Jockey Evans makes triumphant return home Jockey Nathan Evans was all smiles after winning the 2021 Rocky Amateurs Cup. Photo Tony McMahon.
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Toowoomba jockey Nathan Evans made a triumphant return home when he landed imposing grey Factory Warrior ($5) a narrow winner of the $30k Rocky Amateurs Cup (1600m) at
Rockhampton’s Callaghan Park races on Saturday.
On a busy 10-race card where exciting and close finishes dominated, Factory Warrior won by a half-head from an unlucky and fighting Mr Phenomenal ($13) with The Tax Accountant ($4.40) a nose away third.
Factory Warrior is trained in Toowoomba, where Evans has been based for well over a decade by Mark Currie.
Rockhampton Jockey Club CEO Tony Fenlon. File photo.
News Tony McMahon
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Jockeys were wrongly blamed for the abandonment of six races at Rockhampton’s Callaghan Park racecourse last Saturday when in fact they had “collectively agreed to continue riding”.
Following the running of the first race at 1.07pm, jockeys raised concerns with a section of the track near the 250 metres in the straight relating to a wet patch on the racing surface.
After chief steward Josh Adams consulted with track officials (course curator Trent Williams and RJC CEO Tony Fenlon) and inspected the troublesome section with jockeys, an explanation surfaced.
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The 100th iteration of the Rocky Amateurs Race Day began in style on Saturday morning at Callaghan Park, but had to be called off after just one race.
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After race one, jockeys raised concerns about a wet patch about 250m down the track, and officials determined upon inspection that a sprinkler aimed at the running rail was to blame.
Stewards decided that it was unsafe to continue given the conditions and the difficulty of shifting 600m of running rail.
The remainder of the meeting was abandoned at 2.19pm.
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