Hugh Bowman suspended in fresh horse racing controversy
Hugh Bowman has been suspended for the next 11 race meetings for his winning ride in the Inglis Bracelet on Oaks Day.
Bowman rode Rocha Clock to victory in the inaugural running of the $500,000 race on Thursday, storming home from second last.
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However his winning ride fell foul of Victorian Racing stewards.
With Rocha Clock starting to tire over the last 200m, she wobbled inwards and checked the runs of two horses next to her.
That was enough for stewards to come down hard on Bowman, hitting him with the lengthy suspension.
It was a mixed week for Bowman, who rode another winner on the day and also steered Montefilia to third-place in the Oaks.
However the good news was soured by the death of Anthony Van Dyck, who he rode in the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.
Bowman was forced to jump from his mount when Anthony Van Dyck fractured a fetlock in the straight during the race that stops the nation.
Racing Victoria has since launched an investigation into the tragedy, which marks the seventh time a horse had died on Melbourne Cup day in the last eight years.
“Everyone at Racing Victoria, and I know the VRC as well from speaking with them yesterday, are deeply moved by the loss of yet another horse in the Melbourne Cup,” Jamie Stier, RV’s executive general manager of integrity services, told RSN.
The death of Anthony Van Dyck follows that of another Aidan O'Brien-trained horse, Cliffofmoher, who was euthanised after he broke down during the 2018 Melbourne Cup.
Personal wins the VRC Oaks
Champion jockey Damien Oliver added another Group One winner to his amazing resume but it was a first for the training team of Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes when they combined with Personal to win the VRC Oaks.
For Oliver it was his sixth win in the fillies classic, his 122nd Group One and his 23rd elite victory at the Flemington carnival.
Only Bobbie Lewis with seven VRC Oaks and 24 Group One Melbourne Cup carnival wins is in front of Oliver in both fields.
Ben Hayes said after finishing second in two Group One races this spring - with Personal in the Thousand Guineas and Aysar in the Caulfield Guineas - it was a relief to get one up in their name.
Hayes and his cousin Dabernig took over the training of Lindsay Park when his father David Hayes relocated to Hong Kong in the middle of the year.
When Personal won her debut at Flemington in January, Hayes senior likened her to Miss Finland, who also won the VRC Oaks in 2006, and he was proven correct.
The VRC Oaks was Personal's second win in nine starts but Dabernig pointed out that she had been racing at the top level and finished third in the Blue Diamond and second in the Thousand Guineas.
“She can sprint and stay and she's got some magnificent attributes,” Dabernig said.
“I think we haven't seen the best of her yet. I think there is still more to come.”
with AAP
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