Anyway, for racing enthusiasts the good news is that the Australian autumn racing season kicks off on Saturday with the first Group 1 race, the Lightning Stakes, at Flemington race course. It has a crack field of sprinters and should be a very interesting race to watch. The iron mare, Gold Edition will be contending with Miss Finland who is returning after a disappointing spring campaign. Also in the picture is my old favourite Apache Cat who could cause an upset. He races very well fresh, but then so do Gold Edition and Miss F.
The equine influenza virus crisis has now passed, so Sydney and other interstate racing clubs are back in action. Sydney has a major carnival during autumn, running time honoured and famous races such as the Golden Slipper and the Doncaster Handicap. Haradasun won the Doncaster last year. He’s been exported to Ireland, so won’t be contending in any Australian races this year, but is likely to be racing in the UK later this year.
There is no autumn super stable competition so I’ve settled for the next best thing, the autumn 2008 Top 30 competition on the Racing & Sports web site.
In this competition one selects a stable of 30 horses. One earns points according to Group level, placing etc. and score extra points if any horses in the stable run a quinella or trifecta.
It gets quite complex later on in the competition when substituting inactive horses with active runners, but I have selected my initial stable as follows:
APACHE CAT
BURGEIS
CAMARILLA
CAUSEWAY QUEEN
DESERT WAR
DEVIL MOON
DIVINE MADONNA
EFFICIENT
EMPIRES CHOICE
EREMEIN
EXCEEDINGLY GOOD
GOD'S HAND
GUILLOTINE
HERE DE ANGELS
LUCKY SECRET
MALDIVIAN
MENTALITY
MISS FINLAND
MUTAWAAJID
PURREALIST
RACING TO WIN
SEACHANGE
SHE'S MEANER
SLIDING CUBE
SNIPERS BULLET
STRIPPER
SUGAR BABE
WEEKEND HUSSLER
WONDERFUL WORLD
The above represents what I hope to be a good mix of sprinters, milers and stayers along with likely 2 year colts and fillies for the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper. In any case they are all potential winners and I shall enjoy following their fortunes over the coming months.
Other news…
Tonight I am going to see a couple of singers from Nashville, Kacey Jones and Beccy Hobbs aka “The Shameless Hussy & the Cowgirl”. I have never heard any of their records, nor have I seen them perform before. The show is a Nu Country promotion and I have been given free admission, so I feel obliged to go, even if the music is unlikely to be to my taste. You never know, I might be pleasantly surprised, so I’m not really going with any preconceptions, other than an expectation of being entertained by undoubtedly professional artists. Both ladies are old troupers. Kacey Jones is known as a comedienne with a bent for feminist songs.
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