Tatts Tiara–The Last Group 1 of the Racing Year

Catkins – Derby Day – Flemington 2014

As one of my favourite racehorses, the sweet grey mare Catkins, is running in the final Group 1 of the Australian racing year, I thought I’d pen a post about the event.

Run this year on the Gold Coast when it is normally hosted by Eagle Farm, the Tatts Tiara (formerly run as the Winter Stakes) is a race over 1400 metres for mares and fillies.  I’m hoping that this year Catkins can finally win her first, well deserved, Group 1 race. She has contested quite a few and has always come up wanting, running second or third in most of those.

The Tiara has attracted a very nice field of classy mares and a few well regarded fillies, and Catkins main rivals are Srikandi who won the Stradbroke Handicap at her last start, Hazard  who beat Catkins in the Dane Ripper Stakes recently and Najoom, a spruiked filly trained by Gai Waterhouse, if she gains a start – she’s currently 2nd emergency. Others with a chance are Real Surreal, Solicit and Avoid Lightning. Naturally I’ll be barracking for the bonny grey mare –cross fingers, touch wood, she’ll win.

In the UK, the annual Royal Ascot meeting is in train. Several Australian horses are entered in various events. Two have already run – Criterion and Shamal Wind. They both finished unplaced, Criterion performing the better of the two finishing 5th in the Prince of Wales Stakes.

This weekend two more Aussie horses are to race in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes run over 6 furlongs (approx 1200 metres) on Sunday. Three Australian horses in the recent past have won this race – Choisir, Starspangledbanner and, most notably, Black Caviar.

This year’s great Australian hopes are the handsome Brazen Beau, who won the Group 1 Coolmore  Stud Stakes and Newmarket Handicap, and Australian Guineas winner Wandjina. Both are quality gallopers, who if they have acclimatised after travelling to the UK, could well do Australia proud.

Alas we will not see Brazen Beau in action in Australia again as he is to retire to stud after running in the UK. The same goes for Wandjina and quite a few of the Spring and Autumn stars over the 2014/2015 racing season, such as Dissident, Sweet Idea, Silent Achiever, Hallowed Crown, Adelaide, Earthquake and others who don’t spring to mind at the moment.

The racing scene in Melbourne doesn’t start to get interesting until late July in the build up to the Spring racing season’s early Group races.

Update Saturday

Speaking of Australian horses who have been successful at Ascot, the news came today that the “people’s champ” Takeover Target passed away this morning. euthanised after a paddock accident. He was 15 years old.  He cost his humble taxi driver trainer a mere $1400 and won over $6 million in prize money.  He won races everywhere, at Royal Ascot, Singapore, Japan and all over Australia. His record stands at 41 starts for 21 wins, 8 of which were at Group 1 level & 10 places. 

The archetypal “rags to riches” story, Takeover Target will live long in Australian racing memory – a very talented sprinter.

And the Tatts Tiara resulted in Catkins running unplaced, being forced back through the field early in the race.  Srikandi scored a rare double (Stradbroke/ Tiara) with a solid win, holding off Avoid Lightning and Lumosty who ran the minor placings.

Further Update Sunday

Brazen Beau just missed winning the Diamond Jubilee at Ascot early this morning.  He gets a second chance in the July Cup at Newmarket on July 11.

Sydney Cup Day–The Championships Week 2

Contributer – Emirates Stakes Day 2014

Another big day of racing is coming up this Saturday with the second race meeting of the The Championships at Randwick. That is of course if they’re not cancelled by the atrocious Sydney weather.

There are another four Group 1 races on the program, and exceptionally good fields contesting them.

First to kick off is the Australian Oaks, for staying fillies, run over 2400 metres. Top pick is Fenway, who won the Vinery Stud Stakes at her last start, beating First Seal and Thunder Lady. First Seal will be contesting the Queen of the Turf Stakes, but Thunder Lady is a contestant in the Oaks and a viable chance.  New Zealand Oaks winner Savaria  is also worth consideration as she won that race on soft going at the distance. along with Candelara who won the Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes (2000 metres) on Monday.

