Danny Nikolic caught in betting probe - #1 Horse Racing Forum in Australia for Race-Horse News

JOCKEY Danny Nikolic is in an unpleasant position. Stewards are investigating 10 of his rides, some going back to November. No charges have been laid. Nikolic thinks this is hurting his reputation and costing him rides.

That might be the case, might not.

What is certain is the jockey's decision on the advice of his lawyer to not hand over his mobile phone as requested by stewards on Tuesday definitely is capable of damaging his good name. You know the bush lawyer thinking. If you have nothing to hide why not give it to the stewards.

The jockey and his lawyer have refused to comply with the stewards' request because they maintain it is an unnecessary invasion of Nikolic's privacy. The Victorian Jockeys Association, which ran that nonsensical campaign against the Australian Racing Board's first raft of rules to decrease the use of the whip, has been reported as backing Nikolic.

As well, the association's chief executive Des O'Keeffe has instructed all jockeys not to cooperate with stewards if asked to hand in their mobile phones. If tested, this may well lead to a confrontation, even a review, of the stewards' powers to deal with jockeys across the nation.

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Nikolic should hand the phone over. He has constantly stated that he has nothing to fear from the inquiries into his rides, therefore anything that can help in the investigation and free Nikolic of accompanying innuendo should be pursued. It is to his advantage that he be as transparent as possible. The mobile phone might well be the key to ending the stewards' concerns.

The stewards have received Nikolic's phone records but want the mobile phone, possibly to study his contact list. It would be unfair and unthinkable to think that stewards would use any information they gained in an inappropriate manner. Whatever, Nikolic is fretting that the inquiries are costing him his good name and good rides.

On Thursday, he will defend his position in front of the stewards. He must also defend a charge that he used his mobile phone in the jockeys' room on New Year's Day. Stewards allege Nikolic used his phone to contact professional punter and commission agent Neville Clements. The stewards have also charged Clements after he failed to hand over his mobile phone. That case will be heard on Thursday afternoon.

The inquiry into Nikolic's rides began after Finishing Card ran second when odds-on at Mornington in January. Betfair alerted the stewards to a change in betting patterns and the inquiry has been expanded to review another nine races and betting trends. All were losing rides for Nikolic and the stewards have also interviewed seven trainers.

Nikolic has told Melbourne media he was ringing Clements very briefly only to check his thoughts on the pace of the Bagot Handicap, a race Nikolic subsequently went out and won.

The stewards have drawn consistent and heavy criticism from the senior and respected journalists Adrian Dunn and Rod Nicholson, of Melbourne's Herald Sun, who both claim the stewards' inquiry into his rides has left Nikolic vulnerable. They point out that chief steward Terry Bailey is yet to lay one charge over any of the 10 rides under investigation.

They have also written sympathetic columns in defence of the jockey. They clearly want the inquiry wound up.

Enough damage has been done to Nikolic, who thinks the whole affair has hurt racing's image as well as his own. Dunn and Nicholson must be careful their columns do not cross the line from informed opinion to Nikolic newsletters.

Let's not get simplistic or overwrought here. These are the facts: the stewards have made inquiries into betting patterns with several outlets about horses ridden by Nikolic in 10 races. The jockey says the inference is that he pulled the horses up. Really, that's getting the whip out a long way from home.

It would seem undeniable that an investigation into 10 races and associated betting trends would take time if it is to be carried out in a proper, measured and thorough manner. The worst thing for Nikolic would be a haphazard probe that might not give him every chance to explain the rides. The stewards have disseminated only the amount of information required to keep the community aware that an investigation was under way.

What has happened to Nikolic happens all the time in the community. Authorities inspect circumstances that are not quite clear, be it in business or sport. The unusual must be examined until the facts are discovered and understood. Sometimes nothing comes of it, sometimes something does.

If racing was not to do this thoroughly and without prejudice, then the industry would be damaged.

To investigate at length, forensically and transparently, is to enhance the image of the industry and hardly scar it.

Nikolic is a wonderful rider, balanced and patient with a keen sense of a race's rhythm. He needs to hand over his phone and O'Keeffe needs to shut up.

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