喇......開跑之隻馬仲係$1.3 出閘後次熱門瘋狂落飛得手....
anyway...隻馬而家要跑金拖鞋難度極高..一來唔夠prize money入圍..同埋最少要作賽3場 or 贏銀拖鞋 而家隻more joyous要試閘合格左先...之後再要跑2場....然後先有機會入選金拖鞋....到時隻馬都散曬lu
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