Cat Politics

Autumn Racing – A warming of the cockles

2012-02-03T19:47:00.001+11:00

Karuta Queen returns tomorrow at Warwick Farm

Up to now, other than the triumphant resumption of Black Caviar last week, there has not been much to write about on the Australian racing scene.

Sure, there was the drama surrounding the upheld protest of second against first in the Magic Millions Two Year Old Classic, where Driefontein eventually was declared the winner over her stable mate No Looking Back , and there was also the running of Blue Diamond Previews a few weeks back where the more fancied runners were outgunned by long shots The Travelling Man (colts) and Malasun (fillies). There is no Sepoy this year so far, though I am prepared to be surprised.

Anyway, tomorrow at both Caulfield and Warwick Farm there are a few races worth watching, simply because a few stars of the spring carnival are making an appearance, most notably the very pretty and speedy filly Karuta Queen, who recently won a trial by 17½ lengths.

Karuta Queen will be contesting a sprint over 1000 metres, race 3 on the cards at Warwick Farm. It has been raining heavily all week in Sydney, so if the racing does go ahead, the track will be heavy going. This shouldn’t bother the little queen as she handles all surfaces. Unanimously would have been her biggest completion, but he will instead race at Caulfield, so that leaves grey mare Social Rank as her major opposition.

At Caulfield, all eyes will be on VRC Oaks winner Mosheen in the Listed Australasia Stakes. It is run over 1200 metres, which may seem a little short for a staying filly, but Mosheen has won over shorter distances in the past. She is the class act in the race, but Rifleman , who has won his last two starts, may give her a run for the money, as might Secret Hills, who ran second to Helmet in the Guineas Prelude in the spring. American Dream also has a chance.

The weather in Melbourne has been fine all week and no rainfall is expected, hence the track will be dead to good.

I’m interested to see how hyped colt Jimando performs in the Listed Emirates Airline Stakes (1100 metres). Will he live up to the hype? Apparently he’s a big, strong, young fellow, and the hype is based around his one and only start back in October which he won it by 3¼ lengths and the high regard his trainer has for him. His main opposition appears to come from the filly Formidable and other colts If I Could and Timely Truce.

The first Group One of the Autumn racing season is only a week away. From then on, many of the horses who caught the eye in Spring will be beginning their autumn campaigns. Caulfield Cup heroine, Southern Speed, began with a bang, unexpectedly winning the John Dillon Stakes on Australia Day. She is scheduled to compete against Black Caviar in the Orr Stakes next weekend, representing quality opposition for the unbeaten mare in her first start over 1400 metres. Sure to be a fascinating race.

Others due to resume shortly are super duper three year old Manawanui, old favourite Shoot Out ,who returns after a long break and with a different trainer (Chris Waller). Super sprinter Hay List is also due to resume soon having recovered from a life threatening leg infection. Champion three year old Sepoy will have only one more run in Australia before heading to Dubai and eventually Ascot. He’ll be sorely missed, as will Helmet, who is also destined to finish his career overseas but will race a few more times in Australia before that occurs.

I’m also looking forward to Pinker Pinker’s return which is likely to be in the Futurity Stakes on February 18th, which is also on Black Caviar’s schedule.

Music News

Also warming the cockles of my heart is the news that the delightful Eilen Jewell will be touring again this year. She has been invited to perform at the East Coast Blues Festival, but will also be doing sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. Not to be missed!

The Tao of Cheer Squadding – Black Caviar Wins Again

2012-01-28T21:09:00.001+11:00

View of Moonee Valley racetrack from Legends.

I was not sure what to expect when I ventured to Moonee Valley Racetrack last night (or evening to be more exact) to participate in the Official Black Caviar Cheer Squad.

The weather was perfect for a night at the races, warm with a slight sea breeze.

Catching the Westgarth to Moonee Valley bus, I alighted at the track and walked up the hill, and around the corner a bit, to Moonee Valley Legends, a drinking and gambling establishment that is situated alongside the track, to check in to the Cheer Squad. My attitude was to play it by ear, go with the flow and appreciate the unusualness of the situation.

What ensued was one of the most enjoyable nights I’ve spent at the races and volunteering for the Cheer Squad was the definitely correct decision as it turned out. Moonee Valley racing club had seriously underestimated crowd attendance; it had grown to Cox Plate numbers by the fourth race. Apparently there were huge queues for everything, including racecourse entry, so the MVRC ended up opening the gates and admitting the patrons for free. There were quite a few peeved customers who had already paid for admission.

Back at Legends, all was cheery and bright, as the squad checked in.

Registration team, appropriately attired

After check in we each received a tee-shirt, a race book, and a couple of drink vouchers and were told to wait around for further instruction.

So while racetrack patrons were queuing for drinks, bets etc., we in the Cheer Squad were happily imbibing the complimentary “crownies” (Crown Lager beer) or bubbly or whatever else was offered.

Cheer Squad members relaxing at Legends wearing the tee-shirts.

This young lady came wearing her own Black Caviar costume

I struck up a friendship with a couple of other loners (like me) so a big hello to Brett and Debbie if you read this. We sort stuck together for the rest of the cheer squadding action.

As we had to turn up at Legends at 5.00pm, it was a hour or so before the squad had to do their thing. Shortly after the second race, we all assembled at the gate that leads onto the racecourse and were given masks and flags.

I was expecting rehearsals of chants or something like that, but not so.

The march down the hallowed straight into the setting sun, was somewhat shambolic, and nobody chanted much, probably because there were so many cheers to choose from. The most popular, and easiest to remember, was “Caviar, Caviar, Caviar, Oie Oie Oie”.

The Black Caviar Cheer Squad proceeds down the straight.

By that time of course we were all warmed up and rowdy, no doubt due to the complimentary crownies etc, so it wasn’t a total shemozzle.

At the end of this, shortly before the third race, we were settled in the grandstand in reserved seats. This was a newish experience for me as I normally hang out on the public lawn, but I must admit the view was great for watching the races.

View from the grandstand – race three finish.

After that we were free agents for half an hour or so. I decided to go and check out the parade ground. I noticed that the general public were being admitted to Black Caviar’s stall area. She was allocated in Stall 54 according to the race book, so there I went, and actually managed to acquire a good position on the fence.

Black Caviar’s specially marked stall.

We had to wait awhile until the great lady arrived, meanwhile watching Peter Moody saddle up Doubtful Jack, his other runner in Race Four – the Australia Stakes.

Peter Moody setting out Black Caviar’s racing gear.

Soon enough the great mare arrived to be accoutred for the race. By this time a fair crowd was assembled to try and capture her on camera.

Black Caviar is led to her stall

Black Caviar after being saddled - all fired up

She was pretty toey in the stall, but settled once she reached the parade ground.

Black Caviar in the parade ground.

I was late getting back to the grandstand and the cheer squad, but didn’t want to relinquish my spot by Black Caviar’s stall. However, I wasn’t too late for the pre race cheers, which were more enthusiastic than the earlier cheering effort up the straight.

Cheer Squad leaders

Enthusiastic members of the Cheer Squad

Black Caviar going to the barriers pre race - view from grandstand

And then there was the race. Of course she won; her seventeenth in succession. The margin between her and Zedi Knight, who ran second, was 4¼ lengths and was only.11 seconds off Miss Andretti’s course record. Watching her run, she doesn’t seem to be going that fast, she kind of floats – it’s so effortless.

Black Caviar in her new special blanket

Naturally the crowd went wild; after all most of them were there because of Black Caviar, as the rest of the card was pretty uninteresting. In fact I didn’t have a bet at all.

It was great night’s entertainment and I am very glad I took part in the Black Caviar Cheer Squad. It was intimated that those who were selected for the squad may get to do it all again at Caulfield in a fortnight when Black Caviar contests the C F Orr Stakes. If that is the case, I’ll have no hesitation in being part of the squad again. Thanks very much to Racing Victoria and Black Caviar Inc for the opportunity to be part of the Black Caviar farewell tour.

I didn’t hang around after Black Caviar’s race, so headed for the taxi rank. On the way I decided to visit Manikato’s memorial. I was unaware that he was buried at Moonee Valley, until Debbie, who I befriended in the squad told me about it. Manikato was one of the great sprinters in Australian racing history and a legend of the turf. He won the William Reid Stakes five times and of course now has a Group One race named in his honour.

On my way out of the racecourse, I came across these ‘absolutely fabulous’ ladies who kindly struck a pose for the following photograph.

A colourful way to end a splendid evening.

Unfortunately, being up in the grandstand is not ideal for taking photos of the action, so even though I did get shots of Black Caviar winning the Australia Stakes, they are noisy and not worth showing. If I’d been on the fence no doubt I could have done better as the light was good, twilight not occurring until about 9.00pm.

The Autumn Racing Carnival – looking sweet

2012-01-24T15:22:00.001+11:00

Black Caviar returns this Friday

There’s only a few weeks until the official autumn racing season begins with the running of the first Group One, the C F Orr Stakes on 11th February, but the sweetener will be the appearance of champion mare Black Caviar gunning for her 17th win in succession in the Group Two Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley this Friday night. She will also compete in the Orr Stakes for the first time over 1400 metres and will be racing against middle distance specialists like Cox Plate heroine Pinker Pinker.

The Australia Stakes is run over her pet distance of 1200 metres, so it is fascinating to contemplate her running a further 200 metres. Personally I think that she’ll have no trouble winning at 1400, judging by the ease with which she wins over the shorter distances and the many lengths she puts on her opposition.

I will be attending the race meeting at Moonee Valley on Friday night, but I’m still tossing up whether I will participate in the Black Caviar Cheer Squad. In a moment of folly I volunteered for it and have subsequently been accepted.

On the one hand I like being a free agent at the races, despite the lone wolfishness of this. Then again, it sounds like tremendous fun to be part of the Cheer Squad; and something amusing to blog about as well.

So what the hell, I’ll participate. No doubt the other members of the squad will be like minded folk and passionate Black Caviar fans as I am.

The rest of the race card looks uninspiring, so I might as well be sociable. And taking good photos at night meetings, as I discovered last time I attended, is pretty nigh impossible. However, I’ll still take my camera on the off chance of snapping something amusing or spectacular and hopefully a big brown mare with black spotted salmon silks.

The weather is expected to be warm and dry so the track will be dead to good.

Happy Birthday Ms Lizzie

2012-01-05T20:25:00.001+11:00

Above is Lizzie the cat’s portrait for her 16th birthday today. She finally sat still and let me take it. For a 16 year old cat she’s doing pretty well for her age. Her appetite is keen and she still has plenty of flesh on her bones, unlike some other cats her age I have encountered who are skin and bone. However, she has slowed down considerably and spends most of her days lying on the warm bricks in the front garden, unless it’s too hot, in which case she sprawls out in one of her favourite spots inside.

The trouble with her lying in the front garden is that the young female cat from next door has developed a habit of coming over the fence to menace Lizzie, who is in no way threatening to her. It’s a bit of a problem as young Piccolo has attitude with a capital A, and we regularly have to run out, when we hear the yowling, and chase her away. She (Piccolo) has Willy running scared as well; he won’t go near her.

The following photo is of Willy and Lizzie facing off after a tiff. Lizzie certainly won’t let Willy get away with anything, like jumping on her, and will fiercely fend him off.

I’ve never had a cat that has lived as long as Lizzie has, so it’s a new study in feline behaviour, as elderly cats do develop senile idiosyncrasies, like wandering around yowling for no reason, and run and hide during thunder storms.

Anyway, here’s hoping the sweet old girl has many more years in her and remains healthy and happy.

New Year 2012

2012-01-01T21:35:00.001+11:00

Another year gone in a flash and the another in its infancy. Who knows what 2012 will bring, but I hope it will be a peaceful one for those who visit this BlogSpot and for the world in general.

New Year’s Day in Melbourne was a hot 35°C and the above plant, colloquially called a Red Hot Poker, is the ideal personification of the heat of summer. They’re blooming in profusion in the front yard at present so I snapped a photo. The one above almost looks like a rooster.

Today also marks the anniversary of my quitting work, so here’s to the joys of retirement. I’ve had a year to get used to it, and I’m finding it wonderfully restful, with no Protestant Work Ethic anxiety waking me in the middle of the night. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

I’ve found that retirement suits me. I’m never bored and you can fritter away the hours either productively or idly as the mood suits.

Reading of course occupies some of my time, and I found that I read a great many more books than I would have previously. The Kindle is a boon to the bookworm; it’s so easy to download books and it is gratifying that many new novels are available in ebook format from the publication date, or shortly thereafter. In the past, if I was not interested in purchasing the hard cover edition, I would patiently wait for the paperback edition. I didn’t purchase a single mass market paperback this year, but read many new novels.

There’s much to look forward to in 2012. I’ve booked for two concerts in March, and no doubt once all the side shows from the music festivals are announced, I’ll probably book more. The most keenly anticipated concert is the Ryan Adams solo show at the Regent Theatre on March 3rd. I’ve got second row seats for that. Steve Earle solo at the Corner Hotel on 30 March is the other show I’ve booked and I’m still tossing up whether to go to his son’s show at a new venue (close to home) The Regal Ballroom sometime in April.

On January 27 Black Caviar will be starting her autumn campaign in the Group 2 Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley. I intend to go to the track for that. It’s a good way to kick off the Autumn racing season. Let’s hope my luck improves as I haven’t backed a winner since Cox Plate day.

I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve, and was sound asleep by midnight, so missed all the fireworks and hoopla.

That Old Timey Feeling - Frank Fairfield at Basement Discs

2011-12-11T21:32:00.001+11:00

It’s already two weeks into December and I have been slack on the blogging front. To catch up slightly, a little spiel about Frank Fairfield, a young multi instrumental musician from Los Angeles.

Frank was playing at the Basement Discs on Friday last, and delivered a pleasant mini concert, showcasing his astonishing skills on banjo, fiddle and guitar, as well singing a selection of the songs he loves from yesteryear. He looked the real deal, dressed conservatively in button up shirt and exhibited a modest demeanour.

He sounds like someone out of the backwoods, but he is Californian by upbringing and has a love for music forgotten in time. For instance, the tragic tale of Poor Ben, where a child is sent out at various hours of the night to fetch his father from the pub, whilst his brother Ben is dying at home.

Here’s a video of him performing Rye Whiskey, another of the songs he sang last Friday. It has wonderful lyrics.

Swamp & Soul – Two Recent Basement Discs In Store Performances

2011-11-30T14:53:00.001+11:00

On Tuesday last week it was Ray Bonneville who graced the Basement Discs stage, performing songs from his last two albums. His latest is Bad Man’s Blood, a superb swampy blues recording with killer songs.

Born in Canada, Ray Bonneville now lives in Austin Texas, but his music sounds like he was brought up in the swamps of Louisiana.

He has an attractive gravelly voice and is a whiz on guitar and harmonica and provides his own percussion effects by stomping his feet on boards ala Chris Smither.

Last Friday Clairy Browne and The Bangin’ Rackettes entertained the lunchtime crowd with a whizz banger of a show. Can’t say I‘ve ever heard of Clairy Browne before, but she and her Bangin’ Rackettes, plus large backing band are entertainment plus with full on body movements and delicious harmony singing. Clairy has a great bluesy voice and the other girls provide a doo wap gospel chorus reminiscent of the great female groups of the past, the Pointer Sisters for instance. They were in store promoting their debut CD Baby Caught The Bus.

Check them out on My Space.

This coming Friday Basement Discs has a double bill with ace blues guitarist Jeff Lang, followed by Shackelton 3 – a super group comprised of Mick Thomas, Anna Burley and Liz Stringer.

And on Friday 9th December Frank Fairfield, a multi instrumental wunderkind whose musical taste is firmly set in old-time Americana, will be performing the last in store for the year.

Sweet & Saucy – Folk Uke at Basement Discs

2011-11-11T21:07:00.001+11:00

Cathy Guthrie & Amy Nelson – Folk Uke

Something different, American duo Folk Uke performed a charming mini show at Basement Discs this afternoon. They are touring to promote their new CD Reincarnation. There are warnings regarding explicit lyrics on their CDs, so if you are offended by swear words, you may be shocked by the frankness of their lyrics.

Known for their witty songs and sweet harmonies , Folk Uke are Cathy Guthrie (grand-daughter of Woody, daughter of Arlo) and Amy Nelson (daughter of Willie Nelson).

To get the ball moving on the right note, they opened their set with Sh*t Makes The Flowers Grow, following that with Knock Me Up, two tongue in cheek wickedly funny songs . They went on to sing half a dozen songs, including the title track to their new CD, and enlisted the support of their agent, Geoff Trio, to read the speaking parts in their song I Miss My Boyfriend, which part on the album is played by Shooter Jennings (son of Waylon).

Check them out on My Space and listen to I Miss My Boyfriend

Last Saturday I attended a concert at Thornbury Theatre. It was a triple bill composed of local singer songwriter Jordie Lane with Joe Pug and Henry Wagons.

A very entertaining evening it was too. My review of the show is on Nu Country here, so I won’t elaborate.

Spring Racing Carnival 2011 – Emirates Stakes Day

2011-11-04T22:18:00.001+11:00

2011 Melbourne Cup finish – Dunaden wins by a whisker from Red Cadeaux

It’s the final day of the Melbourne Spring racing carnival tomorrow with two Group One races with the added feature of Black Caviar competing in one of them, aiming for her 16th consecutive win, and 7th Group One.

The Patinack Farm Classic is the Group One sprint of the season. Black Caviar won it last year, and is pretty certain to win it again. She has only six opponents, most of them being from her own stable – Mid Summer Music, Curtana & Panipique - with Buffering, Scenic Blast & Response being the others.

The other Group One is the Emirates Stakes over 1600 metres. It has a very interesting field with the likes of Jimmy Choux, Wall Street (who won this race last year), Love Conquers All and Secret Admirer being the class competitors. It’s anyone’s guess who will win.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a Group Three race over 2600 metres is the other interesting contest on the cards. It’s a sort of consolation race for stayers who failed to qualify for the Melbourne Cup and has grand stayers like Bauer, Shootoff, Sahara Sun and Macedonian in the mix.

Speaking of the Melbourne Cup, what a thriller it turned out to be at the finish. Alas fortune did not smile on me this year – all my selections came nowhere. That’s racing for you !

The Stillsons live at Basement Discs

2011-11-04T21:16:00.001+11:00

It has been a while since I last wrote a music review; in fact I’m quite out of practice, but as the Basement Discs has a stellar line up of in-store shows this month, I thought I’d give it a bash again.

To start the month, The Stillsons were In Store today and delivered a very pleasant set of folk rock tunes, promoting their new CD Earnest.

Called “a breath of fresh air” by the Sydney Morning Herald, The Stillsons are indeed a bright and breezy band and are composed of Justin Bernasconi (guitar) and Cat Canteri (drums), and The Waifs bass player Ben Franz.

They describe their music as contemporary roots, and it encompasses rock, folk and country. Justin and Cat take turns leading the vocals and all three chime in with the harmonies.

Check them out on their My Space page.

Coming up at Basement Discs next Wednesday is blues legend John Hammond and on Friday Folk Uke, a duo composed of Cathie Guthrie and Amy Nelson, descendants of famous Americana artists Woody Guthrie and Willie Nelson. On Tuesday 22nd November, Ray Bonneville, Austin based guitarist, songwriter and harmonica player will be demonstrating his fabulous version of rhythm and blues.

In news out today, Ryan Adams will be doing a solo tour in February/March next year, playing intimate venues throughout Australia and New Zealand. I don’t know if you could call the Sydney Opera House an intimate venue, but he’s playing there on February 28th. Needless to say I’m keenly looking forward to this tour and already fretting about about getting a good seat at the Melbourne venue which happens to be the Regent Theatre.

Spring Racing Carnival 2011 – The Melbourne Cup

2011-10-31T15:31:00.001+11:00

Americain winning the 2010 Melbourne Cup

Don’t ask me who is going to win the 2011 Melbourne Cup. I haven’t a clue, but will try and assess which horses have the form and quality to make a go of it.

The Melbourne Cup, as we all know here in Australia, is the premier staying race of the year, and is known colloquially as the race that stops the nation. Just about everyone has a bet on it and watches the event on television.

Unusually, this year’s cup field is made up of predominantly overseas bred horses, with very few local or New Zealand bred stayers, which reflects negatively on the local breeding industry. Some trainers/owners, like Bart Cummings and Lloyd Williams continue to seek out locally bred stayers, but have in recent times elected to import stayers from Europe.

Bart Cummings has two runners in the Cup this year, New Zealand bred Precedence (by Zabeel) and Illo an import from Germany. Of the two Bart has nominated Illo as his best runner. Illo finished third behind Americain in the Moonee Valley Cup, as opposed to Precedence who has been uncompetitive this Spring and would have to show a complete reversal of form to win the Melbourne Cup.

The Gai Waterhouse trained Tullamore is probably the best credentialed of the locally bred runners, having run third in the Caulfield Cup and second in the Moonee Valley Cup. His sire is Savabeel, a son of the great Zabeel and the most likely to take over his mantle as a top sire of stayers.

Americain is the top pick, and is also top weight, but that shouldn’t be too much of a burden for him. His win in the Moonee Valley Cup was excellent and showed he was back to his best. His greatest threat comes from fellow French horse Dunaden who won the Geelong Cup in fine fashion, like Americain did last year.

