Bondi Beach Awarded St. Leger on Filly's DQ
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In a rousing finish to the Ladbrokes St. Leger (Eng-I), filly Simple Verse got her head over the finish line first from Coolmore and partners' Bondi Beach, who was awarded the victory after a stewards' inquiry Sept. 12 at Doncaster.
Simple Verse was bidding to become the first filly in more than two decades to win the classic, but she was demoted to second for interference, a decision that stunned her connections.
Simple Verse collared front-runner Storm the Stars with a furlong to run and then looked to hold back at strong challenge from runner-up Bondi Beach. But the top two finishers made contact as they went past Storm the Stars, with Colm O'Donoghue claiming the filly impeded his mount.
Bondi Beach's stablemate Fields of Athenry was third, while Storm the Stars faded to fourth.
Time for about 1 3/4 miles was 3:07.12 on turf rated as good.
Simple Verse's trainer Ralph Beckett said he would appeal the ruling. The filly, who was ridden by Andrea Atzeni, was supplemented to the race Monday for £50,000.
"I'm astonished if anything as there is no consistency in the rule," said Beckett. "That horse didn't get the race. We lose the race when clearly, what ever way you look at it, both horses leaned on each other. Can you honestly say that it was entirely her fault? Could you put your hand on your heart and say it was her fault in the last half furlong?
"I don't think I can answer that question—can anybody else? One thing is for certain: we will appeal this. That's all I've got to say on the matter."
Paul Barton, the British Horseracing Authority's Head of Stewarding and stipendary steward at Doncaster this afternoon, explained the decision of the stewards to demote Simple Verse from first to second.
"There were two instances of interference, one inside the two furlong pole and one inside the half furlong and we looked at each incident separately," Barton said. "We took the jockeys' evidence and then, having concluded that both instances of interference came from Simple Verse, the stewards then had to decide whether that interference improved her placing over Bondi Beach.
"The view that we took was, while the first piece of interference may not have cost Bondi Beach the race, the second incident then occurred and the combination of the two, in our opinion, improved Simple Verse's position. These are always hard decisions. We try and take a dispassionate view. We make our decisions on sound principles. Whether it is unanimous or not, we don't share that information but, in the room, the decision that the stewards have to take is that they are satisfied. They don't have to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt but they have to be comfortable that the decision taken is the correct one."
Atzeni was slapped with a three-day suspension for careless riding.
Bondi Beach was second to Storm the Stars in the Great Voltigeur (Eng-II) Aug. 19 at York. The two were the co-favorites at 2-1 odds.
Bondi Beach has a 3-3-0 record from six career starts that includes his win in the Curragh Cup (Ire-III) at the St. Leger distance in June at the Curragh for trainer Aidan O'Brien
O'Brien enjoyed a fifth St. Leger win after previously taking the race in 2001 with Milan, in 2003 with Brian Boru, in 2005 with Scorpion, and in 2013 with Leading Light.
Bred in Ireland, Bondi Beach is by Galileo out of One Moment in Time, by Danehill.
Simple Verse's disqualification is only the second in the race's long history. In 1789 the filly Pewett finished second to the colt Zanga, who was placed last because of 'jostling' between the pair.
Executive Director of Doncaster Racecourse Kieran Gallagher said the meet was well attended.
"We are delighted to have enjoyed another wonderful week with record crowds for each of the first three days of the Ladbrokes St. Leger Festival and an excellent attendance today," Gallagher said. "The total attendance was up 6% across the week at 65,425 and we were particularly thrilled with the increasing popularity of the DFS Ladies Day on Thursday which grew by 13%."