Hasselhoof out of action
Action on the track saw outsider Consensus win Monday’s Group I Zabeel Classic witnessed by a sellout crowd.
There was plenty of post-race action in the stewards’ room with the sad news emerging that star Donna Logan and Chris Gibbstrained galloper Hasselhoof will be missing the remainder of summer racing.
The Tavistock gelding was second favourite for the weight-forage feature finishing seventh ridden by Opie Bosson, three and a half lengths behind the winner and he was subsequently found to have bled.
The gelding over-raced for much of the event.
‘‘A post-race veterinary inspection including an endoscopic examination confirmed the gelding to have bled,’’ the stewards’ report said.
‘‘He is now subject to the mandatory three-month standdown from racing, with a veterinary clearance required prior to trialling or racing again.’’
Hasselhoof is a crowd favourite and the winner of six of his 13 starts including the Rich Hill Mile at Ellerslie last January and nearly $170,000 will be missed in races like the Herbie Dyke Stakes and Auckland Cup.
In the Group I Auckland Cup in March he was among the early favourites in fixed odds betting.
Another disappointment for punters in the Zabeel Classic was well backed Sound Proposition, who finished last and more than 24 lengths behind the winner. He was found to have suffered cardiac arrhythmia.
The siren sounded after Saint Emilion appeared to suffer interference in the final 50 metres of the race.
Placings stood but at an inquiry jockey Matthew Cameron was hit with a six-day suspension.
He admitted a charge of careless riding on the runner-up Volkstok’n’barrell, allowing him to shift outwards and checking the fourth-placed Saint Emilion. Cameron’s suspension starts at the end of racing on New Year’s Day and runs until January 12. He was also fined $1000.
There were two other suspensions at the Ellerslie meeting. Brendan Hutton was suspended for six days, starting Wednesday, after admitting a charge of careless riding on Devise in the Group II Eight Carat Classic.
Tayla Wenn received a four-day suspension for careless riding in the final race.