The Warrnambool May Racing Carnival has come and gone for another year, and the 2024 edition, despite having some amazing moments, will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Stuff the form guide — just find leaders
If you were playing a drinking game where you needed to drink after a leader won at Warrnambool during the week, you might have been hammered by Race 7 on the Tuesday.
There was an obvious leaders’ bias, especially on the flat races, throughout the first two days of the carnival.
Three of the last four winners on Tuesday were either leading or settled outside lead, while Rolls saluted after settling in fifth.
Come Wednesday, the results were no better for backmarkers.
Four leaders managed to win throughout the day, and it was not until Jabbawockeez stormed home from the rear in the last that there was a victory for those slow out of the barriers.
Track staff moved the rail out 4m on Thursday to negate the bias, but four winners on the flat either led or were in the first three upon settling.
As you might imagine, social media was accepting of the track bias — not.
It’s safe to say there will be plenty of soul-searching required for the track staff before the next edition.
Clerk of the course gets involved
The Warrnambool carnival was rife with remarkable moments, but perhaps none as astonishing as the spectacle witnessed during the opening race and again in the Grand Annual Steeplechase on the final day.
Social media platforms erupted with fervour in the aftermath of the opening race when the clerk of the course endeavoured to corral a riderless horse in the home straight.
Abreed had parted ways with his jockey, Aaron Kuru, earlier in the event but swiftly reconnected with the pack as they surged down the home straight.
Despite a valiant effort near the 200m mark, the clerk of the course failed to secure the runaway horse, necessitating several competitors to veer off course to avoid a collision.
Fortunately, all parties involved — Abreed, the clerk of the course, and the latter’s mount — were unharmed.
Similar scenes occurred in the concluding stages of the Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m), which left many scratching their heads.
Jockey enjoys big night on the sauce and gets stood down
The Warrnambool May Carnival is known for its late-night atmosphere at the Whalers Hotel and pubs in general in town.
One jockey, Ross O’Sullivan, took it a step too far after Tuesday’s races, blowing over the allowed limit when providing a random breath test after arriving at the track on Wednesday.
O’Sullivan pleaded guilty to the charge and his suspension will expire at midnight on June 2.
It might be a bit of a dry argument for Ross when he heads to Warrnambool next.
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