Others worthy of consideration are Glass Harmonium if he can run the distance and doesn’t misbehave in the barriers, Jukebox Jury, whose overseas form is first rate, but is having his first start in Australia, Unusual Suspect, another black horse has some wraps on him after his Caulfield Cup run, Mourayan who has lately been in good form, winning the Bart Cummings Stakes in early October on a slow track, and running second to Glass Harmonium in the Mackinnon Stakes is a top chance, and throw in At First Sight, another Lloyd Williams import, who has been consistently placed in the build up races.

There are only two mares in the race, Shamrocker and Older Than Time. It would be nice if one or other of them won the Cup, completing a female trifecta of the big three Spring races, following the hoof prints of Southern Speed and Pinker Pinker into racing glory.

Shamrocker, after a glorious three year old career where she beat the boys in the Australian Guineas and the AJC Derby in the Autumn, has been disappointing this spring as a four year old mare. However, all along she has been set for the Melbourne Cup and is not without a chance, especially with her light weight. Older Than Time ran second in the Sydney Cup, so she can certainly run the distance. Her breeding is through another son of Zabeel, Don Eduardo, so on that factor, despite her form, she has a slight chance.

The weather in Melbourne at present is cool and overcast. Tomorrow promises to be much the same with a few showers.

However the race pans out it will be as always fascinating to watch.

Good luck in picking the winner, or maybe you can pray for guidance from your favourite saint. It is the Feast of All Saints tomorrow.

Spring Racing Carnival 2011 – Derby Day

2011-10-28T20:28:00.001+11:00

Manawanui – can he win the Derby?

It’s Derby Day again! One of the most interesting race meetings of the Melbourne Spring racing carnival, it is always run the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day. Four Group One races are featured along with some pretty interesting group two and three competitions.

The feature race is of course the Victoria Derby for three year olds over 2500 metres. It’s a gruelling race for such youngsters, and many of its winners fall by the wayside, never to be heard of again. However, some do go on to greater glory, Elvstroem for instance, and Efficient as well, and I’m sure there are more.

This years edition has Manawanui starting as favourite. He won the Mitchelton Wines Vase at Moonee Valley last Saturday, which was over 2040 metres, so he has to run a further 460 metres to win this, fighting off a much larger field than he faced in the Mitchelton Wines Vase. I must admit I’ve developed a fondness for this horse – like his Maori name, he is brave and courageous and also a bit of a sweetheart according to this report on ABC news earlier this week. Love the trust his strapper has in him.

Anyway, though Manawanui is the class act in the Derby, he may be challenged by the likes of Induna, who recently won a 2200 metre race at Geelong by 3.8 lengths. Others worthy of consideration are Sabrage, who won the Norman Robinson Stakes at Caulfield two weeks ago, and Sangster and Niagara who were runners up in that race. Collar who ran second to Manawanui in the Mitchelton Wines Vase may be able to turn the tables on him this time. The mystery horse is the Bart Cummings trained Rapidus, who because of his trainer cannot be overlooked.

Sepoy returns this week in the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes and of course will start raging favourite. Can he keep his winning streak intact? His main opposition comes from Foxwedge, a consistent competitor who has had the misfortune to run against the likes of Helmet and Smart Missile and Manawanui throughout the Spring, and will have to be lucky to beat Sepoy. Likewise with Masthead and Adamantium. Hong Kong colt Bear Hero is the intriguing runner. His form in Hong Kong is excellent, so he might be able to give Sepoy a run for his money.

The Mackinnon Stakes is one of the two races on the cards, where hopeful Melbourne Cup contenders can qualify for the big one if they are fortunate enough to win. Last year So You Think won this race and Maluckyday won the Lexus Stakes (the other qualifying race) and we all know where they finished in the 2010 Cup. This year a big field has accepted. Top weight is Efficient , backing up after running 6th in the Cox Plate. Flemington is where his best wins have come from, so wouldn’t be surprised to see him run a place if not win. Midas Touch impressed with his third placing in the Underwood Stakes, so expect to see him competitive, also Glass Harmonium who missed the start of the Cox Plate (by rearing as the gates opened), is worth another chance. The other hard luck story from the Cox Plate was Rekindled Interest, who was badly blocked for a run, but managed to storm home for third place, so can redeem himself in this. Mares Lights of Heaven and Caulfield Cup heroine Southern Speed cannot be overlooked either.

One for the mares, The Myer Classic, a Group One race over 1600 metres, sees More Joyous pitted against a talented field that includes New Zealand mare Banchee, Sacred Choice who one the race last year on a bog track, Mosheen always consistent, and the well regarded Goon Serpent. There are those that say More Joyous is not firing this year as well as she has in the past, but she is obviously the class runner in the field, and should win.

As well as the above Group One races, the whole card is worth watching to see such class acts as unbeaten filly, Atlantic Jewel in the Group Two Wakeful Stakes, and study the performance of a number of imported stayers in the Lexus Stakes, Green Moon for instance.

That takes care of my Saturday afternoon, not at the track, but at home in front of the TV.

It has just rained heavily here in Melbourne with further rain expected tonight, however the Flemington track should be no worse than dead. It’s supposed to fine up tomorrow afternoon.

In the Pink – A Cox Plate Day At The Races

2011-10-23T20:14:00.001+11:00

Black Caviar salutes her adoring fans after winning the Schweppes Stakes

What a day! And it was an enjoyable one at that, despite the big crowds and the threatening weather.

I arrived at the course earlier than I anticipated, shortly before race 2 the listed Essendon Jeep Stakes. Putting a quick bet on Euryale passing through the Bookies area, I ventured out to the public lawn. Normally I would grab a spot on the fence near the finishing post, but this time it was impossible – too crowded – so I wended my way to the top of the straight and insinuated myself into a vacant spot there. It wasn’t bad as places to watch go, as I did manage to photo runners going past to the barriers.

Torah – winner of Race 2 on her way to the barriers.

Rather than stay by the fence, I decided to head to the parade ground to check out the runners for race 3, particularly Karuta Queen. I discovered that the parade ground area wasn’t half as crowded as other parts of the course, so I retreated there in between races for some relief from boisterous revellers.

Karuta Queen pausing to eyeball a few admirers.

Karuta Queen started favourite in the Australia Stakes and won easily from Miss Stellabelle & Amah Rock. She’s a very pretty filly, almost palomino in colouring. In the following photo you can see her showing a clean pair of heels to the runners up, in the straight.

I had my money on her and she was the first of four straight wins for me.

The next race on the cards was the Mitchelton Wines Vase, for three year olds over the Cox Plate distance of 2040 metres. Manawanui was the one I was looking forward to seeing, and he didn’t disappoint.

Manawanui parades before the running of the Vase

Manawanui, as if we didn’t already know, proved he was one of the best three year olds racing this spring, easily winning over the distance, unlike his great rival Helmet who failed to run 2040 metres in the Cox Plate.

Manawanui overtaking Collar in the straight

Speaking of Helmet, he spent a great deal of time in the stalls near the parade ground. I photographed him in his stall, while waiting for Black Caviar to grace us with her presence.

Helmet in holding stall

Race 5 – the Schweppes Stakes - was of course the one in which Black Caviar would win her 15th race in succession. A big crowd gathered to see her parade…

… but not where I was standing, on the stall side of the parade ground.

Here she comes – glamour mare Black Caviar

And what a big girl she is! Very calm and composed and well behaved, she has enormous presence. In reality she is just a large brown mare with a big bum, but she has captured the Nation’s attention with her extraordinary ability.

I hastened back to a spot on the fence to see her proceeding to the barriers.

Naturally she won easily by 6 lengths from Doubtful Jack and Here De Angels.

Black Caviar steams ahead in the straight

The Moonee Valley Cup was the next race on the card, so I was keen to get a photo of Americain, winner of the 2010 Melbourne Cup, and judging by his run in the Moonee Valley Cup, quite possibly the winner of the 2011 edition.

Americain parading before the Moonee Valley Cup

He won by 2.3 lengths with Tullamore and Illo filling the minor placings.

The Crystal Mile was next, but I didn’t photograph any of the runners, just watched them parade trying to make up my mind on who to back. I finally settled on He’s Remarkable the New Zealander who ended up starting favourite. He managed to run third, so at least he covered the bet. Testa My Patience won the bikkies with Hawk Bay running second.

My spot on the fence near the top of the straight.

As the feature race drew near, the weather, which had been fairly pleasant most of the afternoon, became dark and threatening. A storm warning announcement came over the loud speakers, and I for one feared a similar situation to that which occurred in March 2010 at Flemington. As the horses paraded before the event, flashes of lightning – which at first I thought were camera flashes – and lowering skies sent the crowds scurrying for cover. I hung out at the parade ground for a while taking photos of the horses, until the light deteriorated to the extent it was pointless to continue. However, I did manage to get a few reasonable shots before giving up.

Helmet

Efficient

Sincero

Jimmy Choux

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a shot of Pinker Pinker the Cox Plate winner. And alas I didn’t have any money on her either. I was however delighted that she won, another victory for locally bred horses and one for the girls as well. Her trainer Greg Eurell was over the moon, and I’m pleased for him. He trained my old favourite Apache Cat who won the Schweppes Stakes in 2009. Craig Williams deserves plenty of accolades for his perfectly judged and executed ride.

For the Cox Plate the barriers are placed at the top of the straight, so I had a good view of the start and witnessed Jimmy Choux breaking free early. He’d barely run 100 metres before being pulled up.

Cox Plate Barrier Stalls with grey sky behind

As for the race itself, it was as exciting and enthralling as you’d expect. Though the storm held off until after the race, tragedy struck Lion Tamer who broke a leg during the race and was put down soon after it was over. I didn’t witness this as I left directly after the race, not wanting to miss the last bus home and didn’t hear about it until later.

The above - rather murky - photo of the finishing dash down the straight, shows Jimmy Choux in the lead, having overtaken Helmet. Pinker Pinker is looming just behind them. Jimmy Choux hung on for second place and Rekindled Interest, who was seriously held up in the closing stages, ran third.

This post is turning into a marathon, but it was a long day. I witnessed seven races in all, picked the winner in four of them and won third place in two, so all up it was a good day on the punt and I came home with almost as much money as I had when I left.

Though the course was crowded, the punters were in high spirits in more ways than one, and the atmosphere was cheerful and raucous. I actually enjoyed the afternoon and would certainly attend the Cox Plate meeting again. I didn’t take many photos of the crowd, but there were girls dressed in flimsy frocks and high heels, with ridiculous concoctions of hats, guys dressed in loud suits – I spotted two guys wearing a purple and a pink suit apiece.

And of course salmon pink with black spots was everywhere. I was amused to see two guys with fairy wings attached to their backs being questioned by security up near the entrance gates. Who knows what they’d done to cause such interest, though I noticed one of them was clutching a rubber chook.

You may well ask how I was dressed, but I don’t dress up to go to the races, being totally uninterested in fashion. I wore my purple cord jeans with a charcoal hemp long sleeved t-shirt and sensible (waterproof) lace up shoes.

As mentioned before, the storm rolled in shortly after the running of the Cox Plate. By that time I was on the bus stop. Fortune smiled once again when the bus, I and several others were awaiting, pulled up across the road on its way to the terminus (where it turns around and comes back). The driver welcomed everyone to climb aboard for the ride, so when the rain came down in earnest, and the thunder rolled, and the lightning flashed, I was cosily on the bus with a cheerful crowd of race goers. By the time I got home the rain had started to ease, so my umbrella remained furled.

PS: Click on photos for a larger version (in most cases)

Spring Racing Carnival 2011- Cox Plate

2011-10-20T14:59:00.001+11:00

Jimmy Choux – champion New Zealand Cox Plate contender

Looking at the card for the Cox Plate meeting at Moonee Valley on Saturday, one cannot help feeling a tingle of excitement in anticipation of a great day of racing.

Taking advantage of my Moonee Valley season’s ticket, this year I will be attending the event, steeling myself for the crowds of drunken revellers, and the Black Caviar fan club who no doubt will be out in force. I last went to a Cox Plate meeting in 1998 when Might And Power won, which was also the last time the admission fee was a reasonable sum. They put the cost of entry up to $50.00 the following year, so I refused to go thereafter, despite my favourite horse, Sunline winning the race in the next two years . The admission is now $55.00+, but my season’s ticket covers that, and is one of the reasons I purchased the ticket.

The Cox Plate of course is the premier WFA race on the Australian racing calendar. The list of winners is also a list of champion Aussie equine heroes. My first favourite racehorse, Dhaulagiri, won it fifty years ago in 1961, Tulloch won it in 1960.

Unlike last year, when the forgone conclusion was a victory for So You Think, this year the field is evenly matched with no real stand out performers, though plenty have the talent to win if nothing untoward stymies their chances. For a start there’s Caulfield Guineas winner Helmet, the lightweight three year old who will be trying to emulate the exploits of So You Think, the most recent three year old to win the race. He’s got a chance if he can run the 2040 metres and handle the pressure.

Jimmy Choux, New Zealand 2011 Horse of the Year, has long been favourite for the Cox Plate, but in a practice run on Tuesday failed to inspire onlookers, though that didn’t faze his trainer. He is too good to overlook, but this is his first run at Moonee Valley so there remain doubts as to his winning chances on this famously tricky track.

Lion Tamer, purportedly a moody beast, who if he doesn’t feel like racing, won’t, is a very good prospect if he is so inclined and if blinkers make a difference. He won the Victoria Derby last year by 6.5 lengths and also recently won the Underwood Stakes from Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed, though finished second last in the Caulfield Stakes after starting hot favourite.

Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes winner Rekindled Interest, loves Moonee Valley and ticks all the boxes in terms of being able to race the distance, handle the track and be there at the finish.

Others worthy of consideration are Glass Harmonium who never runs a bad race, King’s Rose who is consistency itself, and fellow mares Secret Admirer, Shamrocker and Pinker Pinker who all have a chance to steal a place if not win. But perhaps old trouper Efficient will cause an upset. It’s happened before when 9 year old Fields of Omagh won the Plate for a second time in 2006, much to everyone’s surprise.

The Cox Plate may be the feature race, but as it’s being run at the late hour of 5.35pm, there are other races on the card to capture the interest before that happens, most notably the Schweppes Stakes a sprint over 1200 metres, starring Black Caviar aiming for her 15th consecutive win. She should do it easily, facing only four other contenders which include Scenic Blast returning to racing after a year’s break, old Here De Angels and Doubtful Jack.

I aim to arrive at the track in time for the third race to see Karuta Queen in action. In her last race she ran second to Black Caviar after leading by three lengths. It was quite a sight seeing the monster mare overtake Karuta Queen, but the little queen will have her chance at a win in the Group Two Australia Stakes on Saturday without having to contend with Black Caviar. She will however, have to beat the likes of Amah Rock and Miss Stellabelle who have both won over the distance (1200 metres) at Moonee Valley recently. Also the Peter Moody trained Beckon could be a threat, as looking at his form, albeit on country tracks, he shows great promise.

Caulfield Guineas runner up, Manawanui is the class runner in the Group Two Mitchelton Wines Vase, a race for three year olds over the Cox Plate distance of 2040 metres. There are only six runners in the field and Manawanui’s major threat appears to be the suitably bred Collar and Power Broker. Manawanui ran second in the Caulfield Guineas, fighting it out with Helmet to the line in a finish reminiscent of the days of Testa Rossa and Redoute’s Choice, who fought a similar battle in their version of the Guineas in 1999.

2010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain is entered in the Moonee Valley Cup, now named the Drake International Cup. It is a Group Two race for stayers over 2500 metres and other entries include the Bart Cummings Cup hopeful, German import Illo, Linton, who has been disappointing this time around, though with a different jockey (Nick Hall his regular rider has been suspended for careless riding) he might return to form. There’s also Tullamore backing up this week after running third in the Caulfield Cup, New Zealander Booming, and South Australian mare Lalla Rookh, stable mate to Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed.

The Crystal Mile has a fairly ordinary field with tried and true middle distance runners like Danleigh, good on his day, Triple Elegance who ran third in the George Main behind Sincero a few weeks ago, Luen Yat Forever, who showed remarkable improvement when running third behind King Mufhasa and King’s Rose in the Toorak Handicap. The Mick Price trained Testa My Patience and New Zealand runner He’s Remarkable, appear to have the best form, but not at Moonee Valley.

The weather is expected to be cool and mild on Saturday with a possible shower or two. But the excellent race card including the appearance of glamour horse Black Caviar will make it well worth attending, no matter what the weather gods choose to throw on Melbourne.

In the meantime check out Black Caviar’s latest words of wisdom on her blog here and here. It’s hilarious!

Spring Racing Carnival 2011 – Caulfield Cup

2011-10-14T20:55:00.001+11:00

December Draw – can he win the Caulfield Cup?

I’m feeling rather tired this evening so I’ll make this post a short one.

Tomorrow, the first of the big Spring races, the Caulfield Cup is to be run, and quite frankly I am at a loss as to who is the likely winner. There will be a full field of runners (18) contesting it and quite a number of them are International stayers or imports, with very few local stayers in the mix. On form, December Draw looks the top pick, but there are doubts as to his ability to run 2400 metres. Just because he hasn’t run the distance before, doesn’t mean he can’t, so I choose him as my top chance. Others in contention are the UK stayers Mighty High, Drunken Sailor and Manighar, imports Green Moon and Unusual Suspect, locals Hawk Island and Niwot and mares Southern Speed and Absolutely. Take your pick.

Other than the Caulfield Cup, there are several other races that are full of interest, the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint, for instance where we racing fans can enjoy the sight of champion colt Sepoy in action again. More Joyous and Sister Madly will be head to head in the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1400 metres). Sister Madly beat More Joyous in the Manikato Stakes, but the tables are likely to be turned here with More Joyous back to her best and in winning form.

Anyway, I’ll be watching the events on free to air TV for once, so that takes care of Saturday afternoon.

UPDATE – Saturday evening
It was great to see South Australian mare Southern Speed win the Caulfield Cup this afternoon, the first mare to do so in 10 years. Ethereal was the last mare to win in 2001. Green Moon ran second with Tullamore filling third spot this afternoon.

More Joyous as expected prevailed over Sister Madly in the Tristarc Stakes, and Sepoy kept his almost perfect record intact in the Caulfield Sprint. So a very exciting afternoon of racing kept this fan entertained all afternoon.

Early tomorrow morning So You Think will be running in the Champion Stakes at Ascot. He ran fourth in the Arc, being caught too far back in the field to have any chance of overtaking the winner, German filly Danedream, so will hopefully restore his formidable reputation in this.

Spring Racing Carnival 2011 – Caulfield Guineas Day

2011-10-07T20:14:00.001+11:00

Welcome back Black Caviar!

Now that the AFL Grand Final has come and gone, the focus shifts to horseracing. For most of the year it is the second class citizen of the sports arena, so for racing fans this time of year is when our knowledge of the sport comes in handy.

Here at Cat Politics we love to write about horseracing and don’t mind giving a few pointers, which are not exactly tips, but more an indication of likely winners.

This weekend Caulfield hosts a great day of racing, with three fabulous Group One races and the added attraction of Black Caviar beginning her Spring campaign.

Tomorrow she will be gunning for her 14th win in succession – matching the record of that great Aussie equine hero Pharlap. It’s history in the making. The race which all racing fans will be watching is the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes, a sprint over 1000 metres. Black Caviar will be at unbackable odds. It’s a small field of eight runners, and of course we expect Black Caviar to win. Speedy filly Karuta Queen will be trying hard, even if no match for the champ, likewise Kulgrinda, Black Caviar’s stable mate, who has not lived up to her earlier promise in her last two runs. Perhaps Peter Moody is hoping for the quinella, but may denied that by one of the other runners, NSW mare Platinum Skye for instance, who has won 10 of her 19 starts.

The feature Group One race is the Caulfield Guineas, a race for three year olds over 1600 metres. It has a superb field albeit with only eight runners, but the class of those runners is first rate. You’ve got Helmet, Smart Missile and Manawanui who all contested the Golden Rose in early September, with Manawanui the winner on that occasion. He also won his last start, the Stan Fox Stakes. Helmet redeemed his failure in the Golden Rose, by winning the Guineas Prelude in spectacular fashion by a margin of 3¼ lengths. Smart Missile, perhaps the most talented of all the previously mentioned didn’t cope with competing in open company in the Rupert Clarke Stakes, tarnishing his reputation somewhat. It’s very hard to pick the winner out of the three above, but perhaps Victorian gelding Chase The Rainbow, who has been very consistent and won very well at Moonee Valley last Friday night, will cause an upset.

The Caulfield Stakes (formerly known as the Yalumba Stakes) is the first of the Group One races on the card. It was won by So You Think last year. Run over 2000 metres it’s one for the stayers. Top pick this year is Lion Tamer who won the Victorian Derby last spring by six lengths, and also won the Underwood Stakes at his last start. The pundits seem to be spruiking At First Sight, one of Lloyd Williams’ imports, as he ran a good second to December Draw in the Turnbull Stakes last Sunday. Others with a chance are Sincero, too good to ignore, Alcopop who is going great guns this Spring and Playing God who is improving with every race. I’m also interested to see how International gallopers - here for the Melbourne Cup – Sahara Sun and Mighty High perform, in light of their prospects for the big race.

Other Internationals are running in the Group Two Herbert Power Stakes (2400 metres), most notably Bauer who ran second to Viewed in the 2008 Melbourne Cup. Moyenne Corniche and My Scotsgrey from the UK are the others.

The other Group One on the cards is the Toorak Handicap (1600 metres). The super consistent mare King’s Rose is the current favourite. She’s won her last two races including beating the boys in the Memsie Stakes. Toorak Toff, aptly named for this race, is a major threat, especially after he proved he was back to his best when winning the Rupert Clarke Stakes. Others in with a chance are Torio’s Quest, Fast Clip, Yosei and New Zealander King Mufhasa.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be out lunching with friends, but fortunately the venue boasts a TAB, so I’ll still be able to watch the races.

