Jockey Glyn Schofield will miss the two early Sydney Autumn Carnival mounts on rising super star Boban after losing an appeal yesterday against charges relating to his ride on Number One Gun on the Kensington track at Randwick on December 20.
Jockey Glyn Schofield will miss the early Autumn Carnival mounts on Boban. Photo by Taron Clarke
Racing New South Wales stewards suspended Schofield for five weeks for not giving the John O’Shea trained Number One Gun every permissible chance of winning the 1400m ATC Membership On Sale Now Handicap.
Chief steward Ray Murrihy told Schofield that he had “never seen a horse go that quick” and “the only likely outcome was that he’d get rundown” after the Group 1 winning jockey set up a breakneck pace on Number One Gun before getting run down to finish second to Rowie.
Schofield did get some reprieve with the Racing NSW Appeals Panel reducing his suspension from five weeks to four to begin after Saturday’s Randwick meeting until February 23.
Schofield has established a great combination with the Chris Waller trained Boban who has won his last five starts with the top jockey aboard including two at Group 1 level during last Spring, the $500,000 The Star Epsom (1600m) at Randwick on October 5 and the $1m Emirates Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on November 9.
Waller has mapped out an Autumn Carnival plan for Boban aiming the four year old towards the Group 1 $4m Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 19, the second day of the newly configured ‘The Championships‘.
Schofield will miss Boban’s first two Autumn starts in the Group 2 $200,000 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on February 8 and the Group 2 $250,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on February 22.
But the South African born jockey will be back to take over the reins in the Group 1 $500,000 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Warwick Farm on March 8 and the Group 1 $1m George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on March 29 in his lead up to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Schofield said that he can accept the fact that he will miss the early Autumn rides on Boban, but he is taking exception to be labelled with such a charge after thirty years of ever facing such an accusation of not giving a horse every possible chance to win.
“To have ridden as long as I have with distinction … I have a son (Chad) who rides, and to have that charge against me, it’s an integrity issue for me, and I’m not happy with it,” Schofield told The Daily Telegraph after defending the charge vigorously.
Schofield has four good rides at Randwick tomorrow including the mount on last start Gosford Gold Cup winner Midsummer Sun in the Listed $100,000 Vili’s Pies Australia Day Cup (2400m).
He is also on Divertire in the Studley Commercial Real Estate Advisors Benchmark 80 Handicap (1400m), Recoinage in the Tab.com.au Benchmark 80 Handicap (1200) and Sir Berus in the Royal Randwick Benchmark 80 Handicap (1200m).
