Coast’s off agenda, Brisbane remains
TOP jockey Jim Byrne is unlikely to ride at the Gold Coast meeting after injuring an ankle at jump-outs at Doomben.
Byrne was hurt yesterday morning and taken to hospital for X-rays.
There were fears Byrne had suffered a broken ankle, which would have placed him in doubt for January’s Magic Millions.
But X-rays at St Andrew’s Hospital later cleared him of a fracture, with ligament damage being the extent of the injury.
His manger Cameron Partington said Byrne had been in pain.
“He was taken to hospital for precaution and will have X-rays,” Partington said.
“At this stage it is highly unlikely he will ride at the Gold Coast (today) but later in the week is up in the air until we see how he is.”
Despite the incident, Byrne is confident of being fit for Saturday’s start of the Brisbane Summer Carnival.
“Hopefully with some rest and anti-inflammatories, I’ll be right for Saturday,” Byrne said. “It could have been a lot worse for me.”
Byrne said the horse became startled from a “bang” coming from nearby construction work.
“It’s not ideal, but that’s what you get,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Queensland Racing Integrity commissioner has taken the unusual step of issuing a statement refuting rumours a Toowoomba steward is under investigation for his association with a trainer.
The rumour has been repeated on several websites and in social media in the past fortnight.
In a release sent to all major media outlets yesterday, QRIC commissioner Ross Barnett said there were was no basis to the rumours.
“I would like to make it categorically clear that there is no foundation to these rumours whatsoever,” Barnett said.
“It’s grossly unfair to the steward concerned to tarnish his reputation in this way.”
Barnett said there had been speculation within the ranks of Toowoomba’s thoroughbred industry and local media over the past few weeks that a steward was facing disciplinary action because of his dealings with a Toowoomba trainer.
He said it was alleged the steward recently provided information to the trainer before an inspection of his stables by QRIC officers.
“I have decided to release a statement to put these rumours to rest,” Barnett said.