The splendid Catkins will be having another bash at winning her first Group 1 – which she surely deserves - in the Group 1 Queen of the Turf Stakes (1600 metres). Heavy tracks don’t worry this girl, so it might be her best chance yet for Group 1 glory.  Her competition is formidable with Group 1 winning mares Cosmic Endeavour, Diamond Drille, Bonaria, Amicus, Diademe (NZ Group 1) and filly First Seal in the field. But my heart will be with the game little grey mare.

Run over the same distance (3200 metres) as the Melbourne Cup, the Sydney Cup offers $1 million to the winner, so is worthwhile for International racehorses to contest. Can Protectionist win the Melbourne/Sydney Cups double? His build up form has been indifferent, but his form over the distance is unquestionable and could well be his forte. English import Hartnell is the top pick. His current form is excellent with two consecutive wins, the last being the Group 1 BMW and he also has won a race over 3200 metres. He has a 6kg weight advantage over Protectionist. 

Who Shot Thebarman ran third in last year’s Melbourne Cup and is the great white hope for locally(Australia/NZ)  bred horses in this race – there are only two - the other one being NZ bred Don Doremo.  Others with a chance are Renew who won the Sandown Cup over the distance, and Hong Kong stayer Dominant who has Joao Moreira in the saddle.

As racing fields go, the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000 metres) is quality with a capital Q.

Sydney’s answer to the Cox Plate, it is the richest 2000 metre race in Australia – the Cox Plate winner gets $1,800,000, but the QE Stakes winner earns a handsome purse of $2,400.000.

It will be a fascinating race to watch, and the most exciting horse in the field is last year’s Cox Plate winner Adelaide. Who could forget his stunning long run down the outside in the Plate to grab the prize on the line. He hasn’t raced since then, so he faces a field of fitness hardened veterans, most notably Contributer who has won his last three starts, including the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes and Ranvet Stakes.

Also in the field are Japanese stars To The World and Tosen Stardom who are surely not to be dismissed out of hand, and popular old stayer Red Cadeaux who could easily run a place.

Of the locally bred runners, Criterion has a good chance as he was only beaten by a nose in the George Ryder Stakes by Japanese horse Real Impact who was beaten by Kermadec last Monday in the Doncaster.  

I’d like to think that the only two mares in the race – Royal Descent and Lucia Valentina – could feature in the finish, but would be surprised if either won. Like wise with other locals Happy Trails and Fiveandhalfstar – they’re probably outclassed by the Internationals and the Imports, though NZ stallion It’s A Dundeel won this race last year, beating Sacred Falls and the Queen’s horse Carlton House, so anything could happen.

In Melbourne, Flemington has a low key meeting that I am not tempted to attend, so I’ll be staying home watching the Sydney action on my computer or the TV.

Update: Sunday afternoon

The track at Randwick was heavy and the results of the Group 1 races threw up long shots in most cases.

Who could have picked Gust of Wind winning the Australian Oaks? she paid over $20.00 for the win. Winx finished second and Candelara ran third. Early favourite  Fenway was scratched from the race early on Saturday morning.

Another 20/1 shot Amanpour won the Queen of the Turf Stakes, and denied Catkins, who ran her usual honest race, group 1 glory. Noble Protector finished third.

The Sydney Cup result was also taken out by 40/1 shot Grand Marshall pipping Who Shot Thebarman on the line. Hartnell led for most of the race, but was unable to keep up with the swoopers and finished fourth, and Protectionist failed to feature at all. Like A Carousel finished third.

Locally bred Criterion beat a crack field in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, winning by 2½ lengths from old trooper Red Cadeaux with the ever reliable Royal Descent taking third place. Contributor was scratched early Saturday, so who knows what would have resulted had he run.  The Japanese horses failed to handle the heavy track, as did Adelaide who finished in eighth place.

The Carnival Is Over–Emirates Stakes Day Review

Mounting yard gate – back view of  Emirates winner, Hucklebuck returning to scale

It certainly wasn’t a day for favourites at last Saturday’s Emirates Stakes meeting at Flemington. Most of the races resulted in surprise winners with the favourites running out of a place.

