Always back the horse named self-interest, son. It'll be the only one trying
Jockey Tony Patillo is probably too intelligence limited to see it, but there is both a very strange irony and a sense of rank hypocrisy in a person typing a Facebook message calling racing writers like me who are read across the industry keyboard warriors. It’s a bit like a bloke sitting on a boat […]
Many have been wondering how jockey Ric McMahon could have been so foolish as to carry a jigger in his hand on the off (right hand) side of the horse he was riding, exposed to public view and, as it turned out, to the camera lens. The answer is perhaps much simpler that you think. […]
Division 5 – Misconduct in relation to the care and welfare of horses AR 231 Care and welfare of horses (1) A person must not: (a) commit or commission an act of cruelty to a horse, or be in possession of any article or thing which, in the opinion of the Stewards, is capable of […]
There is now very strong mail floating about suggesting that ALL of Todd Austin’s gallopers that had trackwork gallops at Birdsville on Tuesday morning were hit with a jigger. In the absence of any photos or footage it is not possible to prove these claims to be true, at least not without a witness statement. […]
Further to the media statement issued this morning, QRIC has immediately suspended the licence of two Queensland thoroughbred participants. A Stewards inquiry remains ongoing. QRIC takes allegations of animal cruelty are taken very seriously. One of QRIC’s key functions is to safeguard the welfare of any animal involved in racing, and we will take all […]
What you see above is Todd Austin’s strike rate this season. This below is Austin’s career strike rate. Do you reckon the jiggers work? Yeah, we all do. It because we are not stupid. Only cheats who use jiggers in front of cameras are.
This picture was taken at trackwork at Birdsville this morning. The horse in the picture is ridden by Ric McMahon and trained by Todd Austin. I don’t know which horse it is, but it won’t be hard to identify, for the brand is clear. Look closely at McMahon’s hand, just above where he is holding […]
The horse that Ric McMahon is riding with a jigger in his hand is Hemmerle. Todd Austin is the trainer. It is the topweight in the Birdsville Cup. Or was. All Todd Austin’s horses must be scratched from the meeting, and stood down from racing until the Stewards sort this whole thing out. Hemmerle is […]
See that thing in the US jockey’s hand? It is the same thing that was in Ric McMahon’s at Birdsville trackwork yesterday. It is a jigger. This is disgraceful conduct that brings shame to our sport.’ Everyone involved should be banned for life.
A jigger is a battery powered electric shock device, similar to a taser. Long used in the Australian racing industry as a means of pushing horses to run faster, their use was curbed during race meets once stewards vision of races improved with the introduction of video surveillance. Illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty to […]
