I have just watched one of the best Melbourne Cup races.
What a win by Without a Fight. What a ride by Mark Zahra who answered all the critics in the most emphatic style after jumping off last year’s winner Gold Trip to ride the Caulfield Cup winner.
Who said jockeys are bad judges?
The Freedman family have added another trophy to their extensive collection of Melbourne Cups and it certainly looks like Sam Freedman has inherited all the finesse of his father and uncles.
Of course there is always a hard luck story and in 2023 that must be Soulcombe who waddled out of the boxes missing the start by about the margin he was beaten into second place by. Of course I just happened to be on it but accept no responsibility for the way it raced.
No fairytale Melbourne Cup for Ollie but he has already added to his tally of wins over the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the week is not over yet.
We all know a week can be a long time in sport – if you need proof look no further than the result of the final Rugby League Pacific Championships. After scoring a solid win over the Kiwis a week earlier, the Kangaroos headed into Saturday’s game at Hamilton (NZ) short priced favourites. Unfortunately the Kiwis did not get the memo stating the Aussie’s were a shoo in.
What followed was a 30-nil drubbing. The Kiwis first win over Australia since 2018. The biggest defeat in the 115 year history of the Kangaroos.
Andrew Johns, Cooper Cronk and Greg Alexander were among a chorus of former players appalled by the performance, labelling the Australian side complacent, lazy and embarrassing. On the flip side full of praise for Madge Maguire and the Kiwis.
There is no doubt several players in the Australian line up have worn the green and gold for the last time.
I thought Mal Meninga’s flippant comments after the game spoke volumes for the attitude his side carried in to the game.
In Meninga’s post-match he smilingly said, “Everyone loves to see us lose.” “We’ve made everyone happy.” Although he went on to say the Kangaroos would bounce back next season, I, like most league fans, could see nothing amusing about suffering the worst defeat in history.
Fortunately things seem ticking along nicely for our cricketers in their hunt for another World Cup win after a very slow start to their tournament.
The win over the lack-lustre Poms certainly returned a smile to the faces of Aussie fans. It was a win full of merit after Mitch Marsh returned home for personal reasons. Glen Maxwell was also ruled out suffering a concussion after falling out of a golf cart.
A win against Afghanistan tonight (Tuesday) or Bangladesh on Saturday will propel the Aussies into the semis. After that it is game-on for everyone.
In the meantime I hope you are still celebrating a win in the Cup.
Casey
