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Hall: Why Warwoven scratching doesn't make sense
Connor Scanlon • January 20th, 2026 12:50 pm
Bjorn Baker had a nightmare 24 hours in the lead-up to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
The trainer had the heavy favourite, Warwoven, for that $3 million race and outside chance Masvingo, however his winning chances were quickly snatched away from him.
On the day prior to the race, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission confirmed that both Baker’s two-year-old’s showed signs of lameness at trot ups and would require further veterinary checks the next day.
Then on race day morning, the Queensland Racing Veterinarians team scratched the pair from the race – a decision which Baker respected but disagreed with.
The trainer stated that both he and his stable’s vet believed that favourite Warwoven was fit to race.
SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up host Gareth Hall couldn’t understand how two separate vets could have such contrasting opinions, especially for a race worth so much money.
“I can't work it out - you've got an expensive colt who's favourite for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, and there's Josh Adams, the Racing Queensland Chief Steward, who said to me that there were two experienced vets working for Racing Queensland and without a doubt in their mind, they believed that horse (Warwoven) wasn't fit enough to compete,” Hall said.
“But then you've got Bjorn Baker and his vet saying that (Warwoven is) ready to go.”
Prominent racing owner John O’Neill understood that veterinary scratchings are in place to protect horses but believes that there should be an overall ruling body in place for veterinary scratching.
“Always comes down to opinions, but at the end of the day there needs to be a ruling body,” O’Neill stated.
“It's happened to me a lot - I've had horses pulled out on the morning of Melbourne Cups and races like that, so it's always frustrating and disappointing, but ultimately it's about looking after the horse.”
Trainer Wayne Hawkes also weighed in on the topic believing that racing commissions need to be more consistent with veterinary scratchings.
He explained that commissions pay more attention to big prize money races, rather than smaller country races, causing inconsistencies in scratchings related to the health of a horse.
“The part where all of the racing bodies let themselves down is they give a stuff when it's a million-dollar race, a $5 million race, but are they doing the same thing at Yarra Valley. Kembla Grange and Gatton?” Hawkes questioned.
“Every horse should get on track and every horse should be trotted up - I’m telling you that’s not the case.
“When it suits them, they go, ‘Oh, it's a big race,’ so the big integrity has to come into it.
“Why shouldn't every horse get on course and be trotted up?
“Do you know why they don't? Because they have to have another vet or two on course, and we don't have enough vets around, and it would cost the industry a lot of money.
“But as I said, when it suits them, they're pretty big on the big races, but in the lesser races they don't put as much emphasis on it.”
Was Warwoven unlucky to be scratched?
