Thornton drama as races abandoned

GEELONG jockey Stephanie Thornton was at the centre of a drama-packed first race that forced the abandonment of Pakenham races yesterday.

Buffeting winds caused Thornton’s mount Sei Bella to miss the start.

Stewards decided Sei Bella was a non-runner after an arm of the gate rebounded into the horse’s face when the barriers opened. The horse lost six lengths as a result.

It was the second time Pakenham races had to be abandoned in eight days because of high winds, raising safety concerns over the $60 million venue.

Racing Victoria stewards decided to call off the Racing.Com Park meeting after the extreme gusts compromised horse and jockey safety.

The decision to abandon the meeting at Tynong is eerily similar to last week’s abrupt end to the program, also after just one race because of wind.

The loss of a combined 16 races over the two Pakenham meetings will heavily impact wagering turnover. But chief steward Brett Wright said stewards had no choice but to abandon the meeting.

He said the wind was measured at 50km/h but gusts were getting to up to 70km/h and were tipped to hit as much as 90km/h during the afternoon.

Wright said as a result the decision was a “no-brainer” for them. “From a jockey welfare or a horse welfare point of view and punters not being guaranteed a fair go there was no other choice,” Wright said.

Wright said the gates were tested “two or three times” before the opening race to make sure they were working properly.

But nothing could be done to counter the wind.

“We were on to the Bureau (of Meteorology) early in the morning and they indicated conditions were going to get worse through day,” Wright said.

Thornton agreed with the decision. “It was a good decision on the part of the stewards to abandon the meeting,” she said.

Thornton said jockeys also couldn’t hear each other’s call down the back straight, which made riding dangerous.

Last week the jockeys voted to abandon the meeting but this time it was the stewards’ call. Racing returns to Pakenham Synthetic on Sunday. the