Thanks to a 15-1 upset by ROMEZ, his second upset win in 10 days, the Pick-9 had no taker at Caymanas Park on Saturday.

The carryover to this Saturday is $1 million.

In an eventful race, ROMEZ actually went down fighting to the 4-1 chance MEDICAL REPORT, only to be awarded the race following a lengthy stewards' inquiry.

MEDICAL REPORT, who made all with apprentice André Martin, was penalised for crossing ROMEZ a furlong out and their positions were reversed.

It was the general belief that MEDICAL REPORT would have survived the inquiry even though cutting across ROMEZ, forcing apprentice Carlton Malcolm to switch his mount to the inside, in losing by three-quarter length.

However, a careful examination of the patrol film showed that while Martin drifted out MEDICAL REPORT into the path of ROMEZ, the fact that the latter didn't break stride led many to believe that the result would stand.

Apparently, the stewards felt that Martin tried to intimidate ROMEZ by deliberately taking his ground. This sort of riding cannot be condoned as it is dangerous.

ROMEZ had previously scored an upset victory over 1100 metres in overnight allowance company on January 30.

The big disappointment on Saturday (Abe Issa Memorial Cup feature) was the performance of the filly OUTSTANDING, who finished a floundering last as the red-hot favourite in the small field. She had no apparent excuse, has obviously gone stale and seems ready for the breeding shed.

- O.C.