Rush Of World Is At The Door

Sun Herald

Sunday October 19, 2008

Max Presnell

With David Hayes losing a couple of possible Melbourne Cup contenders, Mad Rush - even more so than yesterday's Caulfield Cup winner, All The Good - tightened the grip of the internationals on the big one at Flemington on November 4. Only Efficient stands between the coveted prize and the foreign hordes.

Zagreb, one of the best-backed horses in the Caulfield Cup, was scratched from the event after arriving at the course, following a query by Racing Victoria chief steward Terry Bailey.

Later Hayes was fined $1000 for breaching the rule regarding not informing stewards of an "occurrence" or problem that may prevent a horse from starting.

"I broke the rule but I don't agree with it," Hayes said, ending a bad week for him and Zagreb's owner, Gerry Harvey.

It started with Kibbutz being scratched from the Caulfield Cup after acceptances and then Zagreb yesterday, leaving the trainer with one runner, Guillotine, which finished 14th. Hayes told stewards Guillotine had a leg problem on pulling up.

"It will be a long time before you'll be seeing him," he said.

When fronted by Bailey at Caulfield, Hayes conceded Zagreb "needed to be warmed up" after his bar (working) shoes had been swapped with racing plates yesterday morning. Bailey conceded Hayes made no attempt to hide the situation.

However, the Racing Victoria vet examined Zagreb when he arrived on course and the stallion was withdrawn. Hayes admitted, at first, he felt it was the wrong decision.

"But later when Zagreb cooled down I agree he could not have run," he added.

Outside the room, Hayes declared: "I've been fined for being honest."

Earlier yesterday, on News Radio's A Month Of Saturdays, Harvey, one of Australia's biggest retailers, divulged he had dropped "billions" during the week because of the world economic situation.

By comparison Zagreb hardly registered but it continued the roll - going the wrong way.

Riding for luck and getting none, Mad Rush, trained by Luca Cumani at Newmarket in England and his daughter Francesca at Sandown, finished fourth about two lengths behind All The Good.

Mad Rush was last on the turn and had a chequered passage in the straight. Jockey Damien Oliver told stewards Mad Rush was knocked "sideways" in the scrimmage that involved runner-up Nom Du Jeu, with Jeff Lloyd up. Mad Rush should have finished closer and ran a faster last 800 metres than the 47.08 seconds clocked.

The fastest section in the cup came from Nom Du Jeu (46.93), but he had a clear passage down the outside, leaving turbulence inside. Oliver considered a protest and viewed the official video but the finishing margin swayed him against going further.

Still the effort of Mad Rush was even superior to stablemate Purple Moon in the Caulfield Cup last year.

Ironically Kerrin McEvoy, successful on All The Good, was sacked from Purple Moon after the ride and Oliver took over. Purple Moon ended up second to Efficient in the Melbourne Cup.

"These Europeans are invariably better at Flemington than they are at Caulfield," former champion jockey Roy Higgins said.

Maybe it was the long odds ($41) about the winner or the demise of Weekend Hussler, but the result was greeted by racegoers more quietly than usual.

"Keep the applause coming," Keith Hillier, the Melbourne Racing Club master of ceremonies, chanted, prompting a wag to quip: "You could hear a pin drop."

© 2008 Sun Herald

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