Spring Racing Carnival - Cox Plate

The Cox Plate, the premium weight for age handicap in Australia, was run yesterday and was won by El Segundo (pictured above). It was an oddly run race, with Haradasun taking the lead early, an unusual position for him to take up in a race. But apparently no other horse was willing to set the pace. It was a pretty slowly run race, with a mad dash at the end. El Segundo swept down the outside and overtook both Haradasun and Wonderful World, who were fighting out the finish, to win by 2 lengths.

Fortunately I have El Segundo in my Super Stable along with Haradasun who finished third so the virtual earnings in my stable were boosted by $2 million, giving me a chance to win the Super Stable competition. Winning all depends on having the correct horses in one's stable - money earners, hopefully Group One money earners.

This year, with racing in New South Wales and Queensland being non-existent due to the Equine Flu outbreak, Melbourne racing has been the only act to follow. Whether horses trapped in the other States would have made a difference to the outcome of various races, is hard to fathom. But it seems to me to be lacking its usual excitement this Spring, what with a lot of the top fancied horses not performing up to expectation, for instance Haradasun, who has run 5 races this season for three seconds and two thirds. I was hoping he would redeem himself in the Cox Plate, but it wasn't to be. However, no matter that he is worth $20 million dollars to the breeding industry, he will probably be back racing again next autumn.

There are still several races to go in the Spring Racing Carnival, most notably the Melbourne Cup. My stable only contains one stayer, the English horse Purple Moon, so I hope he gets up and wins it. He looks to have the potential and has a top Australian jockey on board. Cross fingers for his success and my chances of taking out the Spring Super Stable competition.