A Princess of Tasmania & The Queen of the World

Mystic Journey wins the Australian Guineas

Girl power was to the fore again last Saturday with Queen of the Turf, Winx, winning her 31st consecutive race, and also achieving 23 Group 1 wins - a world record.

At Flemington, Tasmanian filly Mystic Journey won the feature Australian Guineas, becoming only the 5th filly to win the race and the first Tasmanian trained horse to win a Group 1 on the mainland.

Because of the extreme heat, the races at Flemington were brought forward by two hours, so the last race on the card was at 3.20pm.

And hot it was, though it deterred the crowds making it easy to find a seat in the shade between races.

I reached Flemington earlier than I originally planned, shortly before midday, in time to watch race 3, the Bob Hoysted Handicap, a sprint over 1000 metres.

It was won by She’s So High by a length from veteran Thermal Current with I Am Someone running third.

She’s so High returns to scale

I decided to give race 4 a miss and go and check out the stalls. Not many of the star horses had arrived, so I didn’t get any stall photos, and besides the rampant rose hedges made getting clear shots very difficult.

Returning to my favourite spot on at the access gate, I retrieved my step from behind the rose hedge and pretty well stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

The roses were out in abundance…

Rose hedge next to access gate, with my step ready to stand on

Race 5 was the not very interesting Seppelt Wines Plate, a handicap race for three year olds over 1400 metres.

Age of Chivalry, last seen running second to The Inevitable in the C S Hayes Stakes was the favourite, but he was beaten by a nose by 14/1 shot Mr Quickie, with Brilliant Choice a short distance back, running third.

Seppelts Wine Plate finish – Mr Quickie, Age of Chivalry & Brilliant Choice cross the finish line together

Mr Quickie returns to scale

Age of Chivalry on his way to the barriers

The next three races were of more interest and race 6, the Group 3 Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap also resulted in a long shot winner. Violate stole the prize from Streets of Avalon and Zebulon.

Violate & Streets of Avalon cross the finish line together

Violate returns to scale

Streets of Avalon on his way to the barriers

Zebulon on his way to the barriers

The David Hayes trained Fifty Stars, So Si Bon and Cool Chap ran the trifecta in race 7, the Group 2 Blamey Stakes.  2017 Melbourne Cup runner up Johannes Vermeer, having his first start since that race, finished fourth.

Blamey Stakes finish – Fifty Stars leads with So Si Bon on his outside

Fifty Stars on his way to the barriers

So Si Bon on his way to the barriers

Cool Chap on his way to the barriers

Johannes Vermeer on his way to the barriers

Due to the heat, the interval between races was reduced to 35 minutes rather than the usual 40 minutes, so it wasn’t long to wait for the feature Group 1 Australian Guineas, scheduled to run at 2.45pm.

Amphitrite was the starting favourite with Mystic Journey being second choice.

I got some nice photos of the field as they headed to the starting gates…

Amphitrite

Extra Brut

Long Leaf

Stars of Carrum

Ringerdingding

The Inevitable

Mystic Journey

Hawkshot

The talented Tasmanian filly had drawn barrier 1, either a blessing or a curse, so Mystic Journey raced close to the speed inside Amphitrite in about fifth place. Hawkshot, who had drawn a wide barrier took the lead shortly after the start and led throughout until Mystic Journey broke through close to the finish line to go on and win by over two lengths. Hawkshot held on to finish second ahead of Amphitrite (third) and Ringerdingding (fourth).

Mystic Journey travelled to Melbourne by boat, aboard the Spirit of Tasmania, the ferry that crosses Bass Strait from Devonport to Melboune.

A former ferry across the Bass Strait was the Princess of Tasmania which operated from 1959 to 1972, hence the title of this post. I travelled on it in 1971 with my boyfriend of the time and remember the adventures we had hitchhiking from Devonport to Hobart, then up the East Coast on the return journey.

We’ll next see Mystic Journey in the All Star Mile on 16 March at Flemington. She was chosen as one of the wild card entries yesterday along with Hawkshot and Hartnell. She is building up an impressive picket fence having won her last six races.

The last race on the card was the Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes,  an interesting race for fillies and mares over 1400 metres. 

As the afternoon was still young I stayed for it and tarried another ten minutes at the track to watch the Chipping Norton Stakes on the big screen.

