Racing Victoria decided earlier this year not to send Forbes to the UK to run its testing regime for international horses planning to run in next month’s Melbourne Cup.
That duty was assigned to UK-based vets David Sykes and Amanda Piggott, who had a history of engagement and communication with international stables.
Racing Victoria chief executive Aaron Morrison.Credit: Scott Barbour/Racing Photos
Morrison travelled to England before the Royal Ascot carnival in June to meet with international trainers in the training centre of Newmarket to discuss Melbourne Cup protocols.
A dozen international runners, from five different countries, will compete in Melbourne this spring.
Forbes, who was left in charge of the safety protocols from Melbourne, took personal leave in June this year. She declined to comment when contacted by The Age.
In an application lodged with the Fair Work Commission in August, Forbes alleged that she was called into a meeting with Morrison and head of integrity Jamie Stier in April and asked to be more flexible when inspecting horses.
She accused them of wanting international horses trained by the likes of O’Brien and Charlie Appleby to be passed to run in the Cup regardless of whether they were fit to race.
But Morrison said the suggestion that Racing Victoria was not “prioritising the welfare of our horses is completely rejected”.
“Our veterinary protocols set a global standard and will not be compromised,” he said.
“You only need to take a look at events over recent days to know how serious we are on horse welfare.
“Our stewards made the decision to withdraw the favourite for the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup Sir Delius because of strong vets’ advice that he’s at heightened risk of injury.
“That’s putting the welfare of the horse above all else.”
Sir Delius joined the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable last year and had won two group 1 races in Melbourne this spring before being stood down by Racing Victoria stewards last week.
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He failed a CT scan and a follow-up PET scan – new technology introduced by Racing Victoria this year.
The five-year-old stallion was required to undergo the compulsory testing because he was entered in the Melbourne Cup. He would not have needed to be scanned if he was only running in the Cox Plate.
Strict safety protocols were introduced by Forbes’ team for all Melbourne Cup runners in 2021 after seven horses died across seven years, placing the future of the race under government pressure.
The new testing system introduced CT scans of horses’ legs which were then reviewed by an independent panel of three vets. The technology was used to identify injury risks such as weakness or small fissures in a horse’s bone structure.
The O’Brien-trained Anthony Van Dyck was the last horse to die during the Melbourne Cup after sustaining serious injuries about 600m from the finish line. It had finished second in the Caulfield Cup the start before.
A subsequent stewards investigation into the fatality found that precautionary diagnostic imaging, such as an MRI or CT scan, may have identified the potential for a future serious racing injury.
While O’Brien dismissed suggestions Anthony Van Dyck had been unfit to race, the findings led to the introduction of the current safety protocols.
O’Brien doesn’t have a runner entered for this year’s Melbourne Cup, but his son Joseph has two – Australian-owned favourite Al Riffa and former hurdler Goodie Two Shoes who both passed tests before entering into Australian quarantine.
They will be scanned again at Werribee before being cleared to run in the Melbourne Cup.
The worry facing Via Sistina’s trainer in her quest for back-to-back Cox Plates
Cox Plate champion Via Sistina avoided the drama of this day 12 months ago, but trainer Chris Waller has another set of worries heading into this year’s race with the raging favourite.
The reigning horse of the year has eight rivals on Saturday as she aims to emulate the last great mare of the Australian turf, Winx, by winning back-to-back runnings of the country’s championship race at Moonee Valley.
The veteran mare will start an overwhelming favourite in the $6 million weight-for-age classic, her chances done no harm after the ideal draw of gate five at Tuesday morning’s barrier draw.
Via Sistina, pictured getting a wash at Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning.Credit: Getty Images
It was on this day last year when Via Sistina’s position in the race was plunged into uncertainty after she sensationally dumped jockey James McDonald and took off, running four laps of the course.
Waller cut a more relaxed figure at Moonee Valley’s Breakfast with the Best after his mare emerged unscathed from her track gallop – but there is one thing bugging him and jockey McDonald as they plot a path to victory.
Via Sistina needs a truly run race to be at her absolute best. Unlike last year, there is no tearaway leader like Pride Of Jenni, who set the speed for Via Sistina to break the track record, and the likely pacesetter Globe is under an injury cloud.
After winning first-up, Via Sistina has finished third in two slowly-run lead-up races, unable to power over horses that settled closer to the pace.
“I am worried,” Waller said on Tuesday morning before the barrier draw. “But we’ll ride our own race on Saturday. She’s at her grand final. She needs to make her own luck, make her own sectionals times.
“It’s a Cox Plate, it’s a grand final. It’s like getting sport that brings out good competition. There’s three-year-old in the race, so they’ve got a light weight, there’s even some of the four-year-olds carrying less weight. They’ll all think they can win a Cox Plate. They’ll all get going early, Via won’t miss the boat Saturday.”
Star jockey James McDonald aboard Via Sistina on Tuesday morning.Credit: Getty Images
The Cox Plate barrier draw is conducted differently to other major races in that connections get to choose the gate once their horse’s name has been plucked out of the barrel. Troy Stephens, Yulong’s racing manager, had the choice of all but barriers three and four, and chose five.
Waller has pulled the Winx card with third favourite Aeliana, engaging the services of star hoop Hugh Bowman. Bowmnan rode Winx in 31 of the champion mare’s 33 consecutive wins. Like Winx in her first Cox Plate win, Aeliana is also four.
“She’s a very similar horse to Winx in terms of where she’s at when Winx had her first Cox Plate,” Waller said. “She’s no Winx, but she’s not far off. She’s just got to have that continued improvement as she gets older.”
Second favourite Antino will jump from barrier six, while Treasurethemoment has the inside gate of one – the second-last stall available when her name was called.
Trainer Mick Price could wait until as late as Saturday morning to make a call on Globe, a last-start winner of the Might And Power Stakes when only four horses ran.
“The horse does have an irritation in the off front fetlock. If that horse is not right, I’m not happy with him, I’m not going to run him.” Price told racing.com.
“We X-rayed it. It’s bone clean, but the joint capsule has an irritation where it attaches to the bone. It’s more a soft tissue thing.
“On Saturday morning if the horse is not 100 per cent, he won’t run.”
