The photo finish to the seventh race at Spreyton Park on Sunday had many people tricked. The connections of both Our Casanova and Beer Belly weren’t sure which horse had won and the delay in correct weight had many predicting a dead-heat. But one person who was sure that Our Casanova had won the race was chief judge Michael Castles.
“It took the judging panel about a minute or two to find a margin for Our Casanova but the problem then was being able to print a suitable image to present to the stewards,” he said.
The judge had given the nod to Our Casanova by a nose, the shortest margin in Australian racing, over Beer Belly. Beer Belly’s trainer Adam Trinder viewed the print in the steward’s room and while he considered it inconclusive was prepared to accept the judge’s decision.
“I’m aware that the judge has high resolution equipment available to him to declare a margin but it was worth querying the print,” he said.
By Terry Morris (The Examiner)