LEADING Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse could face charges from stewards over her involvement in Saturday's controversial protest in the $2 million Magic Millions Classic on the Gold Coast, reports The Age. It says: Queensland chairman of stewards Wade Birch has requested the Sky Channel footage of Waterhouse's discussions with stable jockeys Nash Rawiller and Tommy Berry outside the stewards room before the protest was lodged. Berry eventually protested successfully on behalf of Driefontein again
LEADING Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse could face charges from stewards over her involvement in Saturday's controversial protest in the $2 million Magic Millions Classic on the Gold Coast, reports The Age.
It says: Queensland chairman of stewards Wade Birch has requested the Sky Channel footage of Waterhouse's discussions with stable jockeys Nash Rawiller and Tommy Berry outside the stewards room before the protest was lodged.
Berry eventually protested successfully on behalf of Driefontein against stablemate No Looking Back but it is the nature of discussions between Waterhouse and her jockeys after they had viewed the video of the incident in the straight of the Magic Millions that stewards believe could need investigating.
''We are going to obtain all the relevant footage, I think we are duty bound to do that,'' Birch said.
There are two sections of Australian Rule of Racing 165 that cover the lodging of protests that Waterhouse, Berry or Rawiller could face charges under should stewards choose to go that way.
Section four of the rule reads: ''no person shall improperly deter or attempt to improperly deter a person qualified to object from making an objection''. Section five states: ''No person shall improperly encourage or improperly attempt to encourage a person qualified to object to make an objection''.
Waterhouse would not comment on the protest yesterday, which has caused as much debate for the way it was lodged as for the result, with the race taken off No Looking Back because of interference caused to Driefontein in the final 100 metres. It was a bizarre situation that built the drama even before the protest was lodged.