Jockeys cleared over Caulfield Cup horse death as stewards release report

Racing Victoria stewards have cleared all jockeys of blame for a fall that caused a horse death in the Caulfield Cup on Saturday, as trainer Chris Waller revealed his staff were taking it “one day at a time” to cope with the loss of stable star Ohope Wins.

Stewards released a report on Tuesday morning, saying they “could not attribute the incident to the careless actions of any one particular rider”.

They interviewed five jockeys – Rachel King, Jabez Johnstone, Ethan Brown, Mark Zahra and Jye McNeil – in the hours before releasing their finding.

Stewards have now closed their investigation, referring the incident to Racing Victoria’s veterinary services department, which does not release public findings.

Saturday’s carnage unfolded 300 metres from the Caulfield Racecourse finish post in front of a packed public section.

Waller’s dual group 1-winning Ohope Wins and jockey McNeil were brought crashing to the ground after last year’s winner Half Yours (Zahra) stumbled and fell in front of them.

While Half Yours emerged with minor lacerations and both jockeys escaped serious injury, this year’s Australian Oaks winner suffered catastrophic injuries and had to be put down behind a green screen .

The full details of the horse’s fatal injuries have not yet been released by Racing Victoria.

The two-horse tumble followed a bumping duel between King’s mount Green Spaces and the Johnstone-ridden Kings Valley on the home turn.

Half Yours was then tightened for room between Kings Valley and Zahrann (Brown).

“Stewards are of the view that the marginal shifts from both Green Spaces, when under pressure, and Kings Valley resulted in both those runners becoming unbalanced and shifting in ultimately resulting in Half Yours being tightened and falling,” their report said.

“Further, stewards were satisfied Zahrann and Half Yours had both established a clear run prior to Half Yours meeting with interference.”

They found King and Johnstone had taken “the necessary corrective measures to straighten and relieve any pressure caused by their mounts to Half Yours”.

“Furthermore, Ethan Brown rider of Zahrann had not contributed to Half Yours being tightened for room,” their report said.