Livamol Classic meeting abandoned after HB Guineas slip

Hawke's Bay racing
The Livamol Classic meeting was abandoned after Bostonian slipped in the Hawke’s Bay Guineas on Saturday

THE future of the 2017 Livamol Classic is up in the air after the meeting was abandoned on Saturday due to a slip in the Hawke’s Bay Guineas.

The incident came after the finishing line when Bostonian lost its footing around the turn. That prompted jockeys and stewards to inspect the track, but after lengthy discussion it was decided to abandon the premier meeting.

It came at the wrong time for New Zealand Racing, which has endured numerous cancellations throughout the winter due to unsafe tracks and unforeseen rain on the day was enough to unsettle the track.

Whether or not the Livamol Classic will be rescheduled for another day next week is still undecided, but the abandonment will come at a massive cost for the Hawke’s Bay Racing Club. It will also come at a cost to trainers, jockeys and owners that had their horses ready to run on Saturday.

Chief steward John Oatham discussed the nature of the incident prior to the meeting being canned.

“It’s clear from the footage that when pulling out, Mark du Plessis’ mount has slipped rather badly,” Oatham said. “Thankfully it stayed on its feet.

“There’s obviously concern over that part of the track. It is centred on that part of the track and that’s the concern for further races going forward and concern for the group one race.”

The club was criticised on Windsor Park Plate day for over-watering the track, but some irrigation prior to Saturday’s meeting would have prevented the track from being slippery.

“It’s a difficult situation. You start with a good 3 and we’ve had steady rain throughout the day,” Oatham said.

“The track starts to cut out and the more it cuts out the more you get down into the firmer ground.”

Mark du Plessis didn’t have a ride in the feature race of the day, but jockey safety is paramount among his peers and he was keen to see the meeting abandoned after the slip.

“It all happened very quickly, but the fact of the matter is the horse slipped,” du Plessis said. “It was after the post. I didn’t have any problem during the race or the day.

“A couple of jockeys have said this corner past the past is a bit touchy.”

The Zimbabwe-born rider said the rain made the dry track slippery on top and no amount of track renovation would help.

“He slipped because the track is hard on top and with the rain, it made it slippery on top and underneath it’s hard,” he said. “They put the ground hog through, but it hasn’t done enough to make it safe.”

Jockey safety is always paramount in these situations and du Plessis indicated that stewards received a vote of no confidence from the jockeys.

“I didn’t have a ride in the group one, but I know a lot of the jockeys were apprehensive to go out there again,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate, it’s a hard call on us to have to make, but at the end of the day the stewards have come up with a vote of no confidence for us to go out there and ride safely.”

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