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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Controversial Colt’s race

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THE Philippine Racing Commission’s 3YO Colts stakes race held last Feb. 22 at the Manila Jockey Club’s San Lazaro Leisure Park was marked by a controversy regarding a stewards’ inquiry for first place.

The 1,400-meter race featured seven PH-bred runners, and the horse that reached the wire first, by a length, was the favorite Money Talks, ahead of Juachenzo’s Run.

However, the MJC Board of Stewards (BOS), after their inquiry, declared Juachenzo’s Run the winner, relegating Money Talks to second. Showtime was third, followed by Dixie Storm in fourth.

This is the official order of arrival, with the time for the race at 1:28.6 (13-24’-24-27).

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To those who watched the race, it appears that at the jump-out, Money Talks shifted in toward Juachenzo’s Run, causing it to be checked.

However, by the backstretch Juachenzo’s Run was already running off the pace from the frontrunner Showtime. Money Talks was in third position, but rallied in the later stages to finish first by a length.

The question for many racing fans is, why was Money Talks disqualified when  Juachenzo’s Run was able to recover its stride during the race and in fact passed the former? The swerving-in did not seem to materially affect Juachenzo’s Run’s chances for a win.

Here is the stewards’ report, verbatim:

“When the gate opened, Money Talks swerved-in sharply to the path of Juachenzo’s Run causing the rider of the latter to be checked and lost ground. The race resulted to a close finish between Money Talks and Juachenzo’s Run.

“[Jockey] JB Hernandez [on Juachenzo’s Run] narrated that he was affected by the interference and if not for such incident he could have won the race. RO Niu [jockey of Money Talks] explained that he tried to prevent his mount to swerve-in but he already lost control to avoid the same.”

The MJC BOS slapped Money Talks with an indefinite suspension “for swerving-in and being uncontrollable,” under PR 65 of the “blue book,” or handbook of racing rules and regulations.

A sharp-eyed racing insider pointed out another incident in the race that seems to have gone unnoticed.

Approaching the first curve, Dixie Storm abruptly swerved-in toward Right as Rain, causing the latter to shift in and cross the path of Spicy Time.

Jockey RV Brady on Spicy Time had to steady his mount to avoid clipping the heels of Right As Rain. Brady was nearly unseated. Why was this not in the stewards’ report, the sharp-eyed insider asked?

Starting Feb. 5, the MJC BOS had three new stewards who replaced former BOS chairman Johnny Cruz and stewards Cesar Gariplan and Joselito Zabat, who resigned from MJC effective end-January. 

Philracom invited the MJC BOS to a meeting today to look into the matter. Nothing can be done now about the official decision or payouts, but Philracom has the option to open a motu propio investigation, if warranted.

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Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Blog: http://jennyo.net

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