Oregon’s Day denied race favourite Clarice Cliffs victory in the Frances Tressady  Stakes, registering her first win for almost a year.  The 2018 Victorian Oaks winner Aristia finished third.

Approaching the finishing post in the Frances Tressady Stakes

Oregon’s Day returns to scale

Clarice Cliffs on her way to the barriers

Aristia on her way to the barriers

What more can be said about Winx other than a quote from the Bard:

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.

In the Chipping Norton Stakes, Happy Clapper issued a challenge to the mighty mare, sprinting  away from the start and leading throughout, increasing the distance between himself and Winx by a wider and wider margin.  For a brief moment we all thought she could get beaten. But no, she overtook Happy Clapper close to the finish and won by over a length, setting a new course record into the bargain.

Winx has only two more races to contest before she retires, but she could easily have returned in Spring for another campaign as she appears to be just as good as she ever was.

As mentioned before, Flemington was not crowded at all. The Kid Zone was at the far end of the west lawn and the theme was Enchanted Forest. I didn’t bother going to investigate it, but two stilt walkers dressed as ladybirds stalked around the public lawn at intervals.

When they saw me focussing my camera on them, they adopted the following pose. They must have been boiling in their costumes!

Stilt walkers

Next week is Super Saturday, again at Flemington, featuring the Group 1 Australian Cup and Newmarket Handicap.

I’m looking forward to seeing Sunlight again, who is running in the Newmarket, and keen to get a glimpse of 2017 Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling in the Australian Cup.

A Class Act – Australian Guineas & Winx Again

Mystic Journey – Cox Plate Day 2018

It was hard to decide which racehorse photo I would use to illustrate this post, but I settled on one of Mystic Journey as she is the most intriguing runner in the Australian Guineas field.

In the past few years (from 2015) the Randwick Guineas has been run on the same day as the Australian Guineas, so fields for each race have been diluted with several top three year olds running in one or the other of them.

This year the scheduling of the two Guineas races has reverted to the old format and the Australian Guineas can shine once more as a quality Group 1 race. It has attracted a quite wonderful field of contestants that include Extra Brut (Victoria Derby winner), Amphitrite (Thousand Guineas winner)  and other recent impressive runners such as Hawkshot, The Inevitable, Mystic Journey, Verry Elleegant and Ringerdingding.

Mystic Journey was the early favourite for this race and I can understand why. With two very good wins under her belt already this season, she has marked herself as quite an exceptional filly. If she does win the Australian Guineas she will be regarded as a potential superstar of the turf.  It’s her greatest test to date and I’ll be quietly hoping that she passes with honours.

In Sydney Winx will be racing against five of her stablemates and trusty old Happy Clapper in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes.  It looks a shoe in for the mighty mare, and if she wins, she will achieve another milestone by winning 23 Group 1 races -  a world record.

The other Group 1 race on Saturday is the Surround Stakes, also at Randwick. For three year old fillies run over 1400 metres, it has a classy field that includes well performed fillies such as Oohood, Fiesta, Fundamentalist, Miss Fabulass and Nakeeta Jane to name some of the main chances.

After this weekend  there are only two more Saturdays of racing in the Melbourne autumn racing carnival – super Saturday on 9th March and the new fangled, and quite bizarre, All Star Mile on the 16th March.

A Hot Day of Racing at Caulfield

Loving Gaby  - winner of the Chairman’s Stakes

The Darren Weir scandal broke late last week and resulted in all his nominated horses being scratched from events over the weekend., including Caulfield on Saturday.

So the day panned out somewhat differently than originally anticipated.

It was quite eerie wandering around the stalls area and seeing empty stalls where there is usually a strong contingent of Weir runners. Missing were two I was looking forward to seeing – stable stars Nature Strip and Extra Brut, who were set to kick off their autumn campaigns on Saturday.

Darren Weir appears to be in deep trouble and is likely to lose his training licence. Many of the horses in his care have been moved to other stables already.

It was an extremely hot day, so I didn’t stay all that long at the track, arriving in time to watch race 4, the Ladbroke’s Handicap and leaving after race 7, the RJ Adams Stakes.

One of the feature races of the day was the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes, a race over 1000 metres for two year old Blue Diamond aspirants.

It was worth the price of admission to see Loving Gaby,  a big strapping filly, having her first start, blitz the rest of the field, winning impressively, racing from the tail of the field to defeat Bella Rosa by half a length with race leader Lanigera holding on for third.

