Racing Victoria stewards will probe the now world-famous sandwich spat between Pakenham Racing club chief Michael Hodge and Torquay-based trainer Bryce Stanaway, with the former not ruling out a ban on the latter running horses at the newly opened track.
Stanaway's outburst on Sunday over the unavailability of sandwiches in the owners and trainers room, and his subsequent decision to scratch two of his horses later in the day in retaliation, has made the idiosyncratic Kiwi a global name in the racing world.
Media outlets from all over the planet published humorous pieces about an incident which is likely to figure as a footnote in the sport's history as one of the most bizarre reasons for a horse to have been scratched.
Stanaway stood by his actions on Monday morning, as did Pakenham CEO Hodge.
The trainer claimed the executive had reacted rudely to his complaints about a lack of food, while the official said the horseman had been rude and had tried to bully and intimidate Pakenham staff.
Chief steward Terry Bailey, more used to dealing with the long-running cobalt case and rather more serious infractions, could be forgiven for rolling his eyes as the two chewed each other out. But he said on the Racing Ahead show on RSN on Monday that the stewards would consider both sides of the argument before deciding whether or not further action should be taken.
Stanaway, who could be described as a rugged individualist, declared on the same radio show he would do it all again. He insisted the sandwich dispute was a metaphor for what he claimed was poor treatment of trainers and their staff.
"These clubs have got to show a little bit more respect for the people who work in the game. It wasn't just over a sandwich.The final straw was the attitude of the CEO and the way he treated me. I went and saw the CEO ... he went off his head at me and he told me to scratch my horses and go home. He's the one that caused the problem. So I did as I was told."
Hodge has a rather different recollection of events.
He said Stanaway's manner had been intimidating and bullying towards staff. Hodge said he defended his staff by telling Stanaway that if the trainer didn't like it at Pakenham he should not nominate his horses for the track.
Asked if Pakenham might now refuse entries from the Stanaway stable, Hodge said that was an option. "It's one of the things the club could consider," he said.
With sandwiches off the menu, perhaps humble pie could be a substitute for both parties.
