A WEEKLY REVIEW: The Good The Bad The Ugly

Chad Schofield on Ceolwulf was GOOD retaining Flemington’s Champions Mile at Flemington on Saturday, on a program that lived up to the title, after a blood and guts finish following a testing, tactical duel.

Jockeys were again in the hot seat with Jamie Melham the headline act for all the right reasons. Schofield also figured prominently with Ceolwulf, while Mark Zahra notched eight winners over the week with a remarkable blend of confidence and touch.

Maybe the Melbourne Cup attendance (84,376) was down on the good, old days but the other three were very healthy indeed: Derby (86,112), Oaks (51,239) and Champions (65,021).

Once the final day dipped at Flemington but since the Champions evolved, it became the best program with Ceolwulf providing a stirring, if somewhat dubious, spectacle.

Alas the ride of Schofield cost him a $35,000 fine and two separate suspensions, prompting the question whether he was entitled to keep the race?

Ceolwulf downed Pericles, with Ben Melham aboard, by a short half head after a melee, first at the 1400 metres where Pericles was steadied and “crowded for room” by Schofield.

Later Pericles, according to the stewards, shifted in under pressure over the final 100 metres and brushed Ceolwulf on several occasions.

Melham and Bjorn Baker, trainer of Pericles, considered a protest for the first infringement, severe enough for Schofield to be suspended for 18 meetings.

Melham was severely reprimanded for the later tussle so no action was taken, probably on the assumption of the ground Pericles lost early, Ceolwulf struck later.

However Schofield, hitting his mount nine times prior to the 100 metres, four more than permitted, breached the whip rule bringing about the financial penalty enhanced being a Group one event, as well as a 11 meeting suspension to be served concurrently.

Surely four Schofield strikes were more than the short half head winning margin, particularly in rain effected ground.

Regarding the whip Baker and Melham can be excused for not taking action but the stewards should have considered the objection.

THE BAD was Blake Shinn’s spill, paying homage to the Banjo Paterson poem “Only A Jockey”, which related the story of a fall where the condition of a horse was regarded as more important than that of the rider.

After Half Yours triumphed in the Melbourne Cup under the finesse of Melham, the gelding had blood on his mouth receiving more media exposure than Shinn’s broken leg on the same day. Half Yours bit his cheek.

But what happened to Buckaroo in the Melbourne Cup?

“I note Buckaroo whom I backed finished 24^th or last. Is that BAD or UGLY?” – the email came directed, in a tone not unexpected, from Graham Lenzner.

Stewards reported Buckeroo was “slow to begin. Eased down from the 300 metres. A post-race endoscopy of Buckaroo detected a degree of internal exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage that may have affected the gelding’s racing performance. A veterinary clearance will be required prior to racing again.”

If it wasn’t the haemorrhage, what was it? Buckaroo was a top six fancy and beaten 99 lengths. Yes, jockey Craig Williams eased him down figuring something was seriously amiss.

The Racing Victoria policy now seems to get failures off the track and out of the public eye as soon as possible. Still punters are entitled to a more detailed report. After all Buckeroo did run the great Via Sistina to a nostril in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley previously and she came out and won again in the Champions Stakes at Flemington. Perhaps it will be argued Buckaroo could not run the Melbourne Cup distance, but he was beaten under four lengths, badly ridden, in the staying test last year.

Horse sense: The durability of jockeys was emphasised by Nikita Berriman, recently riding in Queensland but now out of action.

“After the fall I rode two days later and I probably did more damage by riding then but we’re a bit of a different breed and we think we are much tougher than we actually are,” she explained. “I don’t remember that day at the races (she had eight mounts including a winner).”

She is now out indefinitely.