The Cossack. Photo / Race Images
One too many strikes with the whip has put apprentice jockey Talya Mitchell’s premiership dream in jeopardy.
Mitchell extended her lead to four wins over Kelsey Hannan in the battle to be our leading apprentice for the season (66-62) when she rode Delorean to win a $60,000 three-year-old winter final for trainer Kylie Fawcett at Ruakaka on Saturday.
But the young jockey was found guilty of using the whip seven times, rather than the allowed six, before the 100m mark and that earned her a five-day suspension.
That will start next Sunday night and while Mitchell will ride at four meetings before then and has that healthy lead, Hannan will have four more meetings to ride at before the season ends on July 31 which Mitchell will miss.
While Hannan has had good books of rides she is is going through a frustrating dry spell so this week may actually decide the title of our best young jockey as if the margin is the same next week, Hannan will need to ride a winner a meeting to close the gap on Mitchell.
“It is a shame to think after the season they have both had the premiership could be decided by a suspension,” says Mitchell’s manager Ted McLachlan.
“Personally I think a suspension like Tayla’s should be delayed until the new season as their battle for the apprentice title is one of the talking points of the winter.
“But with Tayla having to sit the last week out she will now head to Oamaru next Sunday to get one more riding day in.” Mitchell was part of a female jockey’s room domination of the ITM/GIB Finals meeting on Saturday, with Elen Nicholas riding two winners while Jess Allen, Jasmine Fawcett and Sam Spratt all rode winners while local trainer Michelle Bradley trained two on a special day for her small stable.
The only male jockey to make an impact was South African star Warren Kennedy but his was a cameo performance, he rode the winners of Races 2 and 3 then missed the rest of the meeting with illness.
Almost all of Saturday’s winners are in for a quiet end to the season though as Kennedy, Nicholas and Fawcett will all miss meetings in the next two weeks joining Mitchell on the suspended list.
RE-MATCH DOUBT
Star jumper The Cossack may not get his chance for Grand National revenge over Wellington Steeples conqueror West Coast.
West Coast won their highly-anticipated clash at Trentham on Saturday when the 5500m test worked out perfectly for him whereas The Cossack was badly checked at a crucial stage but was enormously brave in third.
West Coast will head to Riccarton next month to defend the Grand National Steeples title he won so effortlessly last season but co-trainer Paul Nelson says The Cossack is “less than 50-50″ to make the trip.
“At this stage we are more likely to stay up here and aim at the Great Northern, which has been moved to Te Rapa and should really suit him,” says Nelson.
The outstanding trainer had a rollercoaster day with hot favourite Nedwin falling but in the Wellington Hurdles, but unhurt, while stablemate Suliman went on to win that premier race.
In a truly cruel twist from the racing Gods, The Cossack was checked by his own stablemate Argyll when the latter suffered a heart attack in the Steeples.
“He died on the track, which is bloody hard to take but it was nobody’s fault, it just happened,” said Nelson.