Protest Win Gives Hall Flemington Double

Monday, 07 October 2002 00:00

Leading Melbourne trainer David Hall ended today’s Flemington meeting with a double after stewards upheld a protest to give him the final race after his horse was originally first past the post.

Makybe Diva (Desert King-Tugela) was originally second over the line behind the Adelaide trained mare Little Miss Quick, but the local horse got the verdict from the stewards about 15 minutes after the two runners hit the line locked together.

A nose, the smallest margin possible in racing, separated the two after the 2000 metres of the Jezabeel Handicap with Little Miss Quick getting the judge’s verdict after a desperately close photo finish.

As expected leading jockey Brett Prebble, who was aboard the runner-up, fired in a protest of alleged interference in the home straight and the connections of both runners then had to make statements to stewards at a subsequent hearing.

Prebble told the stewards panel, headed by their chief Des Gleeson, that the interference from about the 400 metre mark "cost" his the race.

"My horse was hampered severely," Prebble stated to stewards. "The winner has come out at least three or four horses and taken my running."

Craig Newitt, who had ridden Little Miss Quick, confessed to stewards the runner-up may have been impeded by his mount, but he felt the runner-up still had every chance to win.

Little Miss Quick’s trainer Leon Macdonald wasn’t in Melbourne, but his stable foreman Andrew Noblet emphasised to stewards that Newitt had put away his whip during the incident.

But after a seemingly short consultation period Gleeson told connections that the incident was sufficient to warrant them in reversing the result and promoting Makybe Diva to the winning position.

Makybe Diva, who is owned by Port Lincoln based tuna fishing millionaire Tony Santic, has now won her past four starts after earlier success at Wangaratta, Sale and Ballarat respectively.

Hall’s earlier winner came thanks to the speedy juvenile filly Fashion Victim. The daughter of Rory’s Jester proved too good for a well bred bunch of first starters to win in the listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes over 900 metres earlier in the afternoon.

PICS – Quentin Lang.