Perhaps the heat was the cause. It was a hot and windy day and the track was upgraded from a Good 3 to Good 2 as the afternoon progressed and several horses were scratched due to the firmness of the racing surface.

When I arrived at the track, shortly before the running of Race 4 the Hilton Hotels & Resorts Stakes, there was already a sizable crowd in attendance. Not at Derby Day or Cup Day levels, but they comfortably filled the public lawn area. Considering that the general admission cost was a hefty $60.00, I was astounded that many of those present didn’t appear to show the slightest interest in the racing action. It’s traditionally a family day, and children were there in abundance.

One largish group had brought their own seating in the form of fold out chairs and had set them up in a semi circle in front of my favourite position on the fence, so I observed them as I squeezed my way through the barricade of chairs. Not one of the group ever got up from their chairs to watch the races, even though they were so close to the action.  What’s the point of going to a first class race meeting and showing no interest in it? It would have been cheaper for them to all meet up in a park.

Racing Victoria, after the flag waving incident on Cup Day that resulted in the injury and subsequent death of Araldo, horses returning to scale in the Group 1 races bypassed the long rose walkway back to the mounting yard, and instead returned via the entrance at the clock tower.  The non Group 1 races all used the rose path, but anyone  waving distracting articles were quickly stopped.  It sounds like an overreaction, when you think back to Black Caviar’s racing days, when flags were all over the place and they handed them out at the entrance gates.

Personally, I am more spooked by shrieking young females, one of whom I could not help but overhear after the 8th race. Her bet, Suavito, had just won, and all the non winners were returning to scale, but any of them could have been the one she was screaming her praises for as the winner had not at that point returned to scale. The winner is generally the last to return, delayed by the media interview of the jockey on the track shortly after race finish.

Enough of grouching about the general stupidity of Spring race goers, and back to the real thing.

After watching Race 4, which was won by Lord Aspen, the only favourite to win on the day, I wandered to the peaceful and uncluttered stalls area. Even on Melbourne Cup day the stalls and parade ring section was relatively deserted.

I found a few of the stars already in attendance in their stalls…

Chautauqua in his stall

The lovely Lankan Rupee in his stall

…and in the parade ring I spotted star Irish sprinter Slade Power being exercised.

Slade Power in the parade ring

As Race 5 was due to start, I returned to the public lawn and easily found a spot at the mounting yard fence to watch the parade. It was the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a 2600 metres race for stayers who missed out on a run in the Melbourne Cup. British mare Noble Protector was the favourite.

Noble Protector

The race was won by another import the German bred Le Roi with local bred Prince of Penzance running second and my fancy Big Memory (from France) who ran third.

Le Roi returning to scale, a happy Damian Oliver saluting the crowd

The first of the Group 1 races was up next.  With an exemplary field the Darley Classic was the pick of the races on the day. A riveting sprint down the Flemington straight, the finish was fought out by Lankan Rupee, Chautauqua and Sydney visitor Terravista who was the winner. Less than half a length separated the three of them.  Slade Power missed the start and was never a threat.

One good thing about the bypass via the clock tower, was the unique photo opportunity to capture the returning horses from a different angle.

Lankan Rupee returns to scale after running third in the Darley Classic

Chautauqua returns to scale after running second in the Darley Classic

Rebel Dane returns to scale

Temple of Boom returns to scale

Terravista returns to scale after his victory in the Darley Classic

Though Australia’s stayers have been upstaged by the Internationals, our sprinters are world class, even with Black Caviar no longer on the scene. If she was,  no doubt she’d thrash the lot of them. Still it’s good to see really competitive  sprint races again. Lankan Rupee, Chautauqua, Terravista and maybe Deep Field will all hopefully return in Autumn to fight for more Group 1 glory.

The feature race, the Emirates Stakes was the next race on the agenda, so it was back to the mounting yard fence to see them parade. I’d only had few modest bets, and they’d all come third. I of course had my money on The Cleaner in the Emirates and his odds were a good 10/1. You guessed it, he ran third.

