It's always a disappointment when a horse is pulled from a race at the last minute, but in the case of Rockefeller, the favourite for the Channel 10 News Handicap at the Eagle Farm in Brisbane last weekend, there was no one to blame but himself.
Shortly before the start, the horse snatched a can of Coca-Cola from a bemused stablehand, crushed it and drunk as much as he could before it spilled to the ground. After the caffeine scandal that rocked Queensland racing in the 1980s, Rockefeller's trainer, Gerald Ryan had no alternative but to report the episode to the stewards.
The whole stand burst into laughter when it was announced that the horse had drunk a can of coke and had to be scratched. According to Alan Reardon, the acting chief steward: "Gerald wasn't happy, but he accepted our decision. If anything, it's alerted stablehands to be more careful. We can't take any risks."
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