Racing NSW Stewards abandoned the last four races of Saturday’s Newcastle race meeting after jockeys approached Stewards with concerns as to the visibility encountered during the fourth event. The fourth race had to be delayed because of lightning during a storm.
All jockeys engaged to ride in race five were interviewed by Stewards and they all expressed similar concerns. Group 1 winning rider Christian Reith who rode the first three winners spoke to yours truly.
“Newcastle is the Premier track in New South Wales and despite close on a hundred millimetres of rain during the week it was great underfoot. The problem was the spray coming back onto the jockeys. I went through two sets of goggles in four races and race four it was very hard to see during the race” Reith said.
The Sydney based jockeys treble took his season tally to 42 after six months of the season. “With the number of top jockeys in Sydney, unless you are attached to the leading stables it is difficult to secure rides. I am concentrating on Provincial and Country meetings and loving it. All three of my winners were impressive. Local trainer Rod Ollerton had Miss Kono ready to fire in the 900m Maiden and she outpaced and outlasted them. At this stage up to 1000 metres is ideal for this filly.
Vecutich, the Godolphin 3 year old which won the 1300m Maiden is still learning but is smart. He is not switched on but he accelerated late and his class got him there.
There was no speed in the 1500m Maiden so I went forward on Prompt Prodigy and it was a soft win” Reith said.
Half the 2020/21 season has been completed and the standings in the Newcastle Premierships are:
Jockeys – Christian Reith 13, Keagan Latham 10, Andrew Gibbons 9
Trainers – Kim Waugh 11, Kris Lees 9, Chris Waller 9
Apprentices – Tyler Schiller 5, Mikayla Weir 4, Tom Sherry 3