A $20,000 race win may only hinder rather than prosper the future development of quality pacer Whittaker, thus his withdrawal from Addington on Friday night.
So mindful of having the horse in the right grade as he prepares for an Australian campaign, trainer Mark Jones, and owner Greg Brodie, who lives on the Gold Coast, have decided to pull the pin and wait for a lesser race instead.
“It’s simple, really. Once Greg and I discussed it this week we decided winning a $20,000 race and getting $10,000 for winning it would work against what we are trying to achieve.
“He (Whittaker) would be penalised quite severely winning a 20k race here within the Australian system, ruin our metropolitan and country ratings (in Australia),” said Mark.
“The idea is to run him in a series in Bathurst (NSW) starting October 25, and winning here this week would ruin those plans. So we’ll wait, go next week for less money, which is bloody stupid, but you really can’t win certain races that impact on you down the track.”
Whittaker can not win a race worth more than $15,000 or his Australian rating will change from a basic maiden to a metropolitan rated horse and severely impact his winning options in the lower grades. Stu Bailey
Whittaker, scratched Friday night and off to Aussie soon.