Muddy Valley – A Night at the Races

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.