Next weekend the first of the big races, the Caulfield Cup is to be run, so the Spring racing season is well and truly hotting up.

Red Rumped Grass Parrot

2011-10-07T14:54:00.001+11:00

While sauntering up High Street towards Clifton Hill about an hour ago, I observed these wonderful little grass parrots, which I’ve identified as Red Rumped Grass Parrots. I had observed them in the same place – a grassy strip just next to the road – earlier this week, so took my camera with me this time just in case they were still inhabiting the area.

And there they were, totally ignoring the roaring traffic and passersby alike. They don’t fly away when you stop to look, so I was able to get a few photos of them.

A male and female together

Male parrot perched on the footpath

And just because I had my camera with me I decided to photograph the lilac bush in the front yard. It always flowers in October and the bush is a descendent of a lilac tree that grew in the backyard of a house I lived in the early 1980’s. When I left that place I planted a sucker in a pot, and eventually transplanted into the front yard of our present residence. It took about 20 years for it to produce flowers, but every October nowadays it is full of blooms and the exquisite scent floats out into the street, so you can smell it as you walk by.

Ah, the wonders of nature in springtime, even here in the suburbs.

Vale Cheng old friend

2011-10-05T16:58:00.001+11:00

We received the news this morning that an old friend had died last night. Known familiarly as Cheng Wah, his real name was Graham Taylor. I don’t know how he got his nickname but it probably had something to do with his slightly oriental appearance or maybe inscrutable expression.

I first met Cheng in September 1979 when he moved in as a tenant to a dwelling (it was the back residential section of a dress shop on a main road in Fitzroy) I was sharing with a few other people. Here’s what I wrote in my diary at the time:

We have a new tenant – an acquaintance of Ingrid, called Graham. He’s actually OK. I felt a bit apprehensive at first, but he’s assimilated well. Rather quiet and unobtrusive, a drunk and doper, he kind of fits. He has a cat (an unfriendly to other animals creature)

That was the start of a very long friendship.

His death really didn’t come as a surprise, but the sudden onset of the serious illness that caused his death, did arouse alarm and sadness in all who knew him. This only happened in the last few months, when it was discovered that he had cancer of the liver. By the time this was diagnosed, the cancer had moved to his spine, which in an alarmingly short time had paralysed him from the waist down. And if you’re thinking his death was the result of a wild lifestyle, you are only partly right. His father recently died of something similar which leads one to believe genetics had a part to play.

And although I am here mourning Cheng’s death, I am also here to celebrate his life and the part he played in it as my friend.

Of course we were old drinking buddies, part of the old Dan O’Connell Hotel social scene and Cricket Club. Cheng was the Cricket Club treasurer for many seasons, seeing as how he was the only member who could organise the funds effectively.

Which leads me to remember that he was a very intelligent guy, with a quirky sense of humour. He was an IT expert and computer whiz from the time I met him, i.e. the 1970s. When I got my first PC in 1994, it was Cheng who came round and set it up for me and showed me how to do stuff, like install software, for example.

He had an amiable temperament; was calm and good natured pretty much all the time. When I last talked to him on the phone a few weeks ago, you wouldn’t have thought that he was at death’s door from his laid back attitude. He was joking about lasting to 60. He was 52 going on 53.

After living a bachelor existence for most of his life, it wasn’t until about 11 years ago that he found a woman to settle down with. They got married and moved to Tathra on the south coast of NSW. They were very happy together and we often met up with them for lunch when Graham came to Melbourne to attend to his business as a software/network developer.

I feel very grieved for Shelly, his wife who up until the time she got together with Graham had led a very hard life, filled with disastrous choices (in partners) and other such dire situations. I can’t even begin to imagine what she must be going through at the moment. The last I heard from her, was that Graham was home with her and their beloved dog, Tangles, for Grand Final day. Graham was an avid supporter of Collingwood, so it is disappointing that they didn’t win last weekend, the last weekend of Graham’s life. I’m sure he would have liked to go out with a Pies victory on his mind.

He was always a good friend to me, ever supportive and kind. We never fell out, always the best of mates. I have many happy memories of our acquaintance and will miss his humour and sensibleness.

So Cheng, farewell. It was a great pleasure knowing you all these years and I’m heartbroken that you are gone for ever.

Muddy Valley – A Night at the Races

2011-10-02T15:35:00.001+11:00

It was unfortunate, I suppose, that my first experience of night racing at Moonee Valley was marred by the ghastly weather. It rained most of the evening, and even though it wasn’t all that cold it was unpleasantly damp. The public lawn was awash, so it was inadvisable to venture out on it if one wanted to keep one’s feet dry.

Despite the weather, it was actually quite an enjoyable evening, even if unprofitable. The highlight was the Manikato Stakes where Sepoy proved conclusively that he can handle heavy going, race in open company and had no trouble with the tricky Moonee Valley track. In fact he won the Manikato in brilliant fashion, 2.5 lengths clear of Sister Madly with More Joyous running third.

One thing I noticed about night racing that I didn’t foresee, was that it wasn’t ideal for taking photos. Perhaps it was the rain that rendered most of my photos blurry and unusable, for the lighting was certainly adequate – you can see the racetrack for miles it is so bright.

However I did manage to get a shot of Sepoy after the race, which is not ideal but sharper than the others I snapped…

…like this one of More Joyous being fitted out in her holding stall.

Fortunately my next intended visit to Moonee Valley will be on Cox Plate day, so I’m hoping then I’ll be able to get a good photo Black Caviar who will be contesting the Group 2 Schweppes Stakes.

Before that she will be resuming in the Schillaci Stakes next Saturday at Caulfield, gunning for an historic 14th consecutive win.

Spring Racing 2011 – Manikato Stakes and more…

2011-09-30T14:58:00.001+10:00

More Joyous will start her Spring campaign in the Manikato Stakes on Friday night

A whiz banger of a weekend as far as racing goes, will start with the Friday night meeting at Moonee Valley. The first of six Group One races to be competed over the weekend in various venues, the Manikato Stakes (a sprint over 1200 metres) is the feature event at the Valley. I intend to be there to witness it.

It has attracted a fabulous field, the leading lights being super Sydney mare More Joyous and top colt Sepoy - a mouth watering prospect. Pitted against these two is in form Sister Madly, the classy Kulgrinda who failed to run a place last start in the McEwan Stakes, which was won by Buffering who is also a contestant as is Atomic Force who ran third on that occasion behind Crystal Lily who tragically died suddenly of a heart attack in track work last week. Happy Zero who impressed with his looks when I saw him last at Moonee Valley is mooted as a top chance. I’ll be torn between More Joyous and Sepoy, so I hope one or other of them win. Sepoy will be competing in open company for the first time and ditto at Moonee Valley, so if he does win there can be no doubt as to his ability. Very few 3 year olds have won this race, but if any youngster was going to, Sepoy has to be the one.

The Group Two Stutt Stakes for 3 year olds over 1600 metres adds more interest to an evening of fine racing. Chase The Rainbow is the top pick in this, closely followed by Whisper Downs and Sabrage, though you’d think if I was choosing by name I’d go for Rock Musician, who on form is not totally without hope- for a place at least.

Also on the card on Friday evening is the Group Three JRA Cup a middle distance race over 2040 metres. With the scratching from this race of Rekindled Interest, Linton and Southern Speed in favour of running in the Turnbull Stakes on Sunday, the dwindled field is as open as it can be. Carnero who won me a tidy sum last time I attended the Valley, may be the one to beat, if he can run the distance. I rather fancy the Bart Cummings trained Cosmonaut who certainly should cope with 2040 metres. Domesky is favourite at the moment, but anything could win.

There’s also the Group 3 Champagne Stakes for 3 y o Fillies where Satin Shoes has a chance to redeem her recent losses. This is a much easier race for her than her last start in the McEwan Stakes, and she is the standout filly. Emerald Downs and Glissade are her main opposition, but mindful of lightly raced country track winners with hardly any form to judge, a challenge may be issued by Victoria Street or De Lilly Lightful.

The track is likely to be rated slow this evening, after a big downpour on Wednesday with further rain today threatening.

The AFL Grand Final will be dominating Victorians on Saturday, so the racing interest switches briefly to Sydney at Randwick, where a total of four Group One races is set to stir the blood of the racing fan. Flemington in Melbourne will feature the Group One Turnbull Stakes on Sunday to top it all off.

The first of the Group One races at Randwick is the Spring Champion Stakes, a 2000 metre race for 3 year olds. Top picks as far as I can work out are Darci Be Good, Rekindled Alliance, Doctor Doom, Ambidexter and Strike The Stars, who have all either won or have been the runners up recently.

The Epsom Handicap (1600 metres) has a large (16 runners) and interesting field with the likes of Sincero, who won the George Main Stakes, Pinker Pinker who is in great form, as is Foreteller despite his last run, and Pinnacles who ran second to Toorak Toff in the Rupert Clarke Stakes last Saturday. Also, as the track is likely to be heavy, one cannot discount Sacred Choice who has won in these conditions on a number of occasions.

Three year old fillies get their chance to win a Group One in the Flight Stakes (1600 metres). Top fillies like Streama who has won her last two outings, Hallowell Belle who has run three consecutive seconds, Roma Giaconda who was eye catching last week running second to Manawanui in the Stan Fox Stakes, Pane In The Glass always competitive, and New Zealand filly Dowager Queen, who may finally break through for a win in Australia, especially if the track is on the slow to heavy side.

Run over 2400 metres, The Metropolitan is a Group One race for stayers. There are 19 acceptors and Trusting , Tullamore and Lamasery appear to be the top picks with Sydney Cup winner Stand To Gain and Hawk Island maybe in with a chance.

I’m also interested in the Gimcrack Stakes, the first race on the card at Randwick on Saturday. It’s a 1000 metre race for 2 year old fillies, and one of the runners, My Shabella, is the daughter of my former favourite horse Haradasun, and is the first of his progeny to hit the track. She did very well in a trial recently and looks very promising, so I’ll be keenly watching her progress.

It has been raining in Sydney as well so tracks all round will be slow to heavy, and unpredictable results are to be expected.

In France early Monday morning our time, former Aussie champ So You Think will be contesting the Prix de L’Arc De Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris. Of course it is to be hoped that our boy can win this prestigious event.

Cat Politics Update

2011-09-21T20:53:00.001+10:00

Nothing much has changed within the household as far as the resident moggies are concerned, but the local neighbourhood feline population has mutated. These days we are surrounded by cat owners, and all the cats are female.

Normally with the arrival of Spring young Willy would be out and about and looking for a fight, or more likely encountering another male cat looking for a brawl. It’s happened every Spring that he would at some stage come home with wounds, which generally resulted in a visit to the Vet. Not so this year. I put it down to the female cats deterring visits from local males, Willy excepted.

He actually gets on quite well with the girls. Young Piccolo (Pinto) next door goes out of her way to flirt with him.

Piccolo

As for Lizzie, she seems hardly fazed by this influx of fellow lady cats – she sort of tolerates them, even Pickle who has been the bane of her life for years. Pickle and Piccolo had a falling out some months ago which resulted in the kitten having to visit the Vet for a scratched eye. It was Piccolo’s fault – she was stalking Pickle and got her comeuppance. You don’t mess with old lady cats, as she should know as she lives with one next door who is named after Simone de Beauvoir’s cat and is also a tortoiseshell. We don’t see much of her.

Pickle

Lizzie is feeling her age these days, and despite being occasionally off her food, still appears spry and healthy.

Lizzie

She and Willy coexist more or less peacefully, with very few tiffs. Willy seems to have slowed down and is much more likely to be home than out and about these days.

Willy

And the cat on the lap is of course Willy; he is my feline companion when I read in bed of a morning.

Speaking of cats and books, check out the wonderful Writers & Kitties, a blog that features photos of famous writers and their cats.

Spring Racing 2011 – Underwood Stakes & George Main Stakes

2011-09-16T19:52:00.001+10:00

Efficient (2007 Melbourne Cup winner) returns in the Underwood Stakes

A fine Spring day is forecast for the racing at Caulfield this coming Saturday. It will feature the Group One Underwood Stakes (1800 metres) and has attracted a very fine field of stayers. It’s great to see old Efficient back on the track after being out of action since his Turnbull Stakes win in October 2009. He’s top weight and isn’t expected to win; the Underwood is a sort of practice run for him.

So who are the likely chances in the Underwood? Well, Lights of Heaven who was very disappointing in the Makybe Diva Stakes, is the current favourite. It seems it was fortunate that she didn’t win the Makybe Diva Stakes as the curse has struck again with the 2011 winner Littorio’s racing career being declared over due to yet another injury. Classy New Zealand stayers Lion Tamer, who won the Victoria Derby last Spring and Scarlett Lady who won the Queensland Oaks over autumn are part of the first rate field as is Western Australian star Playing God. Throw in the consistent Heart of Dreams – he won this race in 2009 – and Maybe Diva Stakes placegetters Glass Harmonium and Midas Touch, not to mention the wonderful mare Shamrocker and you have a very interesting line up. Any of the above can win.

Rosehill in Sydney has the Group One George Main Stakes as the feature of its race card. It’s a standard WFA over 1500 metres. The top pick is Sincero who opened his Spring campaign with a win in the Tramway on September 3rd and also won the Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane over winter. Ilovethiscity winner of the Randwick Guineas in autumn could mount a challenge, though he has not shown anything like his autumn form so far this Spring. Sacred Choice is also too good to totally dismiss. Both she and Ilovethiscity will be wearing blinkers for the first time which may make all the difference to their performances.

There are several other interesting races happening on Saturday, the Group 3 Thousand Guineas Prelude at Caulfield for 3yos and the Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes at Rosehill for 3yo fillies, not to mention the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (Caulfield) for stayers desperate to qualify for the big cups, and Group 2 The Shorts (Rosehill) where I’m pleased to see the return of Love Conquers All - all worth watching in the light of what’s yet to come.

A Cool Afternoon at Moonee Valley

2011-09-11T21:05:00.001+10:00

Rekindled Interest sashed after winning the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes

The weather on Friday in Melbourne was wet, windy and cold, but it brightened considerably yesterday, so going to the races promised not to be such a bad idea after all. So forth I went, suitably garbed to weather any climatic conditions, to Moonee Valley race track.

I arrived a quarter of an hour before the fourth race, the AJS Corporation Handicap for mares, over 1200 metres, so had plenty of time to have a quick look at the parade and place a bet. I selected Irish Dream and Annlea and had $2.00 each way bets on both. Happily Irish Dream brought home the bikkies, paying quite reasonable odds of $4.80 for the win, so I got my money back and a slight profit, a successful start to the day.

Irish Dream after winning the AJS Corporation Handicap

The next race on the cards was the Spotless Handicap, over 1600 metres. The field looked uninspiring, so I had a few dollars on the top weight Philda who appeared to have likely form. Then I had a change of mind, and by a serendipitous mistake placed a bet on horse number 11. I’d actually meant to bet on number 15. Would you believe, number 11, Carnero won, after leading throughout and holding off a late charge by Extra Zero. He paid a very handsome $10.50.

Carnero after winning the Spotless Handicap

My luck changed after that, my selections in the next two races failing to run a place.

The first of the group races was Race number 6, the Group Three McEwan Stakes, a sprint over 1000 metres. I went out and cased the runners in the parade ground.

Kulgrinda who was one of my selections

Happy Zero, former champion of Singapore - a beautiful looking beast, he was my other selection.

Atomic Force who ran third

The pretty Satin Shoes

Buffering – the winner of McEwan Stakes sashed

The feature race of the day was the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes and everyone expected Whobegotyou to make it three in succession. It was not to be, as Whobe was blocked for a run when it mattered and only managed to run into third place. Rekindled Interest who I disparaged in my preview, was the winner with Alcopop running second. I had my money on Linton who uncharacteristically was forced to lead early in the race, and ended up boxed in with no place to go.

Rekindled Interest

Well, my luck had to change and it did in Race 8 , the Stocks Stakes, a Group 2 race for mares over 1600 metres. I put my money on New Zealand mare King’s Rose and she delivered, with a narrow win over Pinker Pinker with good old Lady Lynette running third. I remarked to my friend R, that the above girls were the ideal boxed trifecta. A pity I didn’t take my own advice, as the trifecta paid $38.00 which is nothing to sneeze at, despite what others may say.

Kings Rose being unsaddled after winning the Stock Stakes

I didn’t stay for the last race, so after collecting my winnings on Kings Rose, I headed home, my finances intact. I broke even on the day, so it was a cheap day out at the races.

It wasn’t all that cold at the track, though the occasional shower had racegoers running for cover, and the sun peeped out of the clouds several times.

As usual I’m on the lookout for unusual costumes. The most outrageous was this bloke in a dress, who graciously posed for the photo…

…and the Moonee Valley promotional team – a person dressed in a horse costume accompanied by two sweet young things dressed as jockeys, were handing out cards granting the recipient a free glass of sparkling wine at Legends, the gambling establishment just up the hill from Moonee Valley racecourse.

As I intend to make use of my seasons ticket, I’ll be attending my first night race on 30 September. The feature race then will be the Group 1 Manikato Stakes with the likes of Sepoy and More Joyous apparently scheduled to run in it.

Anticipation

2011-09-09T21:29:00.001+10:00

Life’s pretty dull if you haven’t got anything to look forward to. I was going to say, not worth living, but then I thought of all the people in the world who really haven’t anything to look forward to, but no doubt appreciate being alive.

I count myself fortunate that I live in a free and reasonably well off society, where there are many pleasures to relish in advance.

Such is the case at present, where I am keenly anticipating both things of a musical nature and things of a literary nature, not to mention the Spring Racing Carnival.

Ryan Adams. as I have mentioned before, is my all time favourite music artist. I’ve got all his CDs and even some memorabilia ( t-shirt and poster) and have seen him perform live five times.

I must admit I have not liked some of his music, his CD Rock N Roll for instance, but in the main I’ve loved most of them.

What I am keenly anticipating is his latest musical offering Ashes & Fire, especially after listening to a couple of tracks that are freely available on the Internet. You can listen to his first single, Lucky Now here, and watch Ryan playing an acoustic version of the title song here. They both sound really beautiful to me; Ryan Adams is back with a vengeance.

Ashes & Fire is his first solo record since he took a break from making music after his 2009 tour. So, it has been quite a wait, but judging from what I have heard so far will be well worth it.

Strangely enough, next week I am going to a concert by the similarly named artist Bryan Adams, famous for such songs as Summer of 69 and Cuts Like A Knife. Yes it’s pop, but I’m certain it will be very enjoyable, despite the horrible seat I was allocated at the booking office. People have suggested that I should yell out a request for Come Pick Me Up, one of Ryan Adams’ most requested songs, seeing as how at Ryan Adams concerts in the past, rude persons in the audience were wont to yell out “Play Summer of 69!” Of course I wouldn’t do anything of the kind.

A curious coincidence between Ryan and Bryan Adams is that they have the same birthday – 5th November, 1974 and 1959 respectively.

On the book front, I’m waiting for the publication later this month of Neal Stephenson’s new monster (in size, not subject) novel Reamde, purportedly a hi tech thriller.

You have to be somewhat nerdish to be a Neal Stephenson fan, or have the patience and fortitude to read through 1000 plus pages of a novel. But Stephenson generally fills those 1000 plus pages with cool stuff, and he has a racy style of writing that has you turning the pages excitedly. He also explains complex ideas with engaging simplicity.

I have a shelf of Neal Stephenson novels in hard cover. They’re all pretty hefty tomes, but look impressive lined up together. I’ll have to clear a 60mm space to fit Reamde in alongside.

As well as having Reamde on pre-order, I’ve also placed orders for the new Haruki Murakami novel 1Q84, apparently Murakami’s masterpiece and his take on Orwell’s 1984, due out in October, and the new Umberto Eco novel The Prague Cemetery, which is due in November.

I purchased all the above books, redeeming a gift voucher I received from my brother for my birthday. I regard it as a good haul and will have the pleasure of anticipating new exciting books for the next three or so months.

I’m also still waiting – after six years – for the publication of the 25th Anniversary edition of Little, Big by John Crowley. Whether it will be published this year is up in the air. I’m not holding my breath.

Spring Racing 2011 – The Golden Rose Stakes

2011-09-08T19:39:00.001+10:00

Whobegotyou after winning the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes 2009

The first Group One race of the 2011 racing season is to run at Rosehill on Saturday, namely the Golden Rose Stakes, a million dollar, 1400 metre race for three year olds. It has only attracted six starters, composed of three colts and three geldings, no fillies. Smart Missile will no doubt start as favourite, considering his recent stunning, come from behind win, in the Run to The Rose. On that occasion he beat Foxwedge by a neck with Helmet 1.3 lengths away in third spot. So, these three you would think are the top picks, but actually there are two others, Manawanui and Aeronautical, who have not raced against the aforementioned, but have excellent winning form that may tell at the winning post. It’s a field big on quality if not quantity.

At Moonee Valley on Saturday the feature race is the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes formerly known as the Feehan. It is a Group Two, 1600 metre standard WFA competition and regarded as a Cox Plate preview.

