'Standby' Beadman answers Gai's distress call for the Doncaster

THE jockey room dux answered the call and immediately headed for Hong Kong airport. Racing's first lady had been put in her place in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon and was now in need of a thoroughbred miracle worker, reports Craig Young in the Sydney Morning Herald.His report adds: The Doncaster Mile, the most famed and toughest 1600 metres equine test in Australia, was only two days away. The build-up to today's great race at Randwick has been extraordinary as Gai Waterhouse took

THE jockey room dux answered the call and immediately headed for Hong Kong airport. Racing's first lady had been put in her place in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon and was now in need of a thoroughbred miracle worker, reports Craig Young in the Sydney Morning Herald.

His report adds: The Doncaster Mile, the most famed and toughest 1600 metres equine test in Australia, was only two days away. The build-up to today's great race at Randwick has been extraordinary as Gai Waterhouse took on thoroughbred regulators in court in a bid to secure stable jockey Nash Rawiller, for the Tulloch Lodge warrior and Doncaster top weight, Theseo.

Justice Patricia Bergin ordered Rawiller to fulfil a commitment made a couple of weeks ago to ride Doncaster Mile debutante Rangirangdoo. Waterhouse believed Racing NSW stewards had stuffed up in ruling Rawiller should have that ride.

Bergin had no doubt stewards had dished out the right type of justice.

So the Waterhouse team put the call through to Hong Kong. The master Darren Beadman was given the all-clear. The champ was wanted for Theseo.

''I've had stand-by stickers plastered on my head, plastered on everything, all week,'' Beadman said shortly before jumping on the plane bound for Sydney. ''[It is] an unusual preparation for me.''

Beadman arrived in Sydney around 6.30 yesterday morning, the town Beadman had ruled from the saddle. When he was doing so, Waterhouse had tried to poach the jockey from the might of Jack and Bob Ingham's then Woodlands Stud empire.

Beadman wouldn't budge despite the enticing offer, although it hasn't stopped him from linking with Waterhouse and claiming major races. The most recent of those was winning the Ranvet Stakes and the BMW on Tuesday Joy two years ago.