OUT OF POCKET: Grand Annual-winning jumps jockey Richard Cully was fined $500 by stewards following his ride on No Song No Supper. The fine was for a celebratory gesture prior to the winning post. Racing coffers got a big lift with trainers and owners fined a total of $1600 for various indiscretions on the carnival’s final day.
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BIG JUMP: More than 17,490 people made the trek through the gates to watch the final day of the carnival. The figure was a huge increase on the attendance for the past two years with 13,000 trackside last year and 10,300 in 2014.
TOUGH: Bookies finished marginally in front of punters over the carnival, according to rails bookmaker David McLauchlan. The Warrnambool-born bookie said with Darren Weir the punters’ favourite having so much success, it was lucky that bookies got out of jail.
OMEN: Punters didn't need to study the form for the carnival - they only had to back trainers who had W as the first letter in their surname. Williams, Wilde, Weir and Waterhouse trained 18 winners from the 30 races.
SIDELINES: Champion jockey Damien Oliver was outed for 29 days after failing an alcohol breath test on the final day. Oliver registered 0.038, almost double the allowed .02, when tested for alcohol when arriving on course at 11.55am. He registered 0.35 when tested again 15 minutes later. Jumps jockey Paul Hamblin blamed gargling with mouthwash when he tested 0.033 then 0.022 and was suspended from race riding for one month.
POSITIVE: Racing Minister Martin Pakula gave the thumbs up after the Grand Annual Steeplechase. He witnessed the 5500-metre race from the hill with thousands of punters, declaring the race was a great spectacle, showcasing jumping and horsemanship.
