Jockey club anger over decision to cancel
“The decision to cancel the Cairns race meeting was made by experienced QRIC Stewards who are familiar with the conditions in Far North Queensland and they based their decision on the state of the track and the forecast weather conditions,” Barnett said.
“The track received in excess of 150mm of rain over the past three days and a further forecast of continuing rain.
“The decision to abandon a race meeting is not taken lightly and is a last resort, but the sole criteria for these decisions is the safety of the horses and the jockeys and we make no apologies for putting the safety of horse and rider first.
“The timing of these decisions is always the subject of scrutiny and the Commission does its best to balance the interests of the club involved,
ANNA ROGERS
Racing Queensland, trainers, owners and jockeys in making the call to abandon a meeting.”
The program for the new race meeting on Monday will replicate that of the abandoned meeting.
ALL Blacks star Ardie Savea has doubled down on his desire to switch to rugby league, saying it would provide him an avenue to represent Samoa at international level.
A day after revealing he harbours a dream of competing in the NRL for a powerhouse club such as Melbourne or the Sydney Roosters, Savea says his heart is also set on donning a Toa Samoa jersey.
His comments to a podcast host earlier this week reaffirmed his desire to play the 13man code from as early as next year, when his NZ Rugby contract expires.
“A big part of why I wanted to go to league was because I could play for Samoa because of the rules,” he said.
“(I’ve) been following hard out on the World Rugby rules and that stuff. For me it’s how proud the Samoan people are and I know how much Samoans give to rugby internationally ... my old man’s face if he knew that I was going to play (for Samoa).”
Under World Rugby regulations, Savea is eligible to represent only NZ for the rest of his Test career. The back rower has won 44 caps and emerged last year as arguably the country’s finest current player.