Zahra Suspended Seven Meetings, Missing Tentyris Ride at Randwick

Mark Zahra's autumn carnival has taken another damaging turn after stewards suspended the two-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey for seven meetings and fined him $700 following a whip-rule breach at Caulfield on Saturday, stripping him of the ride on Tentyris in the $3 million Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes at Randwick on April 4.

The breach occurred in the Manhari Handicap (1200m), where Zahra brought Meridius home as the winner in race five. After the victory, Zahra pleaded guilty to striking the horse four more times than permitted prior to the final 100 metres. Stewards responded with a seven-meeting suspension that runs from April 1 to April 7, commencing immediately after a separate careless-riding suspension already in place from a Caulfield Heath incident the previous Wednesday. That earlier ban runs from March 26 to March 31, meaning Zahra is effectively sidelined continuously across both periods.

The combined effect is severe. Zahra will miss Australian Cup day at Flemington on March 28, then the opening day of the ATC Championships at Randwick on April 4, which is when the T.J. Smith Stakes is scheduled. Tentyris, the colt Zahra had been set to partner in the 1200-metre Group 1 feature, was listed as the $3.50 favourite in TAB.com.au's T.J. Smith Stakes all-in market at the time of reporting.

The T.J. Smith Stakes loss is particularly painful given the history between Zahra and Tentyris this season. A fractured tibia forced Zahra to miss the early part of the autumn carnival, and that absence already cost him the Lightning Stakes win aboard the same colt. Damian Lane stepped in as replacement for that race. Now, for the second time this preparation, Zahra will watch Tentyris contest a major sprint from the sidelines.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks for the Melbourne-based jockey, who had only recently returned from the tibia injury before picking up the careless-riding charge at Caulfield Heath and then compounding matters with the whip breach on Meridius the following Saturday. The back-to-back suspensions within three days represent a costly stretch of penalties at one of the most lucrative points on the racing calendar, with connections of Tentyris now required to secure a new rider for a race worth $3 million.