Hucklebuck stamped himself as a potential star of the turf with his win in the Emirates Stakes, his first Group 1 victory.  The Cleaner, as expected, set up  a steady pace in the lead, and was there to be caught by the swoopers. He held on really well to finish third. Lucky Hussler narrowly missed out on winning, but had to settle for second place.

Unplaced favourite Contributer returns to scale

The Cleaner in the mounting yard

Lucky Hussler returns to scale

Hucklebuck  returns to scale after winning the Emirates Stakes

I only stayed for one more race, the Group 2 Momentum Energy Stakes, a race  for mares run over 2000 metres.

By this time a cool change had come through, so the wind that had been a fierce hot northerly, swung to the south but was still quite strong.

I thought Solicit was a good chance to win. After all she had a couple of consecutive wins back in the autumn and has been close up a few times this spring. She ended up finishing fifth behind Suavito, Girl in Flight and Amanpour who filled the places.

Solicit in the mounting yard

Tango’s Daughter – ran fourth

Girl in Flight – second

Amanpour – third

Suavito returns to scale along the rose path after winning the Momentum Energy Stakes

And so ended the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, though there are a couple of good races at Sandown next Saturday which I will watch with interest.

Looking back over the Spring Racing Carnival, other than the multinationals winning the three big races, no real stars emerged, most of the other Group 1 races being won by one horse or another. The only horses to win two Group 1’s were Dissident (Memsie Stakes & Makybe Diva Stakes) and Trust In A Gust (Rupert Clark Stakes & Toorak Handicap).

Though probably not as good as the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival, it still was interesting all through, and I enjoyed all the race meetings I attended. Highlights were Lucia Valentina winning the Turnbull Stakes, The Cleaner winning the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes and the JRA Cup, Fawkner winning the Caulfield Stakes, and of course the remarkable win of Adelaide in the Cox Plate.

And to finish off this entry I must mention the passing of two old stars of the Australian Turf with a nose thumb to the fundamentalists of the Coalition For The Protection of Racehorses, whose agenda remains mysterious and very iffy.

The two horses in question are Rough Habit and Veandercross, both New Zealand bred and prominent racehorses in the early 1990s.  I remember them well and probably even saw them race.

Rough Habit was euthanised last Friday at the age of 28, and Veandercross died on Caulfield Cup Day at the age of 26.

Rough Habit won 21 feature races, 11 of them at Group 1 level. He won the Stradbroke Handicap twice and the Doomben Cup three times. He narrowly missed winning the 1994 Cox Plate.  He was a cult hero in Queensland and even featured on an Australia Post stamp one time.

Veandercross won 15 races, 8 at Group 1 level and was very unlucky not to have won the 1992 Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup, running a close second in both races. His jockey Shane Dye was blamed both times for his defeat.

Rest In Peace Roughie and Vandy.

The Carnival Goes Out With A Bang–Emirates Stakes Day

The Cleaner – Cox Plate Day

It’s the last day of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival on Saturday and Flemington throws open its gates again to host the Emirates Stakes meeting, featuring two fabulous Group 1 races.

So far this Spring, the three major staying races have been won by horses from three different countries – Cox Plate winner Adelaide is from Ireland, Caulfield Cup winner, the late Admire Rakti was from Japan, and Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist is from Germany – so the Spring racing carnival has gone all multi national these days.

Let’s hope this does not continue at the weekend, and that one or two of our local heroes can win a prestigious Group 1 from a foreign invader.

The first of the Group 1 races is the Darley Classic, formerly known as the Patinack Farm Classic. It’s a sprint over 1200 metres and has attracted a really classy field of crack sprinters including Lankan Rupee, Buffering, new kid on the block Chautauqua, and top Irish sprinter Slade Power.  I daren’t speculate on who will win.

Chautauqua is the current favourite which means Lankan Rupee will be at reasonably good odds for a change.  Slade Power has peculiar barrier manners, that require him to wear a hood until the gates open, and to be loaded last. Racing Victoria has not made many concessions to his eccentricities, so who knows what will happen when they jump.

