No barrel of laughs: Farcical barrier draw as VRC short on balls for million-dollar Derby Day race
The barrier draw for Saturday’s group 1 million-dollar Empire Rose Stakes turned into a farce after the Wayne Hawkes-trained Yearning was initially forced to take barrier 14 when the perspex barrel containing balls with barrier numbers on them was found to be one ball short.
Trainer Wayne Hawkes rang the stewards after the draw, which was televised on racing.com, to determine where connections of the horse stood, given that the steward on hand made a quick decision during the telecast to just give Yearning barrier 14.
He was told that stewards had decided to put 18 balls into the barrel again and whichever ball was drawn would become the horse’s barrier in the race, and any horse outside Yearning’s barrier would immediately move out one.
Leading trainer Wayne Hawkes was mystified when his horse Yearning was not pulled out in the barrier draw for the Empire Rose Stakes.Credit:Racing Photos
The unusual development saw Yearning, by some convenient twist of fate, once again land barrier 14, which left all the horses in the barriers they drew during the broadcast.
Hawkes told SEN he understood that mistakes happen, but he had to represent their horse’s interests.
“I just want fairness. One rule book and fairness,” Hawkes said.
The four-year-old mare Yearning won the group 1 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield last Spring and ran a place in the group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes at Flemington two starts back.
Racing Victoria have been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, New Zealand colt Mr Maestro will need to repeat his performance in the Norman Robinson Stakes after once again drawing the outside barrier for the Victoria (VRC) Derby.
The three-year-old jumped from the outside barrier and went back in the seven-horse field before making a strong run from the back to reel in Muramasa in what is otherwise known as the Caulfield Classic.
Grand Pierro ridden by Craig Williams (far left) soars to victory in the Geelong Classic.Credit:Racing Photos
However, jockey Damian Lane will jump from the outside barrier in a strong 16-horse field for the $2 million Derby, while Mr Maestro’s main rivals Sharp ‘n’ Smart and Berkeley Square drew barrier three and barrier five respectively, with the field a chance to move in one barrier after first emergency Aberfeldie Boy drew barrier two.
It may force Lane to drop the Andrew Forsman-trained colt back in the field to settle in running, rather than jousting for the lead before the first turn.
Mr Maestro wasn’t the only horse to cop an unlucky draw, with the Jason Warren-trained Grand Pierro drawing barrier 15, meaning he will once again have to work his way through the field as he did in the Geelong Classic when Craig Williams rode a perfect race from barrier 14 to eventually grab Let’srollthedice on the line.
Warren was hoping to jump from the middle of the field but knows Grand Pierro will stay the 2500 metres in what is shaping as one of the strongest Derby fields for years.
“He’s a horse that I have always had marked as a stayer. He has got Sir Tristram on both sides of his family, so he is bred to get a trip,” Warren told The Age.
“He looks like a sprinter, which is why we got him so cheap because he is small. He’s only a pony size at 14 hands, but he has got a big stride, and he covers the ground like a big horse.”
Grand Pierro found gaps to come from 13th at the 800-metre mark before settling into a sustained run down the outside at the Geelong Classic. Warren said the key was to get a good track that suited the horse and find some running room.
“He has always had really good aerobic ability and recovery,” Warren said.
Warren has brought the horse along from his first start this preparation when he copped a bad check at Pakenham and had to rebuild his confidence. He then announced himself when he won a Maiden at Pakenham a month later before he ran at Flemington and then Geelong.
Warren has a good team at Mornington and also has a runner La Gioia in the VRC Oaks on Thursday with Grand Pierro his first Derby runner.
“It’s a bloody strong derby,” Warren said.
Grand Pierro just pipped Let’srollthedice, which Danny O’Brien trains down at Barwon Heads. The VRC Sires Produce winner was set for the Derby and proved he could stay with his effort in the Geelong Classic.
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