Whobegotyou won this race in 2009 and again in 2010. Can he score the hat trick this year? He started his Spring campaign with a good win in the PB Lawrence Stakes a month ago, so is very likely to make history with a third victory in the Dato Tan and is the short priced favourite, naturally. The competition is not much chop and the likeliest challengers are Linton who I witnessed winning at Moonee Valley back in 2010 over the same distance, Alcopop who recently signalled his return to form winning the Penny Edition Stakes at Morphettville, Spacecraft who has also won over the distance at this track. The mystery horse Unusual Suspect, a former American galloper, could surprise us all. And I suppose I should mention Rekindled Interest who is in the second line of betting, though looking at his form, I’m not sure why.

There are a couple of other Group Two and Three races at Moonee Valley on Saturday, firstly the McEwen Stakes, a Group 3 sprint over 1000 metres. It has first rate field that includes former Singapore speedster Happy Zero, Atomic Force and Shrapnel both last start winners. But the most interesting runners in the field are classy mares Crystal Lily who has been the bridesmaid to Black Caviar on two occasions, and also won the 2010 Golden Slipper, Kulgrinda, a super sprinting mare from the Peter Moody stable, who won at Moonee Valley when I last attended, and the tough filly Satin Shoes who won the Quezette Stakes against her own age group back in August, but may be outclassed in this race despite her weight advantage.

The Group Two Stock Stakes, also over 1600 metres for mares, is also worth a look. King’s Rose, the former champion New Zealander who won the Memsie Stakes a few weeks ago, is the top contender. She’s up against the likes of Pinker Pinker who scored a nice victory last weekend in the Let’s Elope Stakes, and old Lady Lynette who occasionally cracks a win, but will most likely be outclassed in this.

I intend to go to Moonee Valley on Saturday to witness the above events. Hopefully my luck will have improved from my last visit. The weather is likely to be pretty awful, cold and wet - a return to winter. Who knows what the track conditions will be like - dead or slow I assume. If slow, anything could happen.

Currawong and Cat

2011-09-07T20:12:00.001+10:00

I witnessed the most extraordinary thing this evening involving a Currawong and a cat. The cat was Pinto aka Piccolo, (her owners address her by both) an adolescent tortoiseshell cat who lives next door.

She was in our back garden, prowling around as is her wont, when all of sudden I noticed her having a go at a Currawong as it swooped over her head. The bird landed in the fig tree and sat there a while before launching itself once more, swooping on the cat then soaring up onto the fence opposite. Pinto being a feisty young thing, chased it and leapt for it in vain.

Then the bird did it all again as if it was a game. This continued for some time, the cat running after the bird, with the bird swooping deliberately low over the cat, from fence to fence, from fence to tree, until the cat lost concentration, whereon the Currawong flew off.

Pied Currawong

For those who don’t know what a Currawong is, they are a largish black and white native bird with a jolly, melodious call. There is also a grey type and a solid black type. You don’t see them much in the city, but they’re quite prevalent in rural areas and put on a deafening morning chorus of chortles and trills.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera handy when all this was going on. Besides, I couldn’t tear myself away from this amazing scene, watching the behaviour of these two creatures. It reminded me of that video that was making news some months ago of the owl and cat playing together.

Detective Fiction

2011-09-06T15:07:00.001+10:00

Crime fiction is one of the literary genres in which I dip my nose quite regularly.

Recently I was contemplating how varied and wide ranging are the locations and historical eras in which detective fiction is set. You have series of them set in the oddest places, like Nazi Germany in the case of the Berlin Noir novels of Philip Kerr, Vespasian’s Rome in the Falco series by Lindsey Davis, Bombay in the Inspector Ghote novels of HRF Keating, Amsterdam in Jan Willem van de Wetering’s wonderful Grijpstra and de Gier novels, Medieval England in Ellis Peter’s Brother Cadfael Chronicles, and so on.

This train of thought came as a result of a book I received recently for my birthday. It was Killed at the Whim of A Hat by Colin Cotterill, an author I had not previously encountered.

Was I in for a surprise! Killed At The Whim Of A Hat is a delightful book. It’s an unusual crime novel set in Thailand which is where the author resides.

The heroine as described by the author is Jimm Juree…”a feisty Thai lady journalist with relatives that make the Adams family look like Alexander McCall Smith characters”

Colin Cotterill does write his books in the above tone, so they’re humorous and witty. For instance, there are quotes from George W Bush at beginning of each chapter, which are strangely relevant.

As well as being entertaining, Killed At The Whim Of A Hat is also a first rate crime mystery.

The book was my introduction to the detective fiction of Colin Cotterill.

Why haven’t I read him before!

Colin Cotterill, I have discovered, is best known for his Doctor Siri series of detective novels that are set in Laos in the mid 1970s, shortly after the Communist takeover of the country. Dr Siri Paiboun’s investigations start in The Coronor’s Lunch, which of course I hastened to acquire (in ebook format) as soon as I’d finished Killed At The Whim Of A Hat.

When we first meet him in The Coronor’s Lunch, Dr Siri is a 72 year old former communist rebel, who is appointed by the new ruling party as State Coroner because he is the last doctor in Laos. This honour, Dr Siri is none too keen to accept, having a yearning for retirement after years of struggle and hardship in the jungle. However he does assume the responsibilities of the position and undertakes post mortem investigations with the help of his staff of two, an odd pair who are Nurse Dtui, who wishes to advance her learning, and Mr Geung a simple fellow who knows the ropes in the mortuary, despite his mental deficiency.

Dr Siri however is not one to toe the line; he is curious, curmudgeonly and also blessed, or cursed, with an unusual ability to see the dead, who provide him with pointers and clues in his crime investigations.

There are seven books in the Dr Siri series to date, with an eighth to be published later this year, so I intend to read all of them. In fact, they’re addictive.

I really like Colin Cotterill’s jaunty style, and his ability to create endearing, all too human characters. It’s refreshing to find a novelist with such a light touch. That doesn’t mean there’s no violence or horror within the novels; in fact you get quite a bit of action along with a touch of the supernatural, and cliff hanger chapter endings. Also you learn quite a bit about the history and folk lore of Laos, which I admit I had not previously bothered to inform myself of.

Highly recommended if you like entertaining novels set in unusual locations, or even if you just enjoy a good page turning read.

Also check out Colin Cotterill’s website – it’s great fun and he’s also a talented cartoonist.

Spring Is Here – The Makybe Diva Stakes

2011-09-02T14:09:00.001+10:00

Maluckyday resumes in the Chelmsford Stakes

Another fine day of racing to look forward to this Saturday at both Flemington and Warwick Farm with a number of intriguing Group Two competitions on the cards.

First among them is the Makybe Diva Stakes, a WFA race over 1600 metres. Most of the acceptances are tried and true stayers, but the ones that interest me the most are *Maluckyday, who is finally starting his build up to the big Spring cups in this. He was disappointing in the autumn, but Spring might the season where he finally finds his form. Lights of Heaven, is another. She resumed in the Lawrence (Liston) Stakes three weeks ago with a narrow second to Whobegotyou after being badly hampered in the straight, and will be out to redeem her record and at this distance could well win. Also in with a chance is the Western Australian Horse of the Year, Playing God. He kicked off his Spring campaign in the Goodwood at Belmont, running a very creditable second. Also worth consideration is Glass Harmonium, and Littorio, a good horse in his day – he won the BMW back in April 2010 - might scrape a place. There’s somewhat of a hoodoo on this race in that, in the previous 25 runnings, only 4 horses (Northerly, Sky Heights, Marble Halls & Weekend Hussler) have managed to win another race in the carnival following success in this race. Still, jinxes are there to be overcome, and an outstanding performer will do so.

* Maluckyday was nominated for both the Makybe Diva and the Chelmsford. He will now start in the Chelmsford Stakes in Sydney.

We welcome back star colt Sepoy in the Danehill Stakes, a race for 3yos over 1200 metres. It’s pretty well a forgone conclusion that he will repeat his winning performance in the Vain Stakes three weeks ago. His only defeat so far in his career was in the Manfred Stakes in autumn when he was pipped at post by Smart Missile. Smart Missile proved last weekend that the Manfred Stakes win wasn’t a fluke with a stunning victory in the Run to the Rose, beating Foxwedge and Helmet. Whether we’ll ever see Smart Missile and Sepoy head to head again is uncertain. Sepoy will be restricted to sprint races, whereas Smart Missile is Golden Rose and Guineas bound.

The Group Two Let’s Elope Stakes for mares over 1400 metres, has classy field of well credentialed mares like Brazilian Pulse, Parables, Mid Summer Music, Zaira, Pinker Pinker etc. Mid Summer Music has won her last two starts and is the obvious pick, despite a query over the distance, along with Parables, who will be out to avenge her defeat by Mid Summer Music in the Cockram Stakes two or so weeks ago.

Bel Sprinter, so far unbeaten in his short four race career, adds interest to the Group 3 Bobby Lewis Quality. Can he do it again? It’s a much tougher field than he has faced before, with a number of Group One winners also entered. For instance Toorak Toff, who won the 2010 Golden Rose, though admittedly not much since, Coolmore winner Aloha , three time Group One winner, Yosei and other smart sprinters like Dubleanny and Response.

The Sydney meeting was originally scheduled to be run at Randwick, but it has been switched to Warwick Farm due to safety concerns in relation to the grandstand roof.

The feature race is the Group Two Chelmsford Stakes, a standard WFA race over 1600 metres. The surprise import of the autumn, My Kingdom of Fife resumes in this. He will be hard to beat as he goes well fresh. Old trouper Black Piranha may be in with a chance, and if the track is heavy Sacred Choice may race better than she did last start.

Last spring’s star performer, So You Think, has his fourth start in the Northern Hemisphere in the Irish Champion Stakes early Sunday morning our time, so it’ll all be interesting to see how he fares – i.e. by how many lengths he will win.

And Black Caviar is the feature of Australian Story on ABC TV on Monday night. It is the first time, in the history of the program, that a non human is the subject of a story. Click the link to view the preview.

On the subject of Black Caviar, she now has a website and - believe it or not - a blog, which is highly amusing.

Spring is in the air – The Memsie Stakes

2011-08-25T19:59:00.001+10:00

Shamrocker resumes in the Group 2 Memsie Stakes – photo by Michael Dodge source Daily Telegraph

For the past week, the weather in Melbourne has been kind – warm and sunny, though it is expected to cool off by the weekend. Not much rain is predicted, so the course at Caulfield on Saturday should be spot on and good for an interesting race card.

The Group 2 Memsie Stakes (1400 metres, WFA) is the feature event and the field has a quality field of stayers and a few middle distance runners, several of them resuming for the Spring. Notably, Shamrocker, who won the Rosehill Guineas and the AJC (Sydney) Derby in the autumn, will kick off her spring campaign in this race. 1400 metres is a little too short for her, but it will be interesting to see how she goes.

Other favourites of mine resuming, are Linton, who acquitted himself well in the autumn running second to Shocking in the Australian Cup and third to the recently deceased Cedarberg in the BMW, and Heart of Dreams, getting on now, but a quality WFA galloper who could well be in the finish. It’s a wide open race as far as picking the winner, but the in form Rekindled Interest and Prince Obama may be the ones to beat. The mystery runner is the former New Zealand trained mare, King’s Rose who has now joined the Peter Moody stable and is highly thought of within racing circles.

The other race of interest at Caulfield is the Group 3 McNeil Stakes – a race for 3yos over 1200 metres. A good field of smart youngsters have accepted. There’s Golden Archer who ran second to Sepoy in the Vain Stakes a fortnight ago, gutsy filly Satin Shoes who narrowly won the Quezette Stakes from Metonymy who is also part of the field and may turn the tables on her this time. Others of interest are Do You Think, beaten by the classy Helmet in the Sires Produce Stakes in April, the beautifully bred Decircles, a last start winner albeit on a country racetrack, and the aptly named Vatican (Gods Own – Our Sistine).

The Group 3 Run To the Rose is the feature race at Rosehill in Sydney on Saturday. For 3yos and run over 1200 metres, it witnesses the return of classy colts Helmet and Smart Missile as well as last start San Domenico Stakes winner Fox Wedge and Karuta Queen who ran third in that race. The resumption of Smart Missile is the most anticipated. He is the only horse to have beaten Sepoy, which he did by a short margin in the Manfred Stakes back in March on a bog track. Helmet has won his last three starts and is obviously a very talented youngster. He almost blew his chances in the Champagne Stakes, by veering wildly when reacting to the tap of a whip in the final stages of the race, but still managed to win.

As well as the above races on Australian turf, over the Tasman several New Zealand bred Spring contenders will be contesting the Mafki Challenge Stakes at Hastings, so is of interest in terms of the big races yet to come. The ripper field includes Mufhasa, Jimmy Choux, Lion Tamer, Wall Street and Scarlett Lady, all familiar names from the autumn, most of them with Group wins in Australia under their belts.

It’s still two weeks until the first Group One race (Golden Rose) of the season, but as fields build in quality, the excitement continues to rise accordingly.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

2011-08-24T14:24:00.001+10:00

I keep forgetting how much I admire the writing style of Julian Barnes, but as soon as I start one of his books it all comes back; how enjoyable they are to read.

It was thus I began this latest of his novels, The Sense of an Ending yesterday; a few pages into the novel, I recognised its quality and relished the thought that there were many more pages to go.

Not that many, actually, as it is a short novel of 150 pages. A lot is packed into those 150 pages, as the narrator Anthony Webster, a 60 something divorcee, recalls certain events in his life, after receiving an odd legacy from the mother of one of his old girlfriends.

The predominant theme of the novel is memory – its trustworthiness or rather its fallibility and how liable a person is for the actions of their life in relation to other people. Theories of history also play a part in the novel, in terms of truth and reliable reportage of facts.

Despite the novel being written from a male point of view I found myself identifying with it, being at that 60 something age myself. However, in my case, I smugly thought, I have a record I can refer to in my diaries, which I kept for 20 years or so.

I mean to reread them at some stage, not to vicariously relive my youth, but to clarify my memory of times past. It could be very embarrassing, reading one’s callow youthful thoughts, but then again it might be enlightening and finally force me to decide whether to retain them for future generations or destroy them.

Sorry to get off the track, but perhaps the protagonist of Barnes’ novel would have benefitted from keeping a journal.

Be that as it may, of all the Booker long list novels I have so far read, The Sense of an Ending strikes me as a likely winner of the prize. It has a maturity and quality quite lacking in the others, which were entertaining and well written, but hardly prize winners.

Chock Full of Country Goodness – The Amazing Rhythm Aces

2011-08-23T16:01:00.001+10:00

A rare event and a fabulous band, The Amazing Rhythm Aces took to the stage at Basement Discs at lunchtime today.

Led by Russell Smith, the Aces are an excellent US country/blues/ rock band with a highly distinctive sound, characterised by Russell Smith’s great vocals. He’s also an excellent song writer, famous for the classic Third Rate Romance (Low Rent Rendezvous) and many other songs.

Today he had a long set list to choose from, but he claimed that he knew the words to all of his songs, so didn’t really need it and proved it conclusively. We got The End Is Not In Sight, The King Is In His Castle, Midnight Communion, Della’s Long Brown Hair and of course Third Rate Romance.

I last had the pleasure of seeing the Aces back in 1997 at the (late lamented) Continental Cafe, so it was great to renew my acquaintance with their music.

The current line up for the Australian tour is Russell Smith (guitar, vocals), Billy Earheart (keyboards) Kelvin Holly (guitar, harmonies) Fred James (bass) and Mike Dillon (drums).

Check them out on My Space and give them a listen.

Books – Currently Reading

2011-08-22T20:27:00.001+10:00

I seem to have consumed a great many books over the winter, the last few weeks being especially intensive.

The Booker long list was announced on 26 July, and I noted at the time that I had not read a single one. Normally there are one or two that are worth looking at, even if they don’t make it to the short list, let alone win the prize. I‘m often baffled by the selection of the winner, last year’s winner, for instance, The Finkler Question, which I got around to reading after the award was announced, and subsequently loathed, though I loved the 2009 winner Wolf Hall.

This year’s long list seems diverse and interesting, so I decided to give some of them a go, my stricture being that they must be available in ebook format and be appealing in one way or another to my taste. Normally I would only get around to reading a small selection of the Booker list, as the expense of buying books in Australia is prohibitive and besides, half the list is not available here at all.

The Kindle comes to rescue again, so this year I can sample those books on the long list available in ebook format at less than half the cost of a regular book.

So far I’ve read three of the long list; a seafaring tale, a western and a Victorian mystery thriller set around horse racing. All were very different and all were entertaining and interesting to read.

The seafaring tale is Carol Birch’s Jamrach’s Menagerie, narrated by Jaffy Brown, who opens the novel with the following statement:

I was born twice. First in a wooden room that jutted out over the black waters of the Thames, and then again eight years later in the Highway, when a tiger took me in his mouth and everything truly began.

Jaffy’s adventures, after being saved from the tiger by Jamrach of the title, and given a job as yardman and animal carer in the menagerie, eventually take him to sea in quest of a dragon. The voyage ends in shipwreck and what follows thereafter is one of the most harrowing reading experiences I have ever undergone. Towards the end of the book Jaffy recaps his life as follows:

One way or another I suppose you could say that voyage was the making of me. I’d have been a yardboy. Is that what it was all for? To make of me the man I am now? Is God mad? Is that it? Stuck between a mad God and merciless nature? What a game.

Believe me, it’s a remarkable book, powerfully written – a tale of high adventure and survival after unimaginable hardship.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick De Witt is a picaresque Western yarn set during the Californian gold rush period. The story is narrated by Eli Sisters who along with his brother Charlie are famous gunslingers feared throughout the west. They are hired by a man called the Commodore to seek out and destroy a prospector named Herman Kermit Warms.

Eli’s narrative follows the brothers journey from Oregon to San Francisco, and their encounters along the way, which often end in bloodshed.

However the book has more depth than at first appears, and is darkly funny. Eli’s voice is matter of fact, laconic and deadpan, and he often muses on his career as a gunslinger and his wish to get out of the business, settle down and open a trading post. I won’t spoil the ending, but if you liked True Grit or the Coen Brothers movies, this book will probably appeal.

With my fondness for horse racing, I suppose it’s obvious why I should find Derby Day by D.J. Taylor appealing.

Horse racing during the Victorian period is in fact the focus of this novel.

The book is more an intrigue than a mystery, with various characters from both high and low life all scheming for a result on Derby Day. And there are a few murders to be investigated as well. None of the characters are particularly attractive or likeable, personality wise, but the complex plot, and the wheeling and dealing on the part of various characters, keep one interested to the end, which naturally concludes with the running of the race at Epsom. The hero of the novel, if there is one, is the racehorse Tiberius. Whether he wins the Derby or not, I’m not letting on.

Though I wouldn’t go so far as to say any of the above novels will the Booker Prize, I found them all enjoyable, though I am not inspired enough by the writing to seek out other novels written by any of the above authors. I plan to read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes next, just as soon as I can download it onto my Kindle and will probably read The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers, as it is a dystopian novel, and has been compared to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and P D James’ Children of Men, both of which books I love.

An afternoon at the races

2011-08-21T20:57:00.001+10:00

Kneeling, posing for photos after winning the Crockett Stakes

It being a bright and sunny Spring day, yesterday I decided to attend the race meeting at Moonee Valley. I’ve recently purchased a season’s ticket (very good value for $95.00) so will probably attend more often than has been my want in the past.

Let’s hope I’m luckier next time which will be on September 10, as I came out the loser yesterday, though only bet very modestly, so didn’t lose all that much.

I arrived at the course just before Race 5, the Crockett Stakes which was a race for 3 year old fillies over 1200 metres. I had my money on Hallowell Belle, who ran second to Kneeling.

Hallowell Belle being guided to the barrier stalls by Sub Zero (winner of the 1992 Melbourne Cup).

The next race was the Nissen McKenzie Stakes a 1200 metres sprint for colts and geldings. I decided to back Niconoise, half brother to group winners Niconero and Nicconi, who showed great promise in his only start .

The race was won by outsider Amah Rock, like Niconoise, having only his second start, scraping into the field as first emergency after several scratchings.

Amah Rock after winning the Nissen McKenzie.

Race 7, hoping to recoup my loss on Niconoise I decided to go for Lone Rock, the class mare in the race, who was at good odds. However, she missed out on a place, the short price favourite Kulgrinda winning easily from Happy Angel and Morgan Dollar.

Kulgrinda after winning the Printhouse Graphics Stakes

Despite not having much luck in betting, it was a pleasant day to be out in the sunshine watching thoroughbred racehorses strut their stuff. I left after Race 7, catching the sleepy No 506 bus home.

The meeting on September 10th will have better quality races on the cards, notably the so called Cox Plate preview Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (Feehan Stakes). Can Whobegotyou win it for a third time?

Last photo is of trainers Danny O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh having a smoke and chat outside the holding stalls.

Don Walker – Quality with a Capital Q

2011-08-19T20:34:00.001+10:00

Today’s well attended in-store at Basement Discs starred former Cold Chisel lyricist and keyboard player, Don Walker. He is the man who wrote the famous Chisel songs Choir Girl, Khe Sanh, Saturday Night, Flame Trees, etc. etc. He is recognized as one of Australia’s best song writers and he sang some fine examples today, starting with the bluesy Angry Women, following that with Postcard from Elvis – both fabulous songs – and several more, closing with the raunchy Yakuza Girls.

I must admit I have not paid any attention to Don Walker’s solo career, so was mightily impressed by his performance today. He was accompanied by his current band The Suave Fucks (described as "all songs and no database") who provided very tasteful backing to his wonderful songs. They included Charlie Owen and several other familiar musicians whose names escape me.

The artist he most reminded me of was Texas singer/songwriter supremo Guy Clark; Don Walker’s songs have that same quality of literacy and cleverness with words. Like Guy Clark his songs tell great stories that reel out like a movie in your brain.

