Well fellow punters, I’ve had a couple of tough weeks health wise of late, had quite a few of the locals watching out for me, thank goodness! It is a great community here in Gundy.
But also on the upside, my horse girlfriend Fangirl brained them in the Apollo Stakes on Saturday at Randwick. What a win! She won by lengths under hands and heels riding. Went past them like they were tied to the rail. She is in for a big prep.
Debbie Kapitis, the daughter of the legendary Bob Ingham, had a big day when Riff Rocket backed up her other horse Fangirl being super impressive in winning the CS Hayes Stakes at Flemington. Over the next 12 months she might just end up be the best horse in the country. Big claim, but it was some win – shades of Saintly .
How good is Imperatrix? She beat a cracker field in the Group One Lightning Stakes at Flemington when she just nutted Private Eye. She did that on sheer guts, a very special mare. That is her ninth Group One, putting her in very rare company. Will she get to 10? Also, a crack ride by Kiwi Opie Bossom on the mare.
Finally, Espiona went super and will win a big race this prep.
Lindsay Gough is a low-profile trainer that flies under the radar. His good horse Apophis won at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The son of the late well known city trainer John Gough also has the very promising Vinimelle in his stable. With a strike rate of 14 per cent the Eagle Farm trainer is a dab hand.
How good is Gold Coast trainer Scott Morrisey going? Iron Grace saluted at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
The trainer has a current remarkable 20 per cent strike rate. Morrisey originally hails from Canberra, where his dad John Morrisey was a multiple premiership winning trainer. Follow his horses.
Great to see my decades old mate Gundy icon Lucky Pippos finally crack it with Zidaki in Sydney. The beautifully bred youngster won on the Kensington track. Zidaki had run three very game seconds in a row before saluting last Wednesday. He is very special to Luck because he owns it with his sister and it’s out of the mare Athanea named in honour of his late mother. Good on you Lucky, more wins in store with that very honest consistent horse.
Peter Vlandys warned us eight years ago that setting up an independent Qld Racing Integrity Commission would cost the industry a fortune – triple the then stewarding function in Racing Queensland. That’s money no longer available for prize money. I even wrote about it last decade.
Sure enough it happened. Cost blow outs; huge stuff ups in the Racing Science Centre; and worse still QRIC is now reducing the number of vets and swabbing sample staff on race days from two to one.
Not fair on the horses that have to stand in tie up stalls a lot longer after finishing in the first four.
What happens if multiple horses suffer heart arrhythmia on these very hot humid days with only one treating vet? The trainers’, owners’ and jockeys’ associations are all up in arms. QRIC is an ongoing embarrassment with its lack of horsemanship, and I just hope the current review sorts things out.
Been scratching the old noggin wondering where all the apprentice jockeys end up. When you look at the Brisbane riding ranks, Jimmy Orman and young Huxtable aside, the jockey’s room is full of interstaters, South Africans and Irishmen. A look of the champion apprentice honour board over the
last 15 years is telling: lots of big-name dropouts. Maybe injury or weight gets the better of them, and/or the lifestyle is too tough, and of course motherhood. The powers to be need to incentivise apprentices coming out of their time to stay in the game.
It had to happen: urgers promoting Artificial Intelligence race outcome predictions, for money of course. How many “systems” have been flogged to poor unsuspecting punters over the last 50 years?
Bookmakers are not mugs. They and their form analysts certainly crunch the numbers and only survive by their knowledge and wit. They pay for information we don’t have access to. Not all information on a horse chance is publicly available and not every favourite wins. Just look at the results over the last weekend of racing. Beware a computer, no matter how clever.
Spotted one winning at Doomben last Wednesday owned by racing and football royalty. Grand Meteor trained by Tony Gollan is owned by leviathan grouping among successful owners – Mick Power, multiple Melbourne Cup winning owner Gerry Ryan, John Ribot and Leigh Matthews, plus a few mates. What a load to carry for the poor Deep Field filly. I reckon she is just might go on with it.
They say you want a granddaughter or grandson out of a champion, not a son or daughter and I agree, history has taught me that. Last Wednesday Boondocks proved the saying true, by winning at Bendigo. The grandson of a legendary triple Melbourne Cup winning mare Maykbe Diva and sired
by Zoustar, the colt has two wins and two placings from just five starts. Owned by the same interests as grandma, this fella might just go on with it.
“Hey Paddy,“ said Mick, “You know how they say that 60 is the new 40?” “Yer” replied Paddy. “Well, the cop who pulled me over didn’t think so!”