Tassie hero, the “Lion of Longford”, aka The Cleaner is going for Group 1 glory in the Emirates Stakes, a race over 1600 metres.  Rather than racing against stayers, he faces a field of well performed milers. These include Hooked who won the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day, Hucklebuck who won his last race over 1400 metres  at Flemington a week ago, and Irish import Contributer who is highly fancied and will probably start as favourite.

I’ll be barracking for The Cleaner, who hopefully can run the rest of the field ragged and hang on to the lead to the end. He’ll also be at very good odds, being nowhere near favoured by the Newspaper tipsters.

I’m looking forward as always to going to the track. It will be the last race meeting I’ll attend this year most likely, so god knows what I’ll do on Saturday afternoon from now on.

Emirates Stakes Day, as I discovered last year is a really pleasant meeting, not crowded and pretty laid back.  It’s the pick of the four day Flemington carnival for that reason.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling–Cox Plate Review

Adelaide on his way to the barriers prior to winning the Cox Plate

Though technically only three (his birth date is 19/2/11) Irish colt Adelaide blitzed the Cox Plate field with an astounding run from last position. Starting his move at the 800 metre mark, he raced down the extreme outside to overtake the leaders in the straight and win by a short margin from Fawkner and Silent Achiever, part of a wall of horses hitting the line together.

Just after the corner into the straight – The Cleaner is slightly ahead of Fawkner – Adelaide is on the extreme outside just about to pass Silent Achiever & Side Glance (on her inside).

Another wall of horses finish featured in the other Group 1 race over the weekend.

Lankan Rupee finally quashed his Moonee Valley hoodoo and returned to the winner’s circle with a bold front running win in the Manikato Stakes.  It was another exciting photo finish with little separating the first eight runners who crossed the line, strung out across the track.  Angelic Light grabbed second and outsider Famous Seamus was awarded third place.

I’ve been rather jumping the gun, describing the Cox Plate finish…

When I arrived at the track at about 2.30 pm it was just after Race 3 the Group 2 Drummond Golf Fillies Classic. It was won by Lumosty who outclassed the rest of the field winning by 2 lengths from Tahni Dancer and Berimbau.

As there was plenty of time before Race 4, and as is my usual habit, I wandered out to the stalls area to see who had already arrived. I came across The Cleaner in his stall, with a small crowd of people gathered around.

A nice head shot of The Cleaner in his stall

Also nearby were the International contingent, including eventual Cox Plate winner Adelaide. He’s a beautiful looking animal.

Adelaide in his stall

Next door to him was Au Revoir…

…and Guest of Honour

It was great to see the 2008 Cox Plate winner Maldivian in attendance, primarily to lead out the Cox Plate field. I managed to get a lovely head shot of him in the stalls area.

Maldivian

The field for Race 4 , the Group 3 Telstra Phonewords Stakes was filing out to the track as I left the stalls area, so I headed to the public lawn at the top end of the straight and easily found a position on the fence to watch the race. 

Race 4 – the corner into the straight, Legends in the background with patrons crowded onto the balconies.

The race was won by the favourite Galaxy Pegasus with Law and Nicoscene filling the minor places. I didn’t have any money on the outcome, feeling disinclined to bet on the race.

Race 5 was the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, a Group 2 race for stayers over 2500 metres. Precedence was my selection as he’d won the race last year and also in 2010. It was a rough race where a big kerfuffle occurred on the corner as they turned into the straight for the second time. A gasp arose from those near where I was standing, as Chad Schofield was thrown from Albonetti after she had clipped heels with another horse. Winning jockey Michelle Payne was suspended for 20 meetings as a result of the incident.  Prince of Penzance was the winner, with Le Roi running second and Au Revoir third. Precedence was galloped on, which stymied his chances. Chad Schofield was well enough to ride his two other commitments of the meeting, and Albonetti was unhurt and galloped riderless to the post.

Prince of Penzance on his way to the barriers.

Down the straight in the Moonee Valley Cup – Au Revoir leads at this point with Le Roi in second place and Prince of Penzance about to overtake them.

It was relatively uncrowded at the top end of the public lawn and the surrounding people were a cheery friendly bunch.

