Racing
O’Shea blasts late scratching decision
Top trainer John O’Shea has taken umbrage with the assessment that Bev’s Nine was unfit to race at Rosehill.
A frustrated John O'Shea has questioned the process behind the late scratching of Bev's Nine at Rosehill after Racing NSW veterinarians deemed the gelding to be lame.
The undefeated four-year-old was scratched behind the barriers for the Queen Bee Project Sprint (1100m) after veterinary officials were unhappy with his action in the off-hind leg.
"My concern is, if that horse wasn't acceptable to race then I may as well take my whole 100 horses and take them to another state, because he is the soundest horse in our yard," O'Shea told Racing NSW stewards.
"To have that horse scratched behind the barriers for being lame is the greatest mismatch I've ever heard of in my 25 years as a trainer."
When chief steward Tom Moxon then asked O'Shea to deal with the matter calmly, the trainer said his disappointment was primarily for his owners, who now found themselves with a horse in a near untenable situation.
"With all due respect, it's easy for everyone behind the desk to be calm because it doesn't cost you any money. It costs my owners, it costs me, it costs my staff," O'Shea said.
"That horse's gait has not changed since he was a two-year-old. It won't be any better next week because there is nothing wrong with him today. So where does that leave us? Do I say to the owners, 'this horse will not be allowed to run in NSW because the vet determined it had an abnormal gait at the walk'?"
Moxon pointed out that the stewards needed to consider the welfare of all industry participants as well as the horse and the decision to scratch Bev's Nine had been made under race day deadlines by an experienced vet.
Moxon explained Bev's Nine had been observed to have an "abnormal gait" while parading, but was given the opportunity to proceed to the starting stalls.
"The horse wasn't ruled lame at that point," Moxon said.
"We gave the horse an opportunity to go the barriers. (Veterinarian) Dr Greg Nash was behind the barriers – I don't know if there would be any more experienced vets in Australia than Greg – he has inspected the horse, the horse has trotted up under his supervision. The report to us was the horse was lame in the off-hind leg, in his opinion."
O'Shea pushed further, questioning if Nash had ever inspected the horse previously, adding that trainers should be given some level of input about a horse's action given they saw it every day and knew its history and individual quirks.
"When does the responsibility of the trainer with many decades of experience come in?" O'Shea asked.
Moxon set the matter aside and told O'Shea stewards would follow up with him during the week.
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