Racing at Kenilworth on Saturday lasted no longer than shortly after the second race when the jockeys lodged what is officially known as a protest, a complete misnomer if ever there was one.
No angry scenes or waving of placards, just two riders going into the boardroom to explain why they felt they should not continue.
Grant Van Niekerk
Grant van Niekerk, who won the Liquidity Services Maiden Juvenile on the Justin Snaith-trained 8-1 shot Kawakami and was fined R1 500 for using his whip with excessive frequency, said: “The track is very heavy and coming into the straight I couldn’t see anything. My goggles were covered in mud.”
Donovan Dillon, caught close home on 17-10 favourite Sparkeling Fire after trying to make all the running, added: “The ground is becoming false and that is the real problem.”
Fifteen minutes after the race had been run the meeting was abandoned. “The trainers weren’t happy either. It was a unanimous decision,” said stipe Nick Shearer who was presumably referring to the two trainers co-opted onto the decision-making panel. Some of those on the other side of the weighing room counter would have preferred the meeting to continue.
Apparently it was the ground on the bend from the back straight into the straight that was the major cause for concern but for Quarllo in the opening 1 000m Data Simplified Maiden Plate the testing going was manna from heaven.
This Glen Puller-trained gelding was running for the 22nd time and, despite rising six, had never once finished in front. Little wonder that none of the punters wanted to know and allowed him to drift from 8-1 to 36-1 outsider of the seven runners.
Piet Botha had him well placed throughout and gained the advantage in the final furlong to score by three-quarters of a length.
Botha said: “Quarllo has a lot of niggles and so he enjoyed this ground. It was nice and heavy and they were going in quite deep.”
Just a pity that none of the punters could do the same.
By Michael Clower