A truly excellent quality half hour of music, which had to be seen to be believed.

Don Walker is also the author of acclaimed memoir Shots

Eagle & The Worm – Woo Hoo!

2011-08-12T21:25:00.001+10:00

Melbourne is acknowledged to be the live music capital of Australia, and it seems to me that new bands are emerging from the cracks in the pavement at a remarkable rate.

Witness today, the live in store at Basement Discs, where new local band Eagle & The Worm – all eight of them – performed a lively half hour of music promoting their debut CD/Vinyl Good Times.

Band members are Jarrad Brown, Richard Bradbeer, Jim Lawrie, Joe Cope, Michael Hubbard, Emily Mould, Ross Beaton, Liam McGorry, but don’t ask me to identify who is who, except Emily (obviously), who plays trombone, or how they came by their unusual band name.

And their music? Well, it was loud as you’d expect, but really joyful and fun. I heard snatches of The Cars, the Beatles, The Beach Boys in the mix, so I’d say it was playful pop and it was played and sung with verve.

Being an eight piece outfit, they obviously didn’t fit onto the tiny Basement stage, so here’s a photo of the brass section.

I missed writing about last Friday’s Basement Discs in-store, when another talented group of Melbourne musicians calling themselves Brothers Grim and The Blue Murders, showcased their debut CD, A Year To Forget. They describe themselves as “…four Blues Hounds reviving 20's blues, in an unwholesome, moon howling, sweat dripping, groin shaking fervor. It's been loosely described as... "Unwholesome sex voodoo delta blues-a-billy" or "Howlin' Wolf in an AC/DC T-shirt on too much cocaine"”

Notwithstanding their excellent interpretation of blues , you’d feel tempted to buy the CD for the cover alone – I love it!

Next Friday Don Walker (Cold Chisel) takes the Basement stage, then on Tuesday 23rd August The Amazing Rhythm Aces, a great band from the USA will be performing an in-store.

Spring Racing Carnival Warm Up

2011-08-11T19:40:00.001+10:00

Sepoy resumes this Saturday in the Vain Stakes

Though Spring is not in the air in Melbourne at present, this week being a particularly dreary and wintry one, there’s a lot to look forward to in the racing scene this weekend, which is sure to add sparkle to my Saturday afternoon.

There are two choice Group 3 competitions, one at Caulfield and one at Rosehill, and also the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (formerly the Liston Stakes) at Caulfield and several interesting listed races.

Several of the stars of autumn begin their Spring campaigns, most notably champion two-year-old, Sepoy, who starts off his three-year-old season in the listed Vain Stakes. It’s run over 1100 metres, so easy going for the youngsters. Sepoy should win this if he’s half the horse we think he is, despite the hoodoo on Slipper winners in the race. His only competition as far as I can see will come from Golden Archer from the Peter Moody stable.

The Quezette Stakes is the fillies equivalent of the Vain Stakes and it’s good see the reappearance of classy fillies from the autumn, such as Satin Shoes, Glissade and Golden Slipper runner up Mosheen, Also in with a pretty good chance are the so far unbeaten Cute Emily, and the lesser credentialed Metonymy who both are trained by the in form Peter Moody.

Whobegotyou returns to the turf after a long absence in the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (1400 metres) and could well win it. But I will be most interested to see how unbeaten mare Lights of Heaven performs in this, her first race in open company. A number of imported stayers are having a practice run in this race, so they are not really expected to win over 1400 metres, but Absolutely, the only other mare in the race, who finished second behind Lights Of Heaven in the South Australian Oaks, and won the Sydney Oaks on a bog track back in April, could be in the finish if the track is on the slow side.

The Group Two Cockram Stakes over 1200 metres is a race for mares and sees the return of Victorian Oaks winner Brazilian Pulse, Sydney mare Parables and the talented South Australian mare Southern Speed. Lady Lynette, now a seven year old could surprise, as could Pinker Pinker, but fitness may favour Bletchingly Stakes winner Mid Summer Music and the runner up Rue Maple. Whatever, it will be an interesting race to watch.

Rosehill hosts the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes, a race for three-year-olds over 1100 metres. Magic Millions winner Karuta Queen resumes in this as does the wonderfully named Hollyweird, and as far as the fillies go, are two of the top chances. Of the colts Foxwedge and Fontelina look the likeliest if they can beat the fillies.

Melbourne Museum & Tutankhamun Exhibition

2011-08-03T21:00:00.001+10:00

I have not been to Melbourne Museum for ages, not since the new building, constructed during the Kennett years, opened in 2000. I remember the occasion vividly as I’d had a tooth extracted in the morning and met friends at the Museum afterwards. I was somewhat dazed by the novocaine, but tottered around the museum, lingering longest at the Pharlap exhibit. In my student days I often visited his mounted hide at the old museum in Latrobe Street, so it was like greeting an old acquaintance.

Anyway that was not why it was so memorable. After leaving the museum on this occasion, I ambled towards home, via Smith Street in order to drop into the Smith Street TAB outlet and cash my winnings from the Melbourne Cup. Brew won that year and paid very handsomely. It was Oaks day, so I decided to reinvest some of my winnings on an Oaks trifecta. Still under the influence of novocaine, I dreamily chose three likely fillies. I stayed to watch the race, and blow me down, my trifecta was a winner, and paid a dividend of $650.00 when outsider Lovelorn romped home. My best win ever on the horses, considering my modest outlay.

Back to the present…

Melbourne today was bright and sunny with a temperature of 22°C, so sandals and tee-shirts were the go, as off I tripped to the museum, arriving in plenty of time for my pre-booked session at 12.30pm.

Today was seniors day, which I deliberately chose as there was less likelihood of school children swarming in droves and cluttering up the exhibition space. My logic was spot on and my fellow attendees were generally in the older person category.

You have to queue behind a rope until you can enter, and then are presented with a video introduction, briefly outlining the historical period etc. Then the doors are opened and a light shines on a statue of Tutankhamun (something like the picture below).

Christ, I thought, I hope it’s not going to be dark all the way through. But my fears were unjustified, though the lighting in general was subdued, to enhance the atmosphere and highlight the ancient wonders of Egypt on display.

The exhibition, though principally revolving around the boy king, dedicated several rooms to his forebears. The mummy cases of Queen Tjuyu and Amenhotep III were both on show. In case you don’t know, which I didn’t, these two were Tutakhamun’s grand parents. Below is the funerary mask of Queen Tjuyu.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti were also covered. There was an exquisite carving of Nefertiti, which unfortunately was not available as a postcard.

After moving through the several rooms dedicated to Tut’s forebears, finally you reach the boy king’s realm. Most of the displays were of the artefacts found in the tomb. I was really taken with a small chair, simply ornamented in ebony and ivory, with lion’s feet (including claws), and a carving of a panther.

I must admit the workmanship on all the artefacts was first class and very beautiful. Below is funerary jar with lion recumbent.

There were about five rooms devoted to Tutankhamun, though it was disappointing that not one of his mummy cases was part of the exhibition.

It took about two hours to work through all the rooms, if you took the time to read the notes on each of the display cases. And as a bonus, I was able to recognise Tutankhamun’s two names in cartouche’s after watching a video lesson that was playing on the wall in one of the rooms.

It was an interesting and fascinating exhibition and I’m glad I took the effort to go, but I think the Art of Vienna show at the Gallery was better overall.

Sacred Spring Redux– the return of Group Racing

2011-07-30T20:48:00.001+10:00

A page from my old scrapbook – Even Stevens

Well, some people may not think it is all that sacred, but the Group Three Bletchingly Stakes, that was run at Caulfield today, marks the beginning of the Spring racing season for me . Last year it was won by my old favourite Shoot Out. Unfortunately he will not be part of the carnival this year as he has been suffering from lower back problems and will be spelled until next autumn to enable him to recover.

This year’s version was won by Peter Moody trained mare Midsummer Music, who fought out the finish with fellow mare Rue Maple.

And it was good to see Altius, the little half brother of Elvstroem and Haradasun, start his season off with an impressive win in the first at Rosehill today.

August 1st is the official birthday of southern hemisphere race horses , and also marks the beginning of the season.

Horses to watch

Black Caviar – we won’t see her race again until later in the season, but will certainly look forward to it. Unfortunately the anticipated clash with Singapore sprinting star Rocket Man in the Patinack Farm Classic will not eventuate. Also her closest rival in Australia Hay List will not race this spring, due to a pernicious leg infection that was ongoing for several months. Last news was that he was recovering – let’s sincerely hope so.

Sepoy – the star two year old of the autumn season, winner of the Blue Diamond/ Golden Slipper double, is apparently due to begin his three year old campaign shortly in Melbourne. His only defeat came at the hooves of Smart Missile, who will also be resuming shortly, after missing the Golden Slipper due to an injury.

Shamrocker and Scarlett Lady – dominant staying fillies of the Sydney autumn and Queensland winter season , are expected to be in there with a chance come Caulfield Cup time. It’s about time a mare won one or both of the big staying races; it’s now six years since Makybe Diva won her third Melbourne Cup.

Lights of Heaven – another of Peter Moody’s star performers and a staying mare at that. Very much looking forward to her return.

Also watch for New Zealand stayers Jimmy Choux, Lion Tamer and Western Australians Playing God and Dreamaway.

Actually WA has a classy sprinter called Barakey his trainer declares as being better than Hay List. Whether we’ll see him on the east coast is a matter of conjecture.

I’m sure I’ve missed some up and comers and no doubt there will be more to emerge this spring, but I’m also keen for the return of More Joyous, Maluckday, Enjin Number 9 and Love Conquers All.

Anyway the build up begins, and my interest is reignited. Not that it really ever goes away as I always check the racing news daily.

Sacred Spring – Vienna - Art & Design

2011-07-27T15:14:00.002+10:00

Yesterday B and I ventured forth to visit the National Gallery of Victoria Winter Masterpiece Exhibition, which this year features the art and design of Vienna from the late 19th Century to the early 20th Century, with such artists & designers as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Josef Hoffmann, Otto Wagner and Koloman Moser being among the major exhibits.

Although I have loved Klimt’s art since the early 1970s when I first became aware of it, I admit to being somewhat ignorant of the period in which he worked. This is despite the fact that I possess in my personal library a book called The Sacred Spring – The Arts in Vienna 1898 - 1918 which perfectly covers the period and art of the exhibition today. I’ve looked at the pictures of course, but not read the commentary.

Anyway, today my ignorance was addressed and I emerged from the exhibition immensely impressed with the stylishness of the period and with a sounder knowledge of how it all came to be.

There were quite a few paintings by Klimt – both portraits and landscapes and also a replica of his Beethoven Frieze painting, a feature of the Secession Hall in Vienna. It was thrilling to see his pictures in person, like this portrait of his long time companion and muse Emilie Flöge.

and this portrait of Fritza Reidler

Egon Schiele’s paintings were also featured. I love this self portrait of his young self – he looks very cool and quirky.

and this portrait of a boy dressed in Japanese costume. (Schiele, like many other artists in the period was heavily influenced by Japanese art)

As well as paintings, the exhibition covered architecture, furniture, and design. This was where the exhibition really shone. The items on display were exquisite examples of the period – surprisingly modern- and rivalled the Art Deco exhibition of a couple of years ago.

For instance, this wonderful reproduction of the Die Zeit facade designed by Otto Wagner. The picture below does not do it justice. It is a marvel of metal (aluminium) and glass.

There was a video of the interior of the building – it was beautifully light and kind of retro space age . Below are a few of the furnishings, also designed by Wagner. I really dug the warm air diffuser.

The surprise discovery of exhibition for me was the design work of Koloman Moser. Multi skilled, he designed furniture, tableware, jewellery, posters and textiles and also was a painter – his self portrait is below.

Moser textile designs

Poster for 13th Secession by Moser

Also impressive was the design of Josef Hoffmann, who like Moser and Wagner was multi skilled in a number of disciplines. He and Moser founded the Wiener Werkstätte, which brought together architects, artists and designers whose first commitment was to design art which would be accessible to everyone.

Below are two of Josef Hoffman’s tableware items – a mustard pot and a set of cutlery.

A great many of the artists and designers on display were members of the Vienna Secession which was formed in 1897, and represented a break away group of artists, seceding from the conservative Vienna Kunstlerhaus. The Secession group held many exhibitions in their own building constructed by Joseph Maria Olbrich.

The exhibition displayed quite a few of the posters advertising the exhibitions. The one below was one of my favourites, though all of them were stunning, design wise.

Needless to say we emerged from the exhibition, after wandering through it for two hours, our minds blown by what we had seen. It was a fabulous and eye opening show of extraordinary brilliance.

The pictures above are mostly scans of postcards I purchased, as is my habit, at the Gallery shop, or from the program.

Next week I’m going to the Tutankhamen exhibition at Melbourne Museum.

The Ukeladies – Sunny Music for a Winter’s Day

2011-07-08T20:47:00.001+10:00

Amanda Roff & Maylise Dent – The Ukeladies

Now you don’t often , if ever, hear calypso music these days, but today at Basement Discs, The Ukeladies played an enchanting set, redolent of sun, sand and tropical island paradises. Yes, they’ve rediscovered Harry Belafonte and even performed his songs Island In The Sun and Angelina.

I was amazed I still remembered this music as in my childhood in the 1950s - no doubt like others of my generation - we had a Harry Belafonte record which we loved, especially The Banana Boat Song – so good to sing along to.

To get back to The Ukeladies, they originated as an harmony, ukulele duo composed of childhood friends, Amanda Roff and Maylise Dent (pictured above). They describe their music as retro-future, faux Hawaiian and demonstrated mastery over the the genre, with delicious harmonies, accompanying themselves on ukulele. They certainly looked the part, wearing glamorous dresses, draped in leis with orchids in their hair.

They were accompanied today by several members of their expanded band, with Dan Luscombe on guitar, Phil Kakulas on bass, some other guy on a weird stringed instrument, and Manas Pandey, the possessor of wonderfully warm baritone voice on solo and harmony vocals.

It was an excellent, bright interlude in a dreary, cold winter’s day in Melbourne.

They will be performing a show at the Toff in Town on Sunday night, with a full orchestra and hula girls.

Winter in Melbourne

2011-07-04T20:15:00.001+10:00

Actually Melbourne has been experiencing a fairly mild winter, after a cold snap in May boded ill for the season. In June the weather improved and we’ve had fine sunny weather, many days reaching 17° Celsius, probably an acceptable summer temperature somewhere in the world.

The plants are confused…

My impression was that hibiscus is a tropical plant, but the hibiscus in the front garden is blithely flowering as if it was already spring. It was only planted in spring last year as a mere twig, now it’s several feet high.

Also in flower in the front garden – who said it was winter – are lavender, rosemary and the hebe shrub.

And the grevillia…

…and early irises.

More typical of winter however, are violets who appreciate the cold and are flowering in abundance. When we first moved to this house in 1986, the only violets were the white variety, but I planted a purple one which has taken over. I picked a bunch of them this afternoon and took a photo.

To save us from complacency, the weather has taken a nasty turn this week with chilly 12°C days predicted for the next few days accompanied by wild winds.

The Opera House finally wins

2011-07-01T16:36:00.002+10:00

No I’m not referring to famous architectural landmark in Sydney, but to the rare milk white race mare who shares its name.

The Opera House – photo from SMH by Darren Pateman

Yesterday in the NSW country town Wyong, The Opera House finally won a race. It was over 2100 metre and she scored by a comfortable two lengths. I have written about her previously, back in December 2009, when she had her first start in Newcastle. On that occasion she ran fifth.

As I have her in my black book on Racing & Sports, I have been alerted to her runs, and from nine starts she has placed five times, and now won once. She recently raced over 2100 metres at Gosford and came third on that occasion, but it is obvious that like a true Zabeel she appreciates the extra distance.

She is yet to run on a city track, and it will be interesting to see if and when she does, how competitive she will be.

Her breeding is excellent, being a three quarter sister to the great Might & Power, but she is unlikely to attain anywhere near his achievements, which included the Melbourne Cup, the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate. I was at Moonee Valley when he won the Cox Plate in 1998 and still remember the occasion vividly.

On the subject of stars of the turf, So You Think will be racing in the UK on Saturday (early Sunday morning here) in the Group One Sandown Coral Eclipse Stakes where he will be out to redeem his shock loss in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Ascot a fortnight ago. He was only beaten by a short margin, when Rewilding pipped him at the post when flogged by Frankie Dettori to the line. Aiden O’Brien’s pacemaker tactics came undone when the pacemaker missed the start, and in making up ground bumped So You Think in passing, causing SYT to over race and go for the line too early. A messy race.

Anyway, despite the opposition being a cut above the norm tomorrow – with top UK racehorses Workforce and Snow Fairy being part of the small field - we in Australia will be cheering on our champ.

Update: Sunday, 3rd July
So You Think was the victor in the Eclipse Stakes beating Workforce by what looked to be a length, after giving him a two length lead. At one stage it looked as if Workforce would win, as So You Think, blocked for a run on the inside, seemed to become unbalanced, but he recovered and stormed down the outside with his characteristic devastating sprint to pass his rival and win.

A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys

2011-06-29T16:46:00.001+10:00

I first read this monster (1120 pages) of a novel back in 1975 and was really taken by it then. It has resonated in my memory over the decades, and though I haven’t, until the last week or so, picked it up to read again. I’m glad I did.

It took me about two weeks of leisurely reading (a few hours a day) to reach the end, but each time I put it down, I felt its allure and longed to get back into it.

A Glastonbury Romance is by no means a page turner in the usual sense, being verbose with many digressions from the story line in philosophical meanderings. However, it has enormous presence and a highly charged atmosphere throughout.

John Cowper Powys was an interesting fellow; a novelist, poet, philosopher and critic. He wrote many novels, all rather substantial, and though I have a good collection of his other novels, A Glastonbury Romance is my particular favourite.

The novel is set in the small town of Glastonbury in Somerset and follows events in the lives of its residents over course of a year.

Glastonbury is notable for its association with Arthurian myths involving Joseph of Arimathea and The Holy Grail and A Glastonbury Romance uses this as its main theme.

Powys himself described the novel as being primarily about the Grail:

Its heroine is the Grail. Its hero is the Life poured into the Grail. Its message is that no one Receptacle of Life and no one Fountain of Life poured in the Receptacle can contain or explain what the world offers us

Make of that what you will, but I generally see the novel as a good BIG read. A Glastonbury Romance has a huge cast of characters, the principal protagonist being John Geard a mystic and preacher , who having been bequeathed a large sum of money, uses this windfall to create a new religion based on the Grail. He’s a memorable character with his mystic blood and guts religious fervour; his nickname is “Bloody Johnny” culled from his frequent use of the expletive “Blood of Christ”

Opposed to Geard is Philip Crow, who represents the capitalist, pragmatic side of the political spectrum. He is an industrialist and cares nothing for the myths and legends that dominate Glastonbury and wants to build a new bridge to replace the ancient Bridge Perilous, opens a tin mine in Wookey Hole, and owns several dye manufactories.

But that is only two characters among many. They are all remarkable in one way or another. A Glastonbury Romance is rich in detail, from exquisite glowing descriptions of the landscape to complex characterisations. As I said before, the novel has a highly charged tone and contains many dramatic scenes that are vivid and thrilling. It’s got more than its fair share of sex, politics, religion and mysticism, as well as the odd magic realist moment.

It’s certainly not to everyone’s taste, but if you like big complex novels that explore large themes, then A Glastonbury Romance may appeal.

The following passage from the novel is one that has remained with me since 1975, though I had confused its setting in my head, associating it with a different set of characters and set in a different dwelling. It describes a bowl of bluebells and gives you some idea of the power of Powys’ prose.

In the centre of the kitchen was a bare deal table, the well-scrubbed top of which had assumed, so soft and friendly did it look, the whiteness of a pail of rich cream. On this table was a huge glass bowl filled with an immense, tightly packed mass of bluebells. The gorgeous blueness, a deep Prussian blue mingled with blotches of purplish rose up like a thickly packed cloud of almost opaque essence out of this bowl of heavy-drooping blooms and expanded and expanded till its richness of tint attracted towards it and seemed utterly to absorb all other coloured things in the room. It dominated the gleam of the shining pots and pans of that small kitchen as completely as its fragrance overpowered the smell of the cooking.

If this post has piqued your curiosity, there is an interesting and perceptive article by Margaret Drabble on John Cowper Powys, which appeared in the Guardian in August 2006, and is well worth reading.

Cat Politics Facelift

2011-06-27T19:49:00.004+10:00

If you’re revisiting Cat Politics you would have noticed that I’ve given it a new look. I was rather tired of the old look and as I had stubbornly maintained it (the classic template) for so many years, I was unable to add all the new gizmos and gadgets that are available with the new templates.

I do notice, however, that my labels appear to be rather dull, something I will have to amend as I write more posts.

Also I’ll have to reinstate all my links, which for some reason were not updated with the new template.

Anyway, I hope you find it easier to read and continue to do so.

I’ve spent several weeks fiddling with the template without committing myself to it. So I’m glad it’s finally done.

Surf ‘n’ Western music with the incomparable Mikelangelo & The Tin Star

2011-06-24T20:37:00.004+10:00

Described elsewhere as “ sounding like a spaghetti western blended with a Beach Boys sex party”, Mikelangelo and his band The Tin Star performed a very entertaining set at a well attended in store performance at Basement Discs at lunchtime today.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Mikelangelo previously with his other band The Black Sea Gentlemen when they played an in store in 2005, so was delighted to see him scheduled this time round.

