BYRNE’S GOLDEN CHANGE OF HEART
TOP Queensland jockey Jim Byrne will travel to Sydney to ride top Golden Eagle hope Apache Chase after a change of heart over the weekend.
He will now have to endure two weeks of quarantine.
Byrne last week pulled out of the race to ride the Desleigh Forster-trained speed machine, but the lure of $7.5m was too much and he will now go through the protocols required by Racing NSW to make the trip south.
While Byrne will be free to ride in Queensland this week, the championship-leading jockey will be required to self isolate next week before arriving in Sydney, meaning he will not be able to ride during the week in Brisbane.
Making things even more complicated is the fact Byrne is prohibited from catching a commercial flight to Sydney under Racing NSW rules but has to fly back to Queensland in order to enter quarantine.
After applying to Queensland Health last week to home quarantine upon his arrival back home following the race on October 30, Byrne had his application knocked back, meaning he will be forced into hotel quarantine for 14 days.
It’s understood Byrne’s close connection to the horse and trainer played a major role in his change of heart.