“She’s run on fear for a couple of laps and, fortunately, there was a clerk of the course out there and picked the horse up and she settled back down again.
“She doesn’t have a hair missing. There’s no blood, she’s taken no skin off. We’ve had our vet look at her and a Racing Victoria vet look over her thoroughly and I can’t believe it.”
Via Sistina charges around the course – running “on fear” in the words of her trainer Chris Waller – without McDonald.Credit: Getty Images
The resilient McDonald bounced straight back after the fall to partner Waller’s Kovalica in a track gallop soon after.
“I’ve got a little bit of a sore shoulder as you’d probably expect falling that way, not too bad, could’ve been a lot worse,” McDonald said.
Waller said there were two positives to take out of the eventful morning, both jockey and horse had emerged unscathed.
“When we saw James dislodged, we thought the worst,” the trainer said. “When a horse stumbles it is never a good look. But James got up, and she kept running so that was good. Two success stories. The rest of it was bad.
Waller (left) helps bring Via Sistina in for a rest after her unscheduled heavy workout.Credit: Getty Images
“Her heart rate came back down quickly, a bit slower than a normal gallop. She’s had a nice walk and a good drink. Nearly a whole bucket of water. She’s had a nice hose – not quite an ice bath – but a hose.
“While its disappointing, I’m just so gratefully that the horse is 100 per cent.”
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The Waller stable will alter Via Sistina’s preparation for the remainder of the week. She will be sent to the beach on Wednesday and have a quiet canter on Thursday instead of a gallop.
“We will just keep her normal, keep her routine simple, and look out for signs that she is not happy,” Waller said.
“She ran along at a pace that she was comfortable with (after dislodging McDonald) – probably ran on a bit of fear for the first lap – but without 60kg on her back, it was certainly a bit easier.”
McDonald chalked up his 99th group 1 win on Broadsiding in the Golden Rose at Rosehill on Saturday, September 28 – AFL grand final day. He has since had group 1 rides across the past three weeks without chalking up the magical ton.
Despite the setback, at 32, he is poised to become the fastest jockey in Australian to chalk up 100 group 1 wins. The century club includes Jimmy Cassidy, Hugh Bowman, George Moore and Damien Oliver.
The 2024 $5m group 1 Cox Plate field
1 Mr Brightside – Barrier: 2
Trainer: B, W & JD Hayes
Jockey: Craig Williams
2 Prognosis – Barrier: 5
Trainer: Mitsumasa Nakauchida
Jockey: Damian Lane
3 Kovalica – Barrier: 9
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: TBC
4 Royal Patronage – Barrier: 3
Trainer: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Jockey: TBC
5 Docklands – Barrier: 1
Trainer: Harry Eustace
Jockey: Blake Shinn
6 Pride Of Jenni – Barrier: 7
Trainer: Ciaron Maher
Jockey: Declan Bates
7 Via Sistina – Barrier: 4
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: James McDonald
8 Broadsiding – Barrier: 8
Trainer: James Cummings
Jockey: Jamie Kah
9 Evaporate – Barrier: 6
Trainer: B, W & JD Hayes
Jockey: Karis Teetan
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