Mikelangelo has a larger than life on stage persona. He’s extremely funny for one, and a snappy dresser (dig the jacket!) for another. And his music is lively and enthusiastically played – western surfing music indeed, reminiscent of 50s bands The Atlantics and The Shadows given a Balkan twist. The first tune played (an instrumental) was called Balkan Beach Party, then Mikelangelo got confessional with a song about his conception and birth pulling no punches in the lyrics, which were quite explicit.

The Tin Star are a four piece band and generally include female singer Saint Claire who was not present today, suffering ill health. So today was just the boys, including Fiete Geier on lead guitar, Gareth Hill on bass and Pete Olsen on drums.

Check them out on My Space and also visit Mikelangelo’s blog Secrets of A Gentleman for fashion tips.

Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses

2011-06-18T20:34:00.003+10:00

I haven’t written about music for a while, in fact I’ve neglected to mention the last few Basement in store performances, which were as usual excellent and starred Nick Charles on one instance and Tracy McNeil on the other.

Today however was a special occasion where acclaimed Australian rocker, Tex Perkins with his band The Dark Horses were showcasing songs from their latest self-titled CD at a lunchtime in-store at Basement Discs. It was well attended – quite a crowd was there to hear a fabulous half hour or so of music. I was not sure what to expect, having never really followed Tex Perkins’ musical career, which has included fronting iconic bands The Cruel Sea and The Beasts of Bourbon.

I was pleasantly surprised. The music was warm and soulful and full of rock n roll goodness. Tex has a great rock voice, somewhat ragged and gravelly but powerful, and the Dark Horses provided solid backing in the guitar and percussion, not to mention keyboard departments. Somehow all six of them managed to squeeze on to the tiny Basement stage.

It was worth braving the chancy Melbourne weather to attend.

But wait, there’s more…

Whilst I was waiting for the tram home outside the GPO, I was fortunate enough to hear a very talented young singer, performing close by. Named David Shaw, he must have been all of 15 years old, but he could sing like an angel.

He had one of those beautiful, powerful emotive voices – it reminded me of Patty Griffin –and used it to great effect. I was enormously impressed. Remember the name David Shaw, I’m sure he’ll be a star one day.

Mechanique – a haunting post apocalypse tale by Genevieve Valentine

2011-06-10T20:56:00.005+10:00

Some months ago I ordered a book as a gift for a friend from Small Beer Press, a small independent publisher in the USA. As usual, when the book arrived, they had included in the package an assortment of oddments, like A Working Writer’s Daily Planner , an ARC (advanced readers copy) of a novel called The Liminal People, several promotional postcards and an attractive bookmark, masquerading as a ticket to the Cirque Mechanique, which intrigued and charmed me. There is a web address –www.circus-tresaulti.com- on the ticket, but somehow I kept forgetting to investigate it.

Last week, I read Jeff Vandermeer’s short reviews of recommended science fiction & fantasy books for summer reading on the New York Times web site. One of the books on his list was Mechanique -A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti whereupon I realised what the bookmark was all about and set about acquiring a copy of the novel.

One of the best things about having a Kindle is that one doesn’t have to wait for books that are unavailable in Australia to arrive from overseas. In some cases this can take up to three weeks. Sure, it’s pleasant to anticipate a package, but then again why wait.

One of the postcards contained in the Small Beer Press package was promoting Weightless Books, an indie press ebook store. So there I surfed and found Valentine’s Mechanique for the princely sum of $4.99. In a trice I had it downloaded and loaded onto my Kindle. It’s also available on Amazon (UK and com).

So was it worth it? Well, for $4.99 you couldn’t really complain if the book was not up to expectation, but Mechanique turned out to be a real gem, a keeper. I’m tempted to buy a hard copy of it for my book collection.

I finished reading the book this morning, emerging as if from a dream, having been thoroughly immersed and seduced by Genevieve Valentine’s tale of an unusual circus troupe travelling through a world devastated by war .

The circus performers are mechanical in the sense that they have been enhanced with metal, wire , cogs and gears, but retain a fragile humanity. They can die, but they can also be reincarnated and they refer to themselves as having the bones. What having the bones means is gradually revealed over the course of the novel. To keep up appearances those artists who are unmodified wear metal gloves and shoes or in the case of Little George, walk around in brass legs. They are manufactured, so to speak, by the female circus ringmaster Boss, though that is not her real name. Boss is somehow magically gifted in the art of raising the dead and mending her broken creations.

Of all Boss’s creations , it is the flying man that haunts the novel. The original flying man, Alec, is only present in the story as a memory, a powerful memory at that. He fell, and the repercussions of his fall are a poignant thread throughout the book.

Mechanique is certainly a strange and wondrous novel, but is very well written and strongly character based. Despite their obvious mechanical enhancements each character possesses a psychological depth that causes the reader to willingly suspend disbelief. The novel proceeds as the circus moves, from place to place and from one character’s point of view to another. It reminded me somewhat of Angela Carter’s Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman – it has that same feel of exotic location.

It’s a melancholy novel, quite heartbreaking. As I said before it’s a gem and a delightful discovery for me of a new writer I had not previously come across.

Too Cool For Cats

2011-05-25T21:11:00.004+10:00

Winter has come early to Melbourne this year. freezing cold from the middle of May. By the time winter is officially here we will be quite inured to it – sort of.

I snapped the above photo of the cats this afternoon, both curled up on the bed – in rare close proximity, though not touching.

Lizzie in the foreground looks much bigger than Willy, but truth to tell there’s not much between them in height. In weight, Lizzie is a featherweight, whereas Willy, who looks slim and slight, actually weighs a ton. He’s a solid muscular cat, hence the deceptive heaviness.

As Melbourne has been plagued with rats and mice over the past few months, Willy has been catching one or more a day. Unfortunately, he brings them inside to play with, and more often than not they escape and disappear under the furniture. Lizzie has totally lost interest in prey these days, so doesn’t even bother staking them out, a pastime she took very seriously in her younger days, so there are unknown numbers of rodents lurking somewhere in the house, unless they’ve escaped through the walls as we can’t hear any scuttling.

My attitude has become ‘out of sight out of mind’, as I can’t be bothered fretting about it.

However the thought of another three months or so of winter is kind of depressing, but a good excuse to curl up with the cats and read.

David Mitchell – Superstar Writer at the Athenaeum

2011-05-18T13:48:00.005+10:00

I don’t suppose you can generally call a writer a superstar, but the huge turn out at the Athenaeum Theatre last night for noted literary light David Mitchell, gave the impression that wordsmiths can warrant such status.

David Mitchell himself admitted that he envied musicians, who can obtain an instant response from their audience as to the acceptability of their musical offerings, being out there in the glare of the spotlight a lot of the time, whereas writers, having a solitary occupation, rarely receive such feedback . He did mention though that he enjoyed touring and meeting his readers face to face.

He came across as charming, funny and unaffected; he has an appealing and attractive personality that was friendly and cheerful to all those who queued for his signature.

As these sort of events go, not that I’ve been to many, it was interesting and engaging throughout. It started with David Mitchell reading from his latest novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, then Melbourne Writers Festival Program Manager, Jenny Niven posed several questions about his writing process. He spoke at length about his methods of research and the problems inherent in writing an historical novel. All very interesting and wittily expressed by the guest of honour.

After a few audience questions, it was a matter of getting in line for the signing. It was a long queue, but David Mitchell seemed indefatigable. I only took my copy of Thousand Autumns, and was pleased to have it signed, though others seemed to have brought along his entire opus.

David Mitchell has been widely praised for his writing, and I have no arguments with that, as I recall my delight when I first discovered his books when Cloud Atlas was published. I was entranced by the novel and awestruck by Mitchell’s clever sleight of hand prose. At my time of life it was thrilling to discover a writer of Mitchell’s calibre as such beguiling writers are all too infrequent.

The Black Caviar phenomenon continues in Queensland

2011-05-14T12:05:00.003+10:00

Black Caviar is aiming for her 13th win in succession and 6th Group One in the BTC Cup at Doomben race track on Saturday (today) . Queensland Racing is expecting record crowds to attend, matching or even overtaking the turnout back in the 1970s for Queensland racing hero Gunsynd aka The Goondawindi Grey.

The weather on Saturday in Brisbane is expected to be fine and sunny, so the track should be good. Certainly better than the present weather here in Melbourne where winter has struck with a vengeance. Oh to be in sunny Queensland!

A field of eight will contest the BTC Cup, a weight for age competition over 1200 metres. The field includes Hay List who proved his superiority to the majority of sprinters excepting Black Caviar, recently demolishing a classy field in the All Aged Stakes with an effortless 3.5 length win. Black Caviar and Hay List have met on three occasions, and the mare has won all three, so I can’t see Hay List getting the better of her in this.

The remainder of the field will no doubt have to fight for third spot. Old troopers Black Piranha and Snipers Bullet who haven’t raced since December 2010, resume in this race. They both have form on the track, but they’ll probably be pipped by super consistent mare Melito or one of the other younger contenders.

It’ll be a must watch race for racing fans all over Australia simply because of super star Black Caviar, but alas it won’t be free to air TV. I’m contemplating going to the nearest TAB to witness the event, depending on the weather.

Speaking of stars of the turf, the 2010 Australian Spring Carnival hero, So You Think, had his first start for his new trainer Aiden O’Brien in a 2000 metre race at the Curragh in Ireland. Though not pitted against the top echelon of middle distance runners, So You Think won the race by 10 lengths, displaying his obvious class and impressing all and sundry. He’ll be contesting harder races in June, so here’s hoping he continues his winning ways.

This post was written mid week, but as Blogger has been down I haven’t been able to post it until today.

Rumble, Shake & Tumble with the Wagons

2011-05-06T21:16:00.005+10:00

I just love watching the Wagons band perform live, and had an opportunity today to see them at an in store at Basement Discs. Their new album Rumble, Shake & Tumble, was released today and a large audience was at Basement Discs to celebrate the launch.

As a live band Wagons are dynamic, rambunctious and riveting. Led by the very funny and charismatic Henry Wagons, they gave us a taste of the new record to the tune of four or five songs. Very tasty it was too, full of country rock goodness, and included a great tribute song to Willie Nelson.

Henry was in fine form spruiking the new record for all his worth, and I’m certain many CDs were sold, particularly after he called for pug puppy Gordon to join him on stage. How could you love the guy and not buy his record!

Check them out on My Space and try and get to a live performance during their extensive tour supporting the new album. They won’t be back in Melbourne until mid July when they’ll be doing an extravaganza at the Forum Theatre.

Books and reading

2011-05-03T16:09:00.004+10:00

It has been ages since I last wrote about books, so as a break in posts about horse racing and live music, here’s one about what I’ve been reading.

Late last year when I looked through lists of books forthcoming for 2011, I was less than thrilled with what was scheduled. In fact, unlike every other year, this year appeared to have no new books I was particularly looking forward to reading.

It seemed to be a dire and somewhat worrying situation, so much so that I imagined myself having to spend the year rereading my own private library or downloading old classics onto my Kindle.

Now that I have retired from work, I devout several hours in the morning to reading. I like reading in bed in natural light without wearing my contact lenses. I am short sighted so reading without visual aids is no problem and seems to be kinder on my eyes.

So what have I been reading? Lots of different books in fact, many of them new to me as well as rereading many old favourites.

Since Christmas I haven’t actually bought a physical book, until today, when I went to Readings bookstore in Carlton to redeem a gift voucher, which I’d been meaning to do for ages and had forgotten about. I did rather well, coming home with a hard cover of The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier and a hard cover signed copy of Rose Tremain’s The Road Home which I found on Readings famous bargain table. The Illumination is Kevin Brockmeier’s new novel. I was very impressed by his 2006 novel A Brief History of the Dead, so I’m looking forward to reading his latest, which sounds fascinating. Rose Tremain is one of my favourite novelists. I’ve been collecting her novels for years, so to get a signed copy of one of her books is a thrill.

Despite not buying hard copies of books, I have been buying plenty of ebooks, and have discovered some great novels which passed me by last year. I’ve been most taken with Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, A Visit From The Goon Squad, a brilliant novel that I felt compelled to read twice, to see how it was structured and to pick up on all the clues scattered throughout that reveal the whole story. The novel is structured as a series of interrelated short stories, giving different viewpoints on the lives of the main protagonists, and there are many of them, who are somehow or other related to main character Bennie Salazar, a successful music producer in New York. One chapter is in fact a Power Point presentation. The novel ends with a satisfying mental click, accompanied by a silent “Yes!”

The Dervish House, a Science Fiction novel by Ian McDonald is another book I found to be above average and brilliant in its own way. Also sporting a large cast of characters, and following six separate story threads, it is set in Istanbul in the year 2027 and opens dramatically with a suicide bombing on a tram, an incident that reverberates on the lives of several of the denizens of the Dervish House who are indeed the subjects of the six threads, which naturally intertwine as the novel progresses .

Currently I’m reading Zoo City by Lauren Beukes, a South African writer. The novel is set in a future Johannesburg, where malefactors are stigmatised through the mysterious acquisition of an animal familiar, a twisted version of the daemons in Phillip Pullman’s Golden Compass series, and forced to inhabit ghettos. The heroine of Zoo City is Zinzi December whose animal familiar is a sloth. She makes ends meet by composing scam email messages, and on the side uses her special talent for finding lost things for private clients. It’s a punkish, hardboiled urban fantasy with a smart streetwise heroine, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Other than the books mentioned above, I’ve also recently reread two Michael Chabon novels, the great The Yiddish Policeman’s Union and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay that I admit I enjoyed more on this second reading than I did when I first read it back in 2004. I’ve also read Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguru, Sacred Country and Music & Silence by Rose Tremain, The Silent Land by Graham Joyce, as well as many others that fail to spring to mind at the moment.

Just yesterday I found out that the long lost fourth novel in Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series is to be published this year to mark the centenary of Mervyn Peake’s birth on 7 July 1911. The new book, entitled Titus Awakes was written by his wife Maeve Gilmore, from notes left by Peake before his untimely death and was only recently unearthed in an attic by one of his granddaughters. Who knows what it will be like, but as a long-time fan of the Gormenghast Trilogy I feel I had to have it. Strangely, the British first edition will be a paperback, so I’ve pre-ordered the American hard cover edition, as I do love hard covered books. I have however pre-ordered the new UK illustrated hard cover edition of the Gormenghast Trilogy which will be published on 7th July. Having already the old Penguin paperback versions as well as a three volume hard cover set of the trilogy, I reckon the new edition will be an asset to my existing Peake collection, most of which are rare first or early editions.

On the subject of books and writers, I almost forgot to mention that one of my favourite writers, David Mitchell, author of such marvellous books as Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten, not to mention The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet ,will be in Melbourne on 17th May and will be in conversation with Melbourne Writers Festival Program Manager, Jenny Niven at the Athenaeum Theatre. I’ve got a ticket and am looking forward to attending the event. I doubt if he’ll be doing a signing, but I’ll take my copy of Thousand Autumns just in case. He’s in Australia for the Sydney Writers Festival and will only be briefly in Melbourne.

Americana Rose Melts Hearts at the Toff

2011-04-27T21:44:00.003+10:00

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing up and coming young singer songwriter, Caitlin Rose performing at the Toff In Town. Hailing from Nashville, Caitlin is the daughter of songwriter Liz Rose, and has certainly followed in her mother’s footsteps writing clever contemporary country songs. I really like her way with words; she’s sassy and somewhat self deprecatory, as exampled in her song Learnin’ to Ride where the chorus goes like this:
” Learning to ride, oh, learning to ride
I get knocked down when I'm learning to ride
A few broken bones for a place to hide
I get knocked down when I'm learning to ride.”

The show at the Toff was the last on Caitlin’s short first tour of Australia. She came as a support for The Felice Brothers, but did a few side shows on her own.

The support act last night was the fabulous Melbourne band Little John. They performed a sizzling, passionate set that almost upstaged the feature act.

They sang a selection of songs from their self titled album and, as always, impressed with their wondrous male choir harmonies, and eerie otherworldly musical arrangements.

Caitlin opened her set with Coming Up, following that with Learning To Ride and Spare Me, all from her debut CD Own Side Now. She explained that she didn’t know that many songs and didn’t know how she was going to fill an hour, having only to play for half an hour while supporting The Felice Brothers.

She coped alright, ably accompanied by her long time guitarist Jeremy Fetzer and pedal steel player Spencer Cullum Jr. In fact she managed to get through fourteen songs in all, most of them her own composition, with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s That’s Alright.

Caitlin Rose’s voice has been described a cross between Patsy Cline and Iris Dement, but I thought when initially playing Own Side Now, that with the backing vocals of Skylar Wilson on the CD, the two of their voices in harmony reminded me strongly of the McGarrigle Sisters. Whatever, it is quite engaging and idiosyncratic.

There’s a freshness and rawness to her sound, no doubt due to her lack of experience, but Caitlin has been hyped to be the next big thing in Alt Country. Those few who attended her show last night would certainly agree that she shows enormous promise, I look forward to seeing her again in the future and am curious to hear her next album whenever that eventuates.

Set List

Coming Up
Learnin’ To Ride
Spare Me
New York
Own Side Now
For The Rabbits
That’s Alright (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Shanghai Cigarettes
Sinful Wishing Well
Answer In One Of These Bottles
New song (untitled)
Faithless Love
Things Change
Marie Rosie (according to the set list I picked up from the stage)

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 – Sydney Cup

2011-04-22T16:07:00.003+10:00

RIP Hot Danish – a sad loss to Australian racing

The Autumn carnival winds up this Saturday with the running of the 3200 metre Sydney Cup and three other Group One races at Randwick – the Champagne Stakes for two year olds, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes for middle distance/staying types and the All Aged Stakes a sprint over 1400 metres. A nice variety of races in fact.

For once I can watch them on the home TV, as for the last few Saturdays I have been out and about fulfilling social obligations, and racing coverage has been hard to find.

Last week’s Sydney meeting was turned upside down by the weather and the state of the track , though not really unusual for Sydney during the autumn, was rated heavy going. This resulted in long shot mudlarks taking out the major events. Sacred Choice (8/1) who in similar conditions during the spring in Melbourne defeated Typhoon Tracy, won the Doncaster Mile. More Joyous failed to fire and ended way back in the field. The Oaks was taken out by the runaway Absolutely (30/1) with the game Shamrocker relegated to second place and Pinker Pinker running third. Atomic Force (10/1) was the winner of the Galaxy.

I sincerely hope that the weather is kind this weekend, though it’s still a tough call on most of the Group One races with any number of runners having claims. Let us consider first the Champagne Stakes run over 1600 metres. Sires Produce Stakes winner Helmet looks the top pick for this, though second placer Uate may turn the tables on him this time, considering the extra 200 metres to be run. Consistent filly Pane In The Glass is also worthy of consideration as is the Bart Cummings trained Salade.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a WFA competition over 2000 metres, has a decent field of tried an true old stayers like Zavite, Cedarburg, Vision And Power (if he gets a run) and Wall Street as well as the talented three year old Retrieve and mystery English horse My Kingdom Of Fife, a last start winner. Sacred Choice is backing up in this and could win again if the track is rain affected.

Run over the same distance as the Melbourne Cup, though not having the same prestige, the Sydney Cup is nonetheless a staying handicap of historical import. It was won by the mare Jessicabeel last year after earlier winning the Chairman’s Handicap , so I give the Gai Waterhouse trained mare Once Were Wild a very good chance to win this year, having followed a similar path to Jessicabeel by winning the Chairman’s Handicap two weeks ago. The current favourite is C’est La Guerre who rarely wins but does like the Sydney way of going, followed by stable mates Mourayan and Muir who recently won the Adelaide Cup over the distance. French bred horse Laristan (a lovely grey beast) is also fancied in some quarters, as is Hawk Island.

The All Aged Stakes will be run as a sort of memorial to Hot Danish who sadly was put down last Sunday due to an incurable and crippling leg infection. A favourite in Sydney this bonny, almost black mare was around for years gamely running with the best. She scored her first Group One victory in the All Aged Stakes last year.

The field assembled this year is first class. Hay List the second best sprinter in Australia and possibly the world, will start favourite. As it’s over 1400 metres, not his pet distance of 1200 metres, there may be a chance for one of the others to catch him. Rangirandoo, for instance , who recently won the George Ryder Stakes, old favourite Heart of Dreams who has returned to racing this autumn in fine form, and Shoot Out who was disappointing in the T J Smith, but may show marked improvement second up. Melito is sure to figure somewhere in the finish, recently running second to More Joyous in the Queen of the Turf and Triple Honour who scored third place behind Black Caviar and Hay List in the TJ Smith is also a chance.

Though the autumn carnival will be over in Sydney after this weekend, the Adelaide and Queensland winter season will keep the ball rolling for another month or so. The resumption of Black Caviar in the BTC Cup on 14th May is a highly anticipated event.

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 – The Doncaster Mile

2011-04-15T15:32:00.008+10:00

More Joyous

The heady excitement of first class racing continues this Saturday at Randwick with three Group One events, the feature race being the famous Doncaster Mile, which stars that other marvellous Australian mare, More Joyous. She is gunning for her 13th consecutive win on a Sydney track and her 5th win in succession for the season. The Doncaster Mile is by no means an easy race to win. She is top weight, so one or other of the lighter weighted contenders could spoil her party. There’s the consistent Love Conquers All, Danleigh, Aloha, Triple Elegance and stable mate Pureness all in with a chance. But More Joyous being the freakish beast she is, barring extreme misfortune, should bolt in.

