Betezy
Top jockey Damien Oliver really lucked out in more ways than one yesterday.
His day got off to a bad start when he discovered all his riding equipment had been lost on his flight from Melbourne to Sydney which meant he had to borrow everything from one of the barrier attendants because none of his fellow riders had a spare in his size.
Riding Anthony Cummings-trained Road To Rock in the Doncaster Mile at Randwick, he was beaten by half a neck by Rangirangdoo and at the weigh-in after the race, it was discovered he was a kilogram overweight.
He admitted to stewards he had consumed a drink before the race, but put it down to his horse sweating up so much during the race and a change to the girth strap.
He was suspended for three weeks, though stewards decreased the period by one week due to his good record, but the chief stipe said there was no breach worse than Oliver’s, bearing in mind the horse was beaten by just half a neck in a Group One race.
Oliver will be permitted to ride at Randwick next Saturday when his mounts include the Cummings-trained Zavite in the Group One Sydney Cup (3200m).
http://www.betezy.com.au/
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
