Opinion
Racing Victoria has delivered on the first part of its brief.
We now know, thanks to a speedy and thorough stewards’ investigation, the direct cause of a devastating horse death in the aftermath of Saturday’s Caulfield Cup.
Stewards pinpointed mid-race interference as the reason two horses, and their jockeys, came tumbling to the ground in the Caulfield home straight.
As has been well documented, one of those horses, the Chris Waller-trained Ohope Wins, was unable to be saved by on-course vets.
Importantly, stewards also absolved three jockeys at the centre of their inquiry – Rachel King, Jabez Johnstone and Ethan Brown – of any blame. They are now free to ride in the coming weeks.
This column called for a transparent and thorough review earlier this week, and what we got was a quick and commendable turnaround from racing’s police.
But what we are missing now is the “coroner’s report”; information that goes beyond those in-race mechanics and more deeply into the other factors that may have had an impact on the day.
That information will help us understand if there are any lessons to be learnt or any mitigating circumstances.
Racing is a dangerous sport and accidents happen. No one is disputing that.
But it is also an industry that operates on a flimsy social licence – closely monitored by animal liberationists, who want the sport banned, and the anti-gambling brigade, who often work hand-in-hand.
And because of that, a horse death brings the conditions of that licence firmly back into focus. In spring, it falls under a larger gaze.
So, for the benefit of those wanting to close the book on this year’s Caulfield Cup tragedy and move on, what do we still need to know?
Let’s start with the track. Stewards declared there were “no safety issues” with the surface. That might be the case, it is only part of the picture. Replays will show it was an advantage to be on the rail and in front. Was that an exacerbating circumstance?
What about the field size (the Caulfield Cup has a maximum of 18)? It might be time for the industry to review those, as well as riding tactics on tracks that throw up a leader bias.
Then there are muddling, stop-start speeds. A case in point is Royal Supremacy in the Caulfield Cup. Under Jamie Spencer he bolted to the front before whacking on the handbrake, a mid-race action that stacks up a large field.
No one is blaming Spencer, and “catching a breather” is a common strategy in Australian racing, but it can have consequences.
These are all things that should be addressed publicly, to paint the full picture.
Another viewpoint yet to be shared with the public is Saturday’s vets’ report.
To date, we have only been told that Ohope Wins sustained a “serious racing injury and despite veterinary attention could not be saved”.
What were the injuries? What was the veterinary attention, and what was the veterinary advice? The argument against sharing such detail is that it is graphic and ghoulish. But there is no hiding that a horse died due to a fall in a race. Like the long-standing policy of erasing footage of such catastrophic events from its archives to avoid viewer “distress”, failing to share the information removes the public’s ability to form a complete and balanced view.
If nothing else, sharing such information might help us understand the trauma that the industry’s animal doctors have to deal with during such horrific situations. They might also have an important view on the conditions of racing.
Racing Victoria’s report today noted that the “incident has been referred to the RV Veterinary Services Department”.
That is a line we have read before, and never seen the outcome. This time should be different. We should at least expect a finding.
In short, the race-day stewards have done their job and now we wait for the second half of the picture.
While it is all well to say we are saddened by these deaths, and offer condolences to the aggrieved, there has to be a greater standard of proof.
Because, as the old saying goes, the standard we walk past is the standard we accept.
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