The AJC Australian Oaks (2400 metres) also looks a doozy of a race with AJC Derby winner Shamrocker out to make history by winning the Derby/Oaks double. If she has recovered from her gruelling win in the Derby there is a very good probability of her succeeding. Others in contention are Victorian Oaks winner Brazilian Pulse, Pinker Pinker, 100/1 Stormqueen winner Mirjulisa Lass, Fibrillation and Crafty Irna.

The third Group One of the day is the Galaxy Stakes a sprint over 1100 metres. Last year Ortensia was the winner, though later a prohibited drug was found in her system and she was disqualified. She’s back again for a second go at it, though it looks a much harder race this time, judging by the quality of the field. Swift Alliance looks the one to beat and others like Sister Madly, Solar Charged, Avenue and News Alert are all talented sprinters and therefore in with a chance.

As well as being an excellent day for racing, it is also International Independent Record Store Day.

Basement Discs will be celebrating the occasion with a great line up of local artists performing in store throughout the day - JEFF LANG, CHARLES JENKINS, THE WOLFGRAMM SISTERS, SEAN McMAHON'S WESTERN UNION, ABBIE CARDWELL, CHRIS WILSON, SARAH CARROLL, CASH SAVAGE, THE SPOILS (DUO) and LITTLE JOHN. They will also be having a music quiz and other such fun stuff with the likes Dave Graney and Rebecca Barnard undertaking the MC duties.

I’ll be dropping in during the afternoon, to snap some pictures and take in the vibes.

Several other independent record stores in Melbourne will be celebrating as well, so check out your favourite record store tomorrow and give your support to a worthy cause. They’d be a sad loss to the cultural landscape were they to close.

Cyndi Lauper – Entertainer Extraordinaire

2011-04-10T20:54:00.004+10:00

It was a concert totally out of left field from my usual penchant for roots type performers, but the Cyndi Lauper extravaganza at The Palais Theatre on Friday evening was great. Vive La Difference!

The Palais Theatre is one of Melbourne’s premier venues. It’s an elegant old lady of a theatre in St Kilda, the present building existing since 1927, originally as picture theatre then later as a concert venue. It’s next door to the even more elderly Luna Park, which as you can see from the photo I snapped is looking rather the worse for wear and quite sinister with only one eye lit and the grin shining as a grimace.

As I was unable to get a seat in the stalls, I ended up in Row E in the Lounge area upstairs. Photos from the distance would not be suitable for my Canon G10, so I decided to take my old Panasonic LZ1 which has served me well in the past as far as distance shots were concerned, it having a larger zoom capacity. The below photo turned out quite well, considering. (click to enlarge)

Anyway, back to the concert, the opening act was former Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan. She wasn’t bad at all. She has a fabulous very powerful and expressive voice and was simply accompanied by a single guitarist.

Cyndi Lauper is of course a famous pop princess, well known for her pop songs Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Time After Time and True Colours. She sang them all, but also spent a majority of the show showcasing her latest CD, a blues album called Memphis Blues,

She was accompanied by an excellent band comprising a guitarist, a bass player, a pianist and organist as well as a drummer. Also playing in the band was Charlie Musselwhite, the famous harmonica ace. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the names of the rest of the band, who no doubt are well known session players and a search on Google was unable to enlighten me.

You couldn’t call Cyndi Lauper a dull performer. She is extremely energetic, prancing from one end of the stage to the other, falling to her knees, jumping down to the front stalls and directing her band flamboyantly. Not bad for lady in her late 50s.

It was a thoroughly engrossing and entertaining show and Cyndi’s numerous fans engaged with her whole heartedly, singing along to the iconic pop songs and according her a standing ovation at the end.

I was delighted that she included the song I’m Gonna Be Strong which I first heard and loved many years ago on her 1980 Blue Angel LP, of which I still retain a copy.

Set List (found on the web)

Just Your Fool (Little Walter cover)
Shattered Dreams (Lowell Fulson cover)
She Bop
How Blue Can You Get? (Johnny Moore's Three Blazers cover)
Early in the Mornin' (Louis Jordan cover)
All Through the Night (Jules Shear cover)
Lead Me On (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover)
Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover)
Down Don't Bother Me (Albert King cover)
Don't Cry No More (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover)
The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
Change of Heart
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Shine
I'm Gonna Be Strong (Frankie Laine cover)
Time After Time
Mother Earth (Memphis Slim cover)
True Colors (with Casey Donovan)

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 – Derby Day

2011-04-08T16:09:00.009+10:00

Black Caviar

Yet another fine day of racing is scheduled tomorrow at Randwick, with three super Group One competitions on the cards.

The feature race is the AJC Australian Derby, but the star attraction of the day is Black Caviar having her first start in Sydney in the Group One TJ Smith Stakes. Now that she has been acknowledged in world rankings as the best sprinter in the world, she has become the pin up girl of the Australian turf and has the media in a frenzy. This is excellent for the Australian racing industry, as larger than usual crowds attend race meets where she is to run, all hoping to be part of the rare phenomenon that is Black Caviar.

Naturally she is expected to win the TJ Smith just as convincingly as she’s won all 11 of her races, despite the quite classy field assembled. Vying for second place will be Hay List, Crystal Lily (who has run second to the champ in her last two runs) and Shoot Out. Yes, Shoot Out is back after a long spell following his gruelling spring campaign. A favourite of mine, it’s good to see him back on the track.

The Derby (2400 metres) will by no means be an anti climax to the TJ Smith. Potential star of the turf, New Zealand colt Jimmy Choux will start firm favourite and deservedly so. The main opposition comes from Retrieve who ran second to Jimmy Choux in the Rosehill Guineas and sole filly Shamrocker who won the Australian Guineas and ran third in the Rosehill Guineas. The Bart Cummings colt I Think I Do could be a chance as could Anacheeva, though he has not shown any of the brilliance that won him the Caulfield Guineas in the spring.

Sandwiched between the TJ Smith and the Derby is the Group One Sires Produce Stakes, a race over 1400 metres for two year olds. It’s a sort of consolation prize for those didn’t qualify for the Golden Slipper. Smart Missile who did qualify for the Slipper, but was dramatically scratched at the barrier, was originally the hot favourite for this, being the only horse to have beaten Sepoy, but alas he has been scratched from the Sires Produce as well. Sepoy of course won the Golden Slipper achieving the rare Blue Diamond. Golden Slipper double. Whether Smart Missile would have made a difference to the Slipper result will forever remain a mystery.

But to get back to the likely victor of the Sires Produce Stakes, I rather fancy the Bart Cummings trained Do You Think, a very lightly raced up and comer who could become Bart’s next star ; a replacement for the similarly named So You Think, who will be having his first start in the UK shortly. Others worthy of consideration are well credentialed colts Helmet and Uate and fillies Elite Falls, Pane In The Glass and Shared Reflections.

However, nothing is certain in racing, as was exhibited last Saturday with long shot winners causing upsets in the BMW and the Vinery Stud Stakes, though More Joyous continued her run of wins in the Queen of the Turf, and of course Sepoy won the Slipper. Rangirandoo won the George Ryder Stakes, so not a surprise to see him back to his best. After all he won the Doncaster last year.

Update Saturday evening

Well, Black Caviar continued her winning streak in the TJ Smith, though at the closing stages of the race hearts were in mouths as Hay List dashed several lengths clear in the front, and it almost seemed that Black Caviar would be beaten. Sure she had to fight this time but she overtook him in a trice and went on to win by 2 1/2 lengths - another stunning performance from the best racehorse in the world.

I also should mention Shamrocker, the only filly in the Derby field, who won the event after fighting out the the finish with Retrieve with Anacheeva filling third spot.

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 – Golden Slipper Day

2011-04-01T15:57:00.012+11:00

Sepoy winning the Blue Diamond Stakes

Alas I didn’t have time last week to write on the races that featured the Rosehill Guineas and two fillies/mares Group One races in Adelaide, not to mention the William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley on Friday night, starring Black Caviar where she didn’t disappoint winning her eleventh race and fourth Group One. I watched/listened to the races on Saturday anyway and I was pleased to see New Zealand raider Jimmy Choux take out the Guineas and Lights of Heaven win the Australasian Oaks.

This Saturday, as mooted in the title, is Golden Slipper day at Rosehill in Sydney. Five Group One races including the Slipper are on the cards. There’s also the Group One WATC Derby at Ascot in Western Australia, so a BIG day of racing to look forward to.

The Group One Queen of the Turf Stakes for fillies and mares over 1500 metres, is the first to be run. A small field of seven runners will be competing , including super mare More Joyous. She’s obviously the one to beat, and it won’t be easy. The best of the others is Melito, followed by the Peter Moody trained Set For Fame , Jersey Lily and Montana Flyer.

The Vinery Stud Stakes is a 2000 metre race for 3 year old fillies. Victorian Oaks winner Brazilian Pulse, who resumed with a win two weeks ago, is the obvious pick for this. Her main danger is Do Ra Mi another from the Peter Moody stable. Throw in Melbourne filly Pinker Pinker and Fibrillation as good chances for a place if not a win.

The Group One races continue with The BMW, a 2400 WFA race for stayers. Veteran Zipping who caused a boilover in the Ranvet Stakes recently, can’t be totally written off, especially if the track is on the slow side. Descarado who came second on that occasion is a top chance as is Linton who ran second to Shocking in the Australian Cup and is a genuine contender though having his first run in Sydney. Maluckyday has been a tad disappointing since resuming after his sterling second in the 2010 Melbourne Cup, running fourth in his two lead up races, but he may suddenly click at the distance and redeem his reputation with a win. This race has an excellent field so is sure to be interesting.

As is the George Ryder Stakes another WFA over 1500 metres. The classy field contains group one winners like Theseo, Danleigh, Rangirangdoo, King Mufhasa, Wall Street, Aloha and Ilovethiscity, the latter two three year olds winning the 2011 Coolmore Classic and the Randwick Guineas respectively. Triple Elegance has great form as well, as does the eternal bridesmaid Dao Dao. It’s an intriguing race where any one of the above could be victorious.

The feature race of the day is the Golden Slipper the richest two year old race in the world. A bog track caused upsets to the two hot favourites Sepoy and Satin Shoes a fortnight ago when they were both beaten. The other hot contender Karuta Queen was also beaten in her last start, leaving the Slipper picture less than crystal clear. It really all depends on the track on Saturday who is the likely winner. If the track is good, Sepoy has to be the one to beat if you were to judge him by his Blue Diamond run. And Satin Shoes and Karuta Queen have to be the best of the fillies, though the vanquishers of Sepoy (Smart Missile) and Satin Shoes (Elite Falls) also have to be in with a chance, along with a couple of smokies from the Bart Cummings stable Salade, Empress Rock and Do You Think, who have all won their one and only starts. As I always say, it’s a two year old race and anything can happen and probably will.

The WATC Derby (2400 metres) is of interest due to the face off between top WA colt Playing God and top WA filly Dreamaway competing against each other for the first time. Haven’t a clue about the rest of the field, but will be interested to see if one of the two above can win.

Shane Nicholson at the East Brunswick Club

2011-03-26T17:07:00.005+11:00

It was a lovely show at the East Brunswick Club on Thursday night where Shane Nicholson was the star attraction. A decent enough crowd showed up, certainly more than when I saw Shane perform there in 2006, when only about ten of us die hard fans made it. Amazing but true that an artist of the calibre of Shane Nicholson could draw that small an audience.

In the main he’s yet to be discovered as an individual artist outside his association with his wife Kasey Chambers. He’s a better songwriter than her and has a really fine voice that is pleasing to the ear. He is also a master of several instruments and is an ace guitarist.

Bad Machines was officially released yesterday, though I acquired a copy at Port Fairy, so have given it a pretty thorough run through the player. It’s Shane in country mode, and he does country twang as splendidly as he does pop and rock.

Anyway back to the show…

Chris Altmann and his Que Paso band opened the show with a raucous set showcasing songs from the Que Paso album with a few covers from Neal Young and others. Chris is moving to Canada in May so this was one of my last chances to see him live, so despite the rather uneven sound mix of his set, I can’t complain too much as he’s one of our best local artists and will be missed .

It was aural relief when Shane Nicholson took the stage. This time he was accompanied by fiddle/mandolin player Luke Mullen (?) and bass guitarist Chris Hale, who was playing with Shane for the first time. Shane in fact did not know his surname initially and got it wrong a second time with profuse apologies ensuing.

With Shane on acoustic guitar the threesome were actually perfect together, creating a beautiful ambiance that complemented Shane’s tunes. Chris Hale also provided backing vocals, assuming the role of Kasey on one song, whereupon Shane quipped “You’d better not get any ideas.”

Shane relished the chance to be “off the leash” as he puts it, performing solo shows, though he did sing one of Kasey’s songs from Rattlin’ Bones album during a solo sequence that included Once In A While and the beautiful new song The Broken Things, which simultaneously reminds me of Julie Miller’s song Broken Things and Guy Clark’s Stuff That Works, though written from a completely different stand point.

As I’ve remarked before , a Shane Nicholson solo concert is a rare pleasure to witness. I truly hope that Bad Machines brings him the acclaim he rightly deserves as a songwriter, vocalist and composer.

I didn’t get the set list this time, but noted it as follows:

Famous Last Words
Where The Water Goes
Monkey On A Wire
Blueberry Pie
Jimmie Rodgers Was A Vampire
Once In A While
Your Day Will Come (written by Kasey)
The Broken Things
Music Is Dead
God & Elvis
The House That Never Was
Summer Dress
Please Don’t Bury Me (John Prine cover)
Trick Knee Blues
Walkin’ Cane (Robert Earl Keen cover)
Bad Machines

Encore

Unwed Fathers (John Prine cover)
White Freightliner Blues (Townes Van Zandt cover)

JTE, Joe Pug et al

2011-03-21T21:59:00.002+11:00

I'm suffering badly from Music Festival lag today, but I will endeavour to post about the recent Justin Townes Earle concert at the Forum on Friday night and the Joe Pug show at the Toff In Town last night.

Firstly the JTE concert, where unfortunately I was unable to to obtain photographs owing to a ban on cameras that was rigorously enforced by security persons dispersed throughout the theatre.

This irked me somewhat, but it certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the show.

There were two support acts before Justin took the stage, first Lanie Lane, budding songstress from NSW who is described pretty aptly elsewhere as “evoking the growl of Nina Simone, the softness of Ella Fitzgerald, and the sass of Billie Holiday”.

She was followed by the dynamic Joe Pug. More about him after.

Justin was accompanied by fiddler Josh Hedley who provided very tasteful fiddle variations on the familiar JTE repertoire and also vocal harmonies.

Justin was as usual in very fine form and very funny at times, for instance when talking about his relationship with his dad where he avers that his father describes him as “a hard dog to keep under the porch”. Justin’s quip in answer to this was “at least I don’t marry every woman I fuck”.

JTE played his usual run of songs, Who Killed John Henry, Mama’s Eyes, Midnight at the Movies, Halfway to Jackson etc. He also dedicated his song Christchurch Woman to the victims of the earthquake in that city.

At one point he played a superb blues number which I have not heard before and performed a fabulous version of Bruce Springsteen's Racing In The Streets.

In the encore he called Lanie Lane and Joe Pug back to the stage for a gospeller rendition of Harlem River Blues.

The Forum was pretty well packed for Justin’s show, though not sold out, so it seems to me that the days of seeing JTE perform in small intimate venues is numbered, if not totally a thing of the past.

Joe Pug at the Toff

As you can see from the photo above, there was no problem with taking photos at the Toff In Town. I’ve only been to the venue once before, coincidently to the first Justin Townes Earle concert in Melbourne back in December 2008.

That time it was standing only, but last night they had provided tables and chairs to those punters who arrived early enough to claim them. Naturally, in accordance with my usual fierceness in queuing early, my friend and I managed to score a table in front of the stage – essential for snapping good photos.

It was a long wait until the show began at 9.00pm or thereabouts - the doors opened at 7.30pm.

However, all snitches aside once the show started it was magic from start to finish.

Local artist Chris Altmann opened the show with a set drawn from original songs on his very successful country rock CD Que Paso , along with a rather good cover of the Hank Williams classic Your Cheatin’ Heart.

Then there was Joe Pug…

Over the past week or so I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing Joe Pug perform three times. By the time last night came around I almost knew his songs by heart, but that doesn’t mean that I had grown tired of them; the more I heard, the more I wanted.

Joe Pug is a dynamic, passionate performer and you can feel his sincerity and love of music palpably in his stage show.

He reminds me somewhat of the young Dylan, both in his song writing and presentation, though he has a miles better voice than the revered Bob. He writes killer songs, with finely honed lyrics, often very biting and anti establishment. I love good songs myself, and always prefer a good lyric over anything else. I suppose having a literary bent inclines me this way.

Anyway, it was gratifying that last night Joe was the star attraction, as he played a much more comprehensive set than I’d heard previously, but still included the songs I’ve grown fond of over the past few weeks, like Nobody’s Man, Nation of Heat, I Do My Father’s Drugs, Speak Plainly Diana, Bury Me Far (from my uniform) and Dodging the Wind to name a few of the 14 or so songs he performed.

Chris Altmann returned to the stage for the encore for two covers from The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo, I am a Pilgrim and Hickory Wind.

Joe ended the night with a new song possibly called Road of Bones as sussed from the set list I lifted from the stage at the end of the show. Joe very obligingly signed it for me later. He’s a super friendly, personable young man who obviously enjoys connecting with his fans. He’s certainly won me.

I've only one more show to attend this week - Shane Nicholson at East Brunswick Club on Thursday. That'll do me for a while.

The Tim O’Brien Magic Medicine Show

2011-03-18T16:41:00.003+11:00

After queuing for 45 minutes in order to obtain some of the limited seating available last night at the East Brunswick Club, and enduring the scrum situation that resulted at the entry to the band room where two queues were converging from different directions, we managed to secure front row seats for the Tim O’Brien show.

It was worth the effort, Tim putting on an engaging performance, displaying his effortless mastery of mandolin, fiddle and banjo.

There were two support acts, a guy called Christof, originally from the Netherlands, who played a short singer/songwriter set, winning over the audience with his natural unassuming charm.

He was followed by local duo Luke Plumb and Peter Daffy who warmed up the crowd with a fine set driven by their mandolin/guitar combo. Luke Plumb plays the mandolin with extraordinary passion, in an ornate style reminiscent of the Willy P Bennett.

Finally Tim O’Brien and his Two Oceans cohorts took the stage for a longish set full of wonderful, perfectly executed Americana tunes, mixed with a few of Tim’s originals. Tim O’Brien comes across as a genial soul, with a dry ironic wit. He’s fond of telling fiddle and banjo jokes.

I managed to snaffle the set list from the stage after the encore. Just as I did this Tim O’Brien came back to the stage for something. Thinking he was after his set list, I handed it to him, but all he did was sign it and give it back to me, much to the envy of at least one person in the audience.

I also got Tim to sign my copy of his great Dylan tribute album Red On Blonde, wherein a selection of well known Dylan songs are given the Bluegrass treatment. It’s a CD I play often, always marvelling at the cleverness and listen ability of it.

Tonight I’m off to see Justin Townes Earle at the Forum Theatre. It should be an ace show with Joe Pug as the support act.

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 – Week 6 – Ranvet Stakes & Coolmore Classic

2011-03-17T15:27:00.004+11:00

Maluckday to run in the Ranvet Stakes

The focus of the horse racing world switches to Sydney this weekend for two feature Group One races at the Rosehill track – the Ranvet Stakes and the Coolmore Classic, plus several choice Group Two competitions.
The Slipper previews for two year olds look interesting. The Todman Stakes ( 1200 metres) is one for the boys and stars Blue Diamond winner Sepoy strutting his stuff in Sydney for the first time. The small field of five seems ripe for the picking by the unbeaten Sepoy. It’s really just a matter of how much he wins by. It would be very surprising to see him beaten, though the also unbeaten Foxwedge might mount a challenge .

The Riesling Stakes for the fillies also has a small field of six entrants. Satin Shoes is the choice pick here and will probably win again as she has in her only three starts. Elite Falls looks to be her main opponent having run second to Satin Shoes in her last two outings. The extra 100 metres could make a difference, but Satin Shoes should cope with that, no worries.

More Joyous, always a joy to see racing, will be contesting the Group Two Canterbury Stakes (1300 metres). Last year’s Doncaster winner Rangirangdoo resumes in this and could threaten the star mare, but she has an edge over the distance, Rangi preferring it a little longer. Also in the reckoning is Love Conquers All and Demerit, also resuming from a spell.

The first of the Group One races, the Ranvet Stakes (2000 metres) has attracted a field of seven stayers, including Descarado and Maluckyday, who represent the top chances. One or other of the mares Sacred Choice and Keep The Peace could cause an upset.

The Coolmore Classic , a Group One race for fillies and mares run over 1500 metres, has been won over the years by some top fillies and mares – Sunline , Tuesday Joy and Typhoon Tracy for instance.

There are 17 acceptances for this race, almost a bigger field than all the aforementioned put together. There are no outstanding runners but I’ll be watching to see how Graceful Anna performs. She’s been allocated the bridesmaid position in her last three starts, so here’s hoping she can win this. She has the services of top jockey Damien Oliver which increases her chances. Melito as usual cannot be dismissed out of hand, though she has failed to win beyond 1400 metres. I have a soft spot for Lady Lynette as she is the great granddaughter of one of my favourite fillies who raced in the 1980s. Born To Be Queen was her name and she won the 1986 Metropolitan and ran third in the Victorian Derby in 1985. Lady Lynette may be outclassed here, but she has been a winner in weaker company. Others worthy of consideration are Montana Flyer, Aloha, More Strawberries, Warpath and the Peter Moody trained Miss Gai Flyer.

