Melbourne’s metropolitan racing season has come to a premature end after the final five races were called off at Caulfield due to strong winds.
The feature race on Saturday’s season-ending city program, the Group Three Bletchingly Stakes, will be held at Sandown on Sunday week.
The other races will be added to that day or be held a day earlier at Flemington.
Racing Victoria steward Robert Cram said the decision to call off the meeting after four races was made after consulting with jockeys and taking a vote of riders who were to compete in the fifth race.
“Winds have been quite extreme,” Cram said.
“There’s been strong winds, around 70 kilometres (per hour) and been gusting up to 90, towards 100 kilometres an hour.
“The jockeys have been riding under difficult circumstances. The starting stalls were moving around. We had some horses shifting during the races due to high winds. There was an element of danger.
“The jockeys weren’t happy with the situation.”
Under Racing Victoria guidelines, stewards called an anonymous vote of the jockeys.
“The majority of those riders voted that the conditions weren’t safe and not to ride,” he said.
Jockey Stephen Baster, president of the Victorian Jockeys Association, said it was unfortunate the meeting could not be completed but safety was paramount.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing for everybody concerned,” Baster said.
“We tried. We went out there and rode in the first few races and it was obviously very strong gusts.
“Standing out the front (at the mounting yard), you don’t feel it because of the grandstand but when we got to the barriers for the last race, the barriers were shifting around and they had to tie the barriers down to tractors with chains to try to keep the barriers still.
“Obviously, the barriers weigh a lot more than a horse and the horses were getting blown around and everybody agreed, the stewards and the jockeys, that it was just not safe.”
Victoria’s premier trainer, Darren Weir, had earlier added a winning double to his record season tally, with Kiwia taking out the VOBIS Gold Stayers (2400m) and two-year-old colt Shamport winning the VOBIS Gold Ingot (1400m).
Shamport was ridden by Craig Williams, who claims his sixth Melbourne jockeys’ premiership.
