Former fashion skirt Golden Slipper The Law is heading to the paddock for a spell, but fellow Queenslander Ryan Maloney was celebrating less than an hour after his failure in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace when he won the Group 1 Surround Stakes in an incredible ending.
On a day of contrasting fortunes for the people of Queensland in Sydney, the Dream Slippers for the winner of the Magic Millions Skirt Law went down the drain, but Maloney was able to dust himself off by winning Sunshine In Paris in the next race.
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Trainer Tony Gollan, who was the second favorite for the $7 Golden Shoe prior to Saturday’s Sweet Embrace tournament, confirmed that his glamorous filly would spell after he finished seventh as the $2.05 favorite.
Nearly three years after making his first Group 1 2020 Australian Guinea aboard the Alligator Blood, Maloney was able to double his time aboard a filly trained by Annabelle Nisham.
NO ERROR
An investigation into the fall, which resulted in arrow apprentice Jasmine Cornish suffering a broken back, found no one at fault, with stewards terming it an “unfortunate racing incident”.
Cornish, who is due to spend more than six months on the sidelines, fell off one of her father Greg’s horses during a trial in Beaudesert in November.
While Cornish and her father both believed that another horse shied away from the fallen witch at the turn of the track to cause the fall, the stewards did not mention this in their week-long investigation.
“At about 400 meters, Your Too Good (A Mallyon), who was leading the test, staggered and moved outward, causing Ourlink (L Dittman), who was racing outward, to collide and be forced to move,” the investigation says.
“Due to Ourlink shifting, jockey J. Gutmann-Chester, an Oregon rider who was following Outlink, took evasive action and swept that runner outward, resulting in a Reflective Image (adj. Cornish) rushing out and on the heels of Oregon, clipping his heels and falling about 350 meters.”
Such was the impact of the fall, Cornish lost her sight for several weeks and had to insert two metal rods to hold her together.
TOOWOOMBA SURPRISE
Friday morning, Clifford Park was bustling with life after stewards raided the stables for a surprise check.
The Queensland Horse Racing Integrity Commission targeted a number of stables in Toowoomba and tested the horses along with stable staff during a morning check.
“The stewards took samples from the licensees and based on the initial sample, one groom was immediately removed from the horses pending the results of further analysis,” said a QRIC spokesperson.
However, this is unlikely to be the end of the matter and more is expected to play out.
FIRST DAY ON THE INSTRUMENTS
Recently retired jockey Robbie Fradd spent his first day on the instruments, mentoring top student Angela Jones at Doomben on Saturday.
The Group 1 winner was forced to retire abruptly from racing when told in December that he needed a double heart bypass, but was quickly picked up by champion trainer Tony Gollan to act as a mentor.
Originally published as Golden shoe dream for the Queensland Filly Skirt Law