Stewards take time in dismissing protest

Stewards have taken seven minutes to dismiss a protest against winner Hingus Rose in an action packed Tattersall’s Two Year Old (1110m) at Doomben.

The race lost pre post favourite La Vida Loca when she dumped Robbie Fradd on the way to the barrier, while Prossimita was also a late scratching.

Tiffani Brooker took Hingus Rose to the lead and then held on to beat Umberto by a long head in a driving finish.

But Jim Byrne on Umberto fired in a protest alleging interference from the 250m mark when he was going for a run on the rails inside Hingis Rose.

“I was entitled to the run and I was into it when Hingus Rose moved in a took the run. I had to go back and around them and I should a have won,” Byrne said.

Brooker said while there was a small run available she wasn’t sure Byrne had ever fully got into it.

“I was also taken in later by the horse on my outside (Calligrapher),” she said.

After deliberating for seven minutes stewards dismissed the protest.

“Stewards have deliberated for a long time and we cannot be certain after viewing all angles that the incident warrants changing the result,” chief steward Allan Reardon said.

Hingus Rose gave Brooker her 49th metropolitan winner of the season and she has two meetings left to equal Tegan Harrison’s record of 51 by a female jockey in Brisbane.