Autumn Racing Carnival 2009 – Week 2

Last week’s Lightning Stakes was a bit of a fizzer, with both Weekend Hussler and Apache Cat failing to gain a place. It was won by the smart Western Australian sprinter Scenic Blast.

The Hussler can be excused, as for much of the race he was blocked in by Seventh Rock, and failed to get into the clear in time to challenge the winner. He stormed home late into fourth place. Apache Cat was also hindered by Seventh Rock, but failed to make any ground. He will have a change of rider next time he races with Corey Brown being given the flick and top Victorian jockey Damien Oliver gaining the ride. We’ll see if that makes a difference.

The feature race this coming Saturday (weather permitting) is the Group One C F Orr Stakes at Caulfield over 1400 metres. There is a crack field of group one winners contending, including Light Fantastic, Maldivian, Theseo, El Segundo and Zarita. Another one to watch for in this race is the colt Von Costa De Hero who put in a slashing run to win third place in the Carlyon Stakes after playing up at the barrier and missing the start.

I am also very keen to watch the Fillies Blue Diamond Prelude to see if Rostova can continue her winning ways. She was very impressive last time.

No doubt Valerie at Foolish Pleasure will be watching the performance of Scenic Shot, who is a descendant of her blog namesake Foolish Pleasure as is Scenic Blast. We wish him good luck and expect him to be in the finish.

In Sydney, Mentality will be returning in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes. I’ve been following him for several years and he has been, in his day, a very good performer.

The temperature for Saturday in Melbourne is expected to be over 40°Celsius, so the races may be put off till Sunday after a cool change sweeps through on Saturday night.

UPDATE: They have been moved to Sunday.

And I was pleased to see that Haradasun & Elvestroem's little brother Coubertin won a race in Seymour today.

As a result of the extreme heat last week, our garden looks like it’s been through a nuclear war. The trees are shedding leaves, plants are singed and the grass is brown and sere. A good fall of rain would no doubt put them all back in good health.

We desperately need rain, but there appears to be little on the horizon – just more hot dry days, one after another.

Meanwhile Queensland is being flooded after an onslaught of cyclones.

All this variation in weather quite recalls an old poem, My Country by Dorothea Mc Kellar that we all had to learn by heart in primary school which goes in part:

I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!

I remember how we had to recite it and how jewel was pronounced as “juwal”.