It was spectacular to watch, but Nash Rawiller’s bold ride on Kementari in the Hall Mark Stakes has earned him the wrath of Racing NSW stewards.
It is the second time in as many weeks that Rawiller had produced a thrilling display, only to find himself on the wrong end of racing’s stipes.
Last weekend he was suspended and fined $40,000, later reduced to $30,000 on appeal, for overuse of the whip aboard Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Think It Over, who he hooked to the outside fence in a daring move that won him the race.
He was again running the gauntlet at Randwick on Saturday, threading the needle to sool Kementari through a barely-there opening and surging through along the rails to claim the Group 3 feature.
Stewards questioned whether there was enough room for Rawiller to shoulder through aboard Kementari and the jockey said when leader Big Parade wandered slightly away from the fence, an opening started to present and he committed to it.
“I was getting there that quick that when he (Josh Parr on Big Parade) corrected, I was already there and the run had closed,” Rawiller told stewards.
Stewards had a different view, ruling there was insufficient room for Kementari to the inside of the weakening Big Parade and Rawiller was charged with careless riding for forcing the point.
He will now spend almost a month out of the saddle with his penalty from the Think It Over ride kicking in on Easter Sunday and keeping him out of action until May 1, when his latest suspension starts.
He will be free to return on May 13, a day before the stand-alone Saturday meeting at Scone.