A young spiv exclaimed that he’d never seen a horse close up. We made room for him on the fence and tipped him when the horses were about to thunder past. He was wearing an extraordinary watch; a steam punk monster which he said he bought in America. I took a photograph of it ...

My first and only winner of the day was Hooked in the Crystal Mile. As we are now in the sign of Scorpio his name struck me as quite appropriate for the Astrological season, but he did have good form on his side as well.

Hooked on his way to the gates.

He won by 1¾ lengths from Bull Point and Desert Jeuney.

Up the straight in the Crystal Mile, Hooked leads by several lengths

There was still 1½ hours to go before the main event, and I will admit time was starting to drag, so I decided to grab a beer and sit for a while and study the form for the 7th race, the Dilmah Exceptional Teas Vase (it used to be called the Aimee Vase). It’s a Group 2 for three year olds run over the same distance as the Cox Plate (2040 metres).

My selection was Atmosphere so I backed him for a win only. He ran second to Moonovermanhattan who I admit I didn’t fancy as I’ve seen him race several times before where he was unsuccessful.

Moonovermanhattan

The top of the straight in the Vase – Moonovermanhattan leads with Zululand behind him on the inside, Atmosphere (in pink silks & red cap) is running third.

There are those who say the Cox Plate should be run at Flemington, but to my my mind it wouldn’t be the same race. What makes it so special is that it is run on the tight circuit of Moonee Valley, where the atmosphere is electric with anticipation as in an ancient Roman theatre. You have to be there to experience the palpable excitement of the crowd as the race start draws near.

There was plenty of time in hand after the Vase so I returned to the stalls area and came across The Cleaner again, being kitted out for the race. His trainer Mick Burles obligingly posed with his mate “Bill” before leading him out of his stall, so I could get this photo.

The Cleaner aka Bill with trainer Mick Burles

After that I lingered near the parade ring to see the Cox Plate contestants walk around before going to the mounting yard.

Adelaide

Almalad

Criterion

Foreteller

Happy Trails

Royal Descent

Side Glance

The Cleaner

Not all the horses had emerged during the time I was near the parade ring, but I didn’t wait for them, as the time for the Cox Plate was drawing near, so I made my way back to the fence at the top of the public lawn, and photographed some of the others as they made their way to the starting gates.

Fawkner

Sacred Falls

Sweynesse

I’ve described how the Cox Plate finished earlier in this post, but I have not mentioned the start.

Cox Plate start

The Cleaner had the outside barrier (14) and had to work hard to get to the lead which he eventually did,  just after passing the winning post for the first time. This may have been his downfall, but that’s his style of racing. The fairy tale ending was not to be, but The Cleaner led the field at a good clip until half way up straight, where he was overtaken first by Fawkner, then half of the rest the field, but he didn’t give up even then, striving hard to finish 9th, three and half lengths from the winner. With a better barrier, he would undoubtedly have finished closer. Anyway he made the race an honest competition of pace and stamina and set it up for Adelaide.

Adelaide is certainly something special, to come from Ireland after  racing in America in August, to win the Cox Plate in such a remarkable fashion. I suppose one should feel privileged to have witnessed the event. Fawkner and Silent Achiever did the locals proud, narrow runners up to an exceptional talent.

A young woman standing close to me was over the moon with his win, as she’d backed him; no doubt because of his name and the associations it had for her.  As good a way to pick a winner as any.

I had a win bet on Fawkner, so no collect for me, so I headed for the bus stop and home, after another great day at the races in splendid sunshine, a cool breeze keeping it pleasant and balmy.

Next weekend is super Saturday at Flemington with four Group 1 races on the program, the feature being the Victoria Derby. It’s going to be a busy week following that, with the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, the Rolling Stones on Wednesday night, the Crown Oaks on Thursday and the Emirates Stakes meeting on Saturday. I’m undecided if I’ll go to all the races; it depends on how I feel after the Stones concert. I may give the Oaks a miss, but will definitely attend the Emirates, where the Darley Classic Sprint looks like an must see  race with Lankan Rupee up against new emerging sprint sensation Chautauqua.