Cartwright carnage: The reckless act that has to be seen to be believed

Was it a rush of love to the head? It’s the moment at Morphetville that has racing in shock.

You might have seen it by now but the repercussions continue to swirl.

In a moment of madness jockey Josh Cartwright, on board the $51 shot Senior Council, gunned his mount directly into two the path of two rival horses, which were making ground down the outside.

The reason? While investigations continued, it quickly emerged Cartwright’s girlfriend, 3kg claiming apprentice Anna Jordsjo, had won the race on the short-priced Murti.

From appearances, it looked like Cartwright had deliberately attempted to stop the progress of two prominent rivals from beating his girlfriend.

Thankfully, the two jockeys on board the outside horses were unscathed. You can see Jason Holder almost defy gravity by managing to stay on his mount.

It was reckless, selfish, illegal under the rules of racing, and breathtakingly cruel to his fellow jockeys, and all horses involved. Racing is dangerous enough as it is.

Cartwright, who pleaded guilty to the charge under Australian racing rule 137(a) of intentionally making contact with other runners during the race, is all but certain to face a long stint on the sidelines.

Some have called for a life ban – a response that isn’t hard to understand.

Trainers in South Australia, including Michael Hickmott, have sounded warnings over physical and mental tolls going on young jockeys and trainers in the aftermath.

Racing never stops, and Cartwright had recently taken out a dual-license to train as well as ride, doubling the pressure on him.

Stewards are expected to hand down their findings and charges later this week. But perhaps Cartwright will be more worried about Jordsjo.

The Norwegian-born apprentice jockey, who has had stints in the UK and the UAE on her way to Adelaide, wasn’t impressed. News Corp reported she was ‘unimpressed’, and told friends over the weekend, “I can win my own race.”

While Cartwright is likely to cop a severe punishment, it’s also a chance for racing authorities to help those struggling with the black dog.

For anyone needing help or someone to talk to, try the Beyondblue support service line 1300 22 46 36.

Winx coasts through her return

Winx wasn’t asked to do too much in her barrier trial on Tuesday, the first step for her autumn campaign.

She finished third and was doing her best work late, as expected. To the eye, the trial didn’t give away much but her jockey, Hugh Bowman, said “It’s probably as good as she’s trialled in her career.”

Winx will trial again before her February 11th debut and expect her to be more than put through her paces then.

One to watch? Endless Drama, who overtook Winx late on the line, looked promising. It’s always possible to read far too much into trials ahead of actual races but this horse is interested. He left Ireland mid last year to also join the Waller stable.

In his only start in Australia, he was last in the Group 1 Mackinnon (2000m) after weakening out of it, but was only six lengths off the winner at Group 1 class in his first beyond the mile. He’ll be kept safe on his return.

Yankee Rose returns a positive

Trainer David Vandyke released a statement earlier this week noting that popular filly Yankee Rose had returned a positive for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory Ketorlac.

The real problem though is that Vandyke alleged that the medication “was prescribed and administered by a licenced veterinarian who treated Yankee Rose.”

Racing NSW only recently managed to get veterinarians licensed in the state, after the usual lengthy battles behind the scenes ended with agreement back in September, 2015. Vandyke, who trains in Queensland had floated Yankee Rose to Sydney for the race.

Under the rules, she was then treated by a veterinarian licensed by Racing NSW. That makes for a precedent to be established as to how this incident will be handled. An inquiry into the findings has been scheduled for Friday.