Australian jockey Stephen Baster is keeping his sense of humour and his composure despite being unable to win in 76 rides this season, most of them as retained rider for Alex Wong Siu-tan, who is also enduring a horror run.
The spectators in the parade yard took to ribbing Baster yesterday as he prepared to go out on to the track on Legend's Glory in the third and he responded with his broad smile. He got the same treatment on boarding Wishes, his ride in the fourth event, which eventually finished third.
'I got a round of applause instead of abuse then because I had run a place and then I got more encouragement again after Race To Honour ran second,' Baster said. 'The crowd pay their money and I don't mind a bit of interaction if it helps them enjoy their day.'
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Jockey Club's director of racing, condemned the lack of sportsmanship being shown by some members of the crowd. 'Stephen reacted professionally,' said Engelbrecht-Bresges, 'It is unfair to blame him when people should really be looking at the performance of the horses he is riding.'
It must have been good karma for Baster because he managed to escape a careless riding suspension later in the day after the stewards failed to justify their own charge. Baster was charged over his ride on Wishes, which was involved in the check to Cogito on straightening in the fourth race, from which Felix Coetzee had already received three days. 'I argued that what I was being charged over would not have happened if Felix's incident had not happened, so it was not fully my fault,' Baster said after talking the panel around to his view. Apprentice Henry Tsang was also banned for four meetings over careless riding in the opening race.
Barrier rogues will be high on the agenda at the next meeting between trainers and the Jockey Club after Smart Winner became the latest horse withdrawn after breaking through the gates.
In fact, Derek Cruz's gelding broke his gate completely after rearing before the start of the closing 1,000-metre contest and jockey Steven King was thrown off as the four-year-old bolted down the track. After being caught by the outriders, Smart Winner got loose again before being herded through the winner's enclosure to safety. The horse was unhurt, as was King, but Engelbrecht-Bresges was unhappy after the latest barrier incident. 'We have too many horses who provide problems at the barriers and we will have to discuss what can be done to improve the situation,' he said, adding he did not think the gates were to blame. 'They are set to open at a certain pressure and they must have that release mechanism for safety reasons.'