Brad Widdup, a trainer accustomed to the sting of narrow defeats, has finally experienced a stewards’ room victory with his promising mare, Mind Ya Bizz.
The four-year-old mare was initially beaten a half-head by Transcend in the Petaluma Handicap (1400m) held on Saturday.
Transcend pips Mind Ya Bizz on the line! pic.twitter.com/Vxnhbco93k
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) August 15, 2026
Following the race, jockey Zac Lloyd, aboard Mind Ya Bizz, lodged a protest against Tommy Berry on Transcend, alleging a ‘severe bump’ as they neared the finish line.
“I’ve nearly fallen off my horse,” Lloyd conveyed to the stewards. “My horse has definitely come off second best in the bump.”
Berry’s defence was that Transcend had closed from a considerable distance and was carrying momentum. He informed stewards, “I believe the rightful winner has won the race.”
Chief stipe Tom Moxon and his fellow stewards reviewed the incident and found the contact to be ‘heavy’. They upheld Lloyd’s objection, consequently altering the official race result.
Widdup, who has had notable close calls with horses like Icebath in major races including the Golden Eagle, Doncaster Mile, and Cantala Stakes before her Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes win in 2022, expressed his relief.
“You never want to win in the stewards’ room, but I think there was enough there,” Widdup remarked. “There was a definite bump, and it was a close finish, so it was common sense.”
Mind Ya Bizz is highly regarded within the stable, being a half-sister to Widdup’s former talented mare Tintookie, who tragically lost her life in a racing incident at the Golden Slipper meeting two years ago.
He is confident Mind Ya Bizz possesses considerable talent and, although she is due for a break, she will be considered for the 2027 Provincial-Midway Championships.
“She’s still in that. If I can have those sort of bullets firing, we’ll have a look at it,” Widdup concluded.
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