Though last week was out as far as previewing the racing action, I did follow it up even though I only witnessed one race – the Newmarket Handicap where Black Caviar carved her name into the history books with an effortless win carrying top weight. Her next race is the William Reid Stakes on Friday week at Moonee Valley. I’d love to attend in person, but I am committed to going elsewhere that evening.

Martin Simpson at Basement Discs

2011-03-17T15:26:00.005+11:00

More music today, with the second in store for the year at Basement Discs featuring British folk singer Martin Simpson. He was much talked about at Port Fairy though I only managed to see a snippet of his performance there.

So I am glad I got this opportunity to see Martin Simpson play today as he is a very accomplished performer, both musically and vocally.

He played a variety of songs, from Scottish Border Ballads such as Sir Patrick Spens, to a protest song written by his father in law Roy Bailey. He also sang a wonderful, deeply moving, song about about his father - a sharp portrait piece of a feckless dreamy man who could neither save any money nor hold down a job.

Tonight I’m off to see Tim O’Brien at the East Brunswick Club.

Port Fairy Folk Festival Postscript

2011-03-15T16:17:00.003+11:00

Well I’m back home and still somewhat spun out after an excellent weekend of quality music.

As festivals go – not that I’ve been to many – the Port Fairy festival has to be one of the best organised and laid back music events in Australia. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

I’ve briefly posted on the first two days of the festival, so here’s a brief run down of Sunday events.

The highlight of the day for me was Shane Nicholson’s set on Stage 4, Sunday evening. He’s very underrated, but perhaps the release of his latest CD Bad Machines will change all that. It was available at Port Fairy, though the official release date is March 25. Naturally I purchased a copy and also got it signed by Shane when he and Kasey were hanging around after Joe Pug’s set on Saturday evening. They are both big fans of Joe Pug, not surprisingly, it is well known that they appreciate quality song writing.

It’s a rare pleasure to see a Shane Nicholson solo performance. He opened with the lovely Broken Things, currently my favourite song from his new record and went on to play a total of fifteen songs, some from the new album and others from Rattlin’ Bones and Familiar Ghosts. Kasey joined him for One More Night, then departed, informing Shane (so he reported) that she was off to see Joe Pug, whose show was on at the same time.

Here’s the set list for those interested.

Broken Things
Where the Water Goes
God & Elvis
Famous Last Words
Monkey on a Wire
Jimmie Rodgers Was A Vampire
Short Fuse Part 4
Summer Dress
Once In A While
One More Year
Blueberry Pie
Bad Machines
The House That Never Was
Not You Again
Trick Knee Blues

Besides the Shane Nicholson show, I also saw Western Australian band Blue Shaddy. Their show was fast and frenetic, and yes, fast and frenetic all the way through. The harmonica player Belly McClennand was amazingly energetic. He was drenched with sweat after only a short time. The band is a family affair, with brothers Belly and Jim (who plays a mean guitar), with Jim’s wife Sandra playing bass. The young, unrelated drummer was pretty good as well.

Throughout the afternoon, I sampled several acts, including Tim O’Brien and Crooked Still again.

I get to see Tim O’Brien once more on Thursday night at the East Brunswick Club, where Shane will be performing the following week.

I was sorry to miss Justin Townes Earle on Sunday night, but the tent was jam packed. However, I have tickets to his show at the Forum on Friday night this week.

All in all it was a wonderful Festival, and to cap it off, the weather was perfect all weekend.

Port Fairy–Day 2 & 3

2011-03-13T11:04:00.005+11:00

A perfect sunny day welcomed the beginning of the festival on Friday. The main events kicked off at around six o’clock.

Rather than to commit to one show initially, I roamed around the festival site getting my bearings.

I eventually settled on Stage 3 where Luca Bloom was about to play. I have never seen Luca Bloom live before so was interested to see what all the hype was about.

He’s an engaging troubadour from Ireland.

He was followed by Crooked Still, more my type of music. A four piece Nugrass band from the USA, their brief set was delightful. Lead singer Aoife O’Donovan’s voice has been compared to Alison Krauss.

Whereas Friday was pleasantly warm and sunny, Saturday turned out hot and summery. Horror Country band, Graveyard Train were literally sweating in streamlets throughout their set of macabre songs which focus on the darker themes of ghosts, werewolves and graveyards.

I took time out in the afternoon to watch the Newmarket Handicap at the Star Hotel. As the horses were being loaded into the stalls, a sizeable crowd of drinkers gathered to watch an historic moment in racing history. Black Caviar won easily by several lengths despite lumping 58 kg, a record weight for a mare in the race. As she broke free from the pack, the crowd in the bar cheered uproariously to celebrate her perfect 10 from 10.

Back to festival - in the evening we grabbed a front row position in the Stage 4 tent, for two splendid acts.
First up was Joe Pug, singer/songwriter from Chicago. He’s a riveting act, playing his excellent songs with intensity and passion.

Joe Pug was followed by bluegrass and multi instrument maestro Tim O'Brien and his Two Oceans trio – in a word superb.

This morning is the first time I’ve been able to write without extreme glare making the process almost impossible. I’ll be investing in a laptop antiglare screen as soon as I get home.

Sea Change–Day One at Port Fairy

2011-03-11T09:27:00.002+11:00

Arrived here yesterday afternoon after a relaxing train trip and am writing this from the accommodation, which is a short distance to the beach. The above picture I snapped last evening when the tide was out.

Fortunately the mobile broadband dongle works a treat, so reportage will be possible.

More news will be forthcoming when the festival begins this evening.

Port Fairy Bound

2011-03-09T20:53:00.002+11:00

Tomorrow I’m heading off to the Port Fairy Folk Festival for a weekend of music at the seaside. I’m travelling by train then bus as my original ride has come down with the flu. I don’t drive a car so public transport is the go.

I don’t mind – I’m fond of the leisurely style of public transport and enjoy my own company.

The only other music festival I have attended was the Thredbo Blues Festival in January 2002, which I had won in a draw on Rhythms Magazine. It was a great prize – travel, accommodation and entry to the festival were all included, and it was a very enjoyable weekend in a spectacular location with great music.

I wasn’t contemplating going to the Port Fairy festival at all, but one of my Nu Country friends had a room going begging at the accommodation she regularly books for the weekend of the festival, so I figured why not get away from the big smoke for a few days and take in the vibes of the festival, and of course see any number of my favourite artists who are performing.

Here’s the poster with the complete line-up of artists. Click for a larger view

I will try and post from Port Fairy throughout the weekend, time and internet connection permitting or else report when I return.

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 – Week 4 – Australian Guineas

2011-03-04T15:51:00.003+11:00

We Can Say It Now – classy New Zealand filly

Only two Group One races this weekend, the Australian Guineas at Flemington and the Chipping Norton Stakes at Warwick Farm in Sydney.

Both are 1600 metre races, the Guineas being for three year olds and the Chipping Norton being a standard weight for age competition.

The Australian Guineas has an intriguing field, with several of the top contestants being from other states and in one case, from New Zealand. The West Australian colt Playing God seems the top pick. He has a picket fence against his name in the form guide, and a number of those wins have been in open company against older horses. Like wise the classy New Zealand filly We Can Say It Now aiming to emulate Miss Finland who won in 2007, one of the few fillies to ever win this race. The other class filly is Southern Speed from South Australia. Only lightly raced, she has remained unbeaten in all three of her starts to date. Local hopefuls who are in with a chance are Bullbars, who won his last start the CS Hayes Stakes after running second to Enjin Number Nine in the Manfred Stakes, Spirited Eagle, who ran second to Bullbars in the CS Hayes and Enjin Number Nine, who though disappointing in that race after starting favourite, is worth another chance. Anacheeva who won the Caulfield Guineas in Spring has shown none of his former brilliance this autumn, but blinkers may make a difference.

It’s a very open race with no clear cut winner as has been the case in the majority of the recent Group One races, ie Sepoy in the Blue Diamond and More Joyous in the Futurity and of course Black Caviar in the Lightning Stakes.

The Chipping Norton has the usual contingent of Sydney middle distance runners such as Theseo, now getting a bit long in the tooth, Danleigh, Zavite, Centennial Park and Vision And Power, as well as stayers resuming for the autumn carnival – Descarado and Maluckyday who ran second in the 2010 Melbourne Cup. However, all the above will have to beat the brilliant mare, Melito who thrashed them in the Apollo Stakes a fortnight ago. She has not run over 1600 metres before, so it will be a test of her ability to stay.

As previously mentioned Sepoy took out the Blue Diamond Stakes last week in sensational fashion, winning by four lengths. He will probably contest the Golden Slipper in April and could well complete the rare double. More Joyous continued her winning ways in the Futurity outracing the fast finishing Whobegotyou – an obvious quinella. Also I must mention old favourite Heart of Dreams who won the St George Stakes, proving he’s still got what it takes and is not a spent force.

Next weekend the Newmarket Handicap and the Australian Cup are scheduled, but I won’t have much time to write about them or even see them on television as I’m off to the Port Fairy Music Festival, so expect blog posts about that rather than racing.

I’ll try and get to a TAB to watch the Newmarket where Black Caviar will be out to make history carrying 58kg – a record weight for a mare- and surely winning her tenth straight race and third Group One.

Autumn Racing Carnival – week 3 – Blue Diamond Stakes

2011-02-25T17:12:00.004+11:00

Sepoy – photo from The Age by Vince Caligiuri

A quick post on the three main events at Caulfield tomorrow, featuring the Melbourne equivalent of Sydney’s Golden Slipper Stakes.

The Blue Diamond like the Golden Slipper is a Group One race for two year olds over 1200 metres. Star Witness who is running in the Group One Oakleigh Plate tomorrow, won it last year.

Having watched all the previews and preludes over the last month, it is pretty clear that Sepoy is the top pick, though will no doubt start at short odds. Favourites don’t win this race very often, but Sepoy is in a class by himself and may prove the omens false. If not Sepoy, there’s Atomic who has the wraps on him after winning his first race very stylishly, also the filly Avenay who slaughtered her opposition last week in the Talindert Stakes. Other than the above, it’s anybody’s guess. It’s a race for two year olds after all and anything could happen.

Top Sydney mare More Joyous will be contesting the Group One Futurity Stakes (1400 metres). She is quite likely to win this as she proved last spring that she handles the course and the Melbourne way of going. It’s a pity Typhoon Tracy has been retired, otherwise we would have witnessed a rare event – the top two middle distance mares going head to head. Be that as it may, the other class mare Ortensia might give More Joyous a run for the money, but most likely Whobegotyou who hasn’t raced since his creditable third in the 2010 Cox Plate, is the other main contender along with New Zealand horse King Mufhasa.

The Group One Oakleigh Plate, is a sprint over 1100 metres and has attracted a classy field of eighteen runners. Catapulted who won his last start is the favourite, but the race is wide open with a number of the other runners being capable of winning. Star Witness, whose Guineas ambitions were abandoned after his less than impressive performance in the Manfred Stakes, will be set for sprint races from now on and could very well win this one. The in form Peter Moody stable has several top chances in Set For Fame, Avenue, Reward For Effort, Hinchinbrook and Panipique. Throw in Varenna Miss and Solar Charged and you have a very talented field with many chances.

We won’t witness anything as special as Black Caviar’s extraordinary Lightning Stakes win this week, but it’s a rich and interesting race card all the same.

Autumn Racing Carnival 2011 - Week 2 – Lightning Stakes

2011-02-17T15:43:00.007+11:00

Black Caviar returns this Saturday

Another great day of racing coming up this Saturday, with most of the action happening at Flemington featuring the highly anticipated Lightning Stakes, a Group One Sprint over 1000 metres.

It looks to be a real humdinger with a talented field of ten runners, but all eyes will be on super sprinting mare Black Caviar, making her first appearance since spring 2010. In a recent trial, she stunned onlookers and caused her jockey Luke Nolan to remark that he needed a chap stick for the windburn.

Hay List who was not at his best the last time he raced against Black Caviar in the Patinack Classic, is her main opponent, and if fit and ready could challenge her to the line. Others in contention though hardly threatening are Golden Slipper winner Crystal Lily, Warm Love and Grand Duels. I can’t say I have ever heard of Leap Frog, so have no idea what he’s doing in this race, as looking at his form he appears to be out of his league.

Anyway, I think Black Caviar is a top chance to keep her unbeaten record intact.

Before the Lightning Stakes I’m interested in the C S Hayes Stakes, a Group Three race for Australian Guineas bound three year old colts and geldings over 1400 metres. Enjin Number Nine who caught my attention last time he raced in the Manfred Stakes – I watched a video of the race again yesterday and remain impressed – is entered in this. It’s a tougher field than that he faced in the Manfred with Caulfield Guineas winner Anacheeva being a real danger despite his lacklustre performance in the Zedative recently. Others to consider are Bullbars who ran second to Enjin Number Nine in the Manfred, Dusty Star, a winner last weekend, and Spirited Eagle who came second in the Zedative.

The eighth race on the program, the Gurners Lane Handicap (1700 metres) has the interesting young stayer Studley Park aiming to make it three wins in a row from as many starts.

The weather is likely to be damp in Melbourne on Saturday, as rain is forecast and it pelted down with a vengeance last night, but cleared this morning into a hot and humid day. The track will be rated dead at best.

Rosehill hosts the Group Two Apollo Stakes (1400 metres) and the field is excellent, what with Danleigh, Hot Danish, Love Conquers All, and Centennial Park being in the mix. Metal Bender resumes in this as does talented mare Melito. It looks a ripper race – hard to pick a winner, but it will most likely be one of the aforementioned. Centennial Park beat Love Conquers All and Hot Danish with Danleigh running fourth in the Expressway Stakes a fortnight ago.

Update Saturday night

Black Caviar appears to be invincible, as witnessed by her demolishment of the Lightning Stakes field this afternoon. She raced away at the 600 metres and put several lengths on Hay List in a trice. Luke Nolan eased her down to a canter at the 100 metres as she cruised effortlessly to the line. "Extraordinary!" I exclaimed to myself, watching it and even the commentator Greg Miles was awestruck. She now has 9 wins from as many starts , two of them at Group One level. I can't see anything beating her. How exciting!

Typhoon Tracy retires from the Turf

2011-02-15T22:22:00.004+11:00

The news came today that Typhoon Tracy is to be retired. Her owner and trainer agreed that it was best to retire her on a winning note and as current Horse of the Year.

She apparently has taken a long time to recover after her gritty win in last Saturday’s Orr Stakes and as Peter Moody says, she really has nothing left to prove, though it is disappointing that we won’t see her race against More Joyous in the Futurity.

Over the past three years Tracy has been one of my favourite racehorses and it was always a better race day if she was part of it, so I'll miss her.

She goes out with a fine record of 11 wins (6 at Group one level) and 5 placings from 20 starts and over $2 million in prize money.

I look forward to seeing her children racing in a couple of years or so.

For one last time – Go Tracy Go!

The first Group One of the 2011 Autumn Racing Season

2011-02-11T16:39:00.004+11:00

More Joyous resumes this week

A fabulous day of racing is promised this Saturday with the first Group One race for the season , the CF Orr Stakes being the feature race at Caulfield with an accompanying plethora of Group two and three competitions in both Melbourne and Sydney.

The Orr Stakes (1400 metres) sees the resumption of familiar competitors from the spring season - Shocking, Zipping, Linton, Heart of Dreams, Spacecraft, Trusting and mares Typhoon Tracy, Ortensia and Faint Perfume. Typhoon Tracy won this race last year, and even though she didn’t win the Australia Stakes two weeks ago, she is a good chance to take out the Orr Stakes for the second time and most likely will start favourite. It’s a bigger and better field this year, but if she is back to her best she will win.

The two Blue Diamond Preludes (one for the boys and one for the girls) are also to be run this Saturday. Sepoy who convincingly won the Blue Diamond Preview is quite likely to win the colts Prelude as well. Grand Britannia who ran second on that occasion is his main opposition, along with Arctic Command and possibly Huegill from the Moody stable, having his first start.

In the fillies prelude One Last Dance looks the top pick again after her narrow win in the fillies Blue Diamond Preview at her last start, with second place runner Anevay being a major threat, but other well credentialed fillies like Glissade and Holdontoyahorses could steal the show, even so. And mindful of youngsters who win a debut race on a rural track by a good margin and often repeat that performance in the city, you can throw in Erbvebel as a chance.

The Caulfield track will most likely be rated dead, not like last week, where the races were abandoned due to flooding after heavy rain. It’s drizzling and gloomy as I write, but the rain is not expected to be severe.

In Sydney at Randwick racecourse, More Joyous resumes for the autumn in the Group Two Breeders Classic (1200 metres). Others in contention who might cause an upset are Sacred Choice who beat Typhoon Tracy last year in the Myer Classic, albeit on a bog track, Graceful Anna, who was soundly beaten at her last start, but is too good to dismiss out of hand, the well performed Jersey Lily and Sister Madly who has in the past given More Joyous a run for her money.

Also being run at Randwick, the Group Two Light Fingers Stakes (1200 metres) for three year old fillies witnesses the return of smart fillies More Strawberries, Parables, Obsequious though the top pick is probably Red Tracer who resumed a fortnight ago with a two length win in a listed race.

The colts and geldings will contest the Royal Sovereign Stakes, also a Group Two competition run over 1200 metres. It’s good to see Pressday resuming in this. He is the class horse in the race, but other well tried colts like Masquerader, Brightexpectations, Master Harry and Audacious Spirit could pull off a surprise.

Two of the races abandoned last Saturday were run on Wednesday at Sandown Hillside. The Chairman’s Stakes was taken out by Atomic, who certainly looked very promising at his first start, and the Manfred Stakes was won by Enjin Number Nine, by three and a half lengths, who looked even more promising. I’ve added him to my black book as one to watch for the Australian Guineas and beyond. He’s a son of champion Japanese stallion, Zenno Rob Roy who won the 2004 Japan Cup, not a sire you see mentioned in the Australia at all, though I’ll certainly be looking out for his progeny from now on.

Results
Well it appears my predictions were correct...

Sepoy blitzed the field of the Blue Diamond Prelude for colts & geldings again and One Last Dance won the fillies Prelude.

Typhoon Tracy is back in winning circles after narrowly winning the Orr Stakes for a second time, becoming the first mare to do so. Heart of Dreams came second again (as last year) and More Joyous won the Breeders Classic easily. Graceful Anna ran second which was a very good effort, considering the quality of the winner.

Typhoon Tracy and More Joyous will be competing against each other for the first time in the Futurity Stakes in a fortnight – can’t wait.

The Autumn Racing Season Build-up continues

2011-02-04T21:09:00.005+11:00

Star Witness winning the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes in November 2010
It’s only a week until the first Group One race of the autumn carnival, the C F Orr Stakes, but this weekend has some fascinating competitions in store, even though they are not group races.
As I write the rain is bucketing down in torrents, so the Caulfield track tomorrow will be most likely rated on the heavy side.
Alas for the chances of Star Witness in the listed Manfred Stakes (1200metres) having his first start for the autumn. I have an idea he doesn’t handle the wet all that well, but as he is the class runner, and has already won two Group One races , you can’t really dismiss him out of hand. Mr Chard, who has won on heavy going at Caulfield, looks to be his main challenger, along with Dusty Star and Enjin Number Nine and perhaps the rather curiously named Sayahailmary, the only filly in the race.
There is a bit hype about another Starcraft colt in the Chairman’s Stakes (1100metres) for two year olds, the wonderfully named Cape Canaveral (Starcraft/First Date). It appears that there are a host of attractively named youngsters in this race who could easily win. The filly Hollyweird , with a few wins already under her belt will probably start favourite . Then there’s Atomic, Hell’s Kitchen, Metonymy and Vatican (God’s Own/ Our Sistine).
The 2010 Golden Slipper winner Crystal Lily resumes for autumn in the WJ Adams Stakes (1000 metres), thrown in at the deep end against older well performed horses like Eagle Falls, Reward For Effort, Playwright, Winter King and Faster Son. However speedster, and fellow 3 year old filly Solar Charged, could be Crystal Lily’s main challenger.
In Sydney the grand mare Hot Danish returns to the race track in the Group Two Expressway Stakes, a sprint over 1200 metres. The field is small, but select, with the likes of Danleigh, Love Conquers All and Vision and Power, vying for a win. But Hot Danish, though getting on in years, has an almost perfect record of first up wins and will most likely prevail again.
UPDATE: SaturdayCaulfield races have been abandoned due to the rain, which I can testify bucketed down all night into this morning.

Hallelujah! Little John at Basement Discs

2011-02-04T17:12:00.004+11:00

Basement Discs first in store for 2011 set a high standard for the rest of the year, with a spine tingling set of passionate and powerful music by Little John. It’s music to break your heart and melt your brain, to loosely quote from Pat’s intro.

Little John seemingly have come out of nowhere and as I’ve mentioned before, their debut CD Put Your Hands On Me is instantly riveting and thrilling.

Today, though only three of the five piece band were present, it is obvious that as a live band they really are something special as well.

There’s something almost devotional in the powerful three part harmonies, drummer Bill Deeble,thumping a Neverfail water dispensing bottle, has a high wild wail, John Dickson lead singer and guitarist has an interesting tenor voice, and Greg Field’s, (violin & mandolin) deeper vocals, blend together perfectly and resonate with such eerie emotive power that it sends shivers up your spine and brings tears to your eyes.

Check out the band’s My Space and give them a listen.