Just past the post in the Chairman’s Stakes

The other interesting race was the Listed RJ Adams Stakes, a sprint over 1000 metres. Last year’s Blue Diamond Stakes winner Written By started as the hot favourite. He led throughout but was pipped at the post by 8/1 chance Bons Away with the blue blood Encryption running third two lengths from the leaders.

Bons Away returns to scale

Written By returning to the stalls area after the race

Next Saturday features the Orr Stakes, the first Group 1 race of the Autumn racing season and is run at Caulfield. Also on the card are the two Blue Diamond Preludes and several other Group events. With the weather predicted to be mild for a change, it will be much more comfortable  to attend.

Catch Me! I Am Immortal – Blue Diamond Previews

Shortly after the finish of the fillies Blue Diamond Preview – first three home Catch Me (green silks) Jedastar (blue silks) & Shih Tzou (blue cap)

The first Group 1 race of Melbourne’s Autumn Racing Carnival is less than a fortnight hence, so I decided last Saturday to psych myself up and head to the races at Caulfield.

It wasn’t a terribly interesting meeting other than the two Blue Diamond Previews, where one is afforded an early opportunity to see  Blue Diamond bound babes in action.  Several winners of the Previews have gone on to win the Blue Diamond Stakes, most recently Sepoy (2011), Reward For Effort (2009) and Miracles of Life (2013).

I did not make a long day of it, arriving at Caulfield in time to watch Race 3, which was the Le Pines Funerals Handicap run over 1400 metres. The Hawkes trained Groundbreak started as favourite but finished out of the placings. Critical Thinking, a son of So You Think, led from the start and held on to win narrowly over Simply Invincible and Indian Thunder.

Just past the post – Critical Thinking still leads

The first of the Previews to run was the colts edition and I Am Immortal started as favourite even though this was his first start, though he had impressed recently in a trial at Pakenham.  He also led from the start and held on to win by a length from second favourite Microphone with Alburq running third another length behind.

I managed to get photos of most of the field in the pre-parade ring, and the standout good looker was Brazen Brando who looked the spitting image of his sire Brazen Beau, also a stunner. He ran fourth, racing from the rear of the field with an impressive turn of foot.

Brazen Brando in the pre-parade ring

I Am Immortal in the pre-parade ring

Shortly after the finish, I Am Immortal still leads Microphone

I Am Immortal returns to scale

In the fillies Blue Diamond Preview, Catch Me’s win was the more impressive and hard won, as she ran three wide for most of the race, then broke through to defeat race favourite, and leader, Jedastar by a length, with Shih Tzou following for a narrow third.

Catch Me returns to scale

Interestingly both Catch Me and I Am Immortal were sired by I Am Invincible. Whether either are good enough to win the Blue Diamond is yet to be seen.

I called it quits after the fillies Preview and headed home, the heat of day putting me off staying longer.

Next Saturday’s race card at Caulfield looks somewhat more interesting with a possible clash between classy speedsters, the handsome chestnuts, Written By and Nature Strip in the
Listed W J Adams Handicap, and Victoria Derby winner Extra Brut is nominated for the feature Group 3 Manfred Stakes.

The equine stars are emerging at last as the racing scene builds up to Group 1 action.

And of course there’s Winx, who will kick off her final season of racing in the Apollo Stakes on February 16.

I’ve been contemplating going to see her in Sydney again for the last time and tossing up between Golden Slipper day and Queen Elizabeth Stakes day. Golden Slipper day, at Rosehill, where Winx, all going to plan, will be running in the George Ryder Stakes, has won out.  I would prefer to go to Rosehill rather than Randwick – it’s better for photos.  Anyway, my flight to Sydney is booked, as is accommodation, so I can’t change my mind.

Spring Racing Finale

Mackinnon Stakes – Trap for Fools defeats Latrobe, Extra Brute & Prized Icon

The Mackinnon Stakes used to be run on Derby Day and was usually contested by Melbourne Cup bound stayers, but has in recent times become less relevant to the Cup with International runners dominating the big two mile handicap.

Since 2016 the Mackinnon Stakes is now one of the two Group 1 races run on the final day of Flemington’s racing carnival. The Emirates Stakes used to be run on this day but now is one of the feature races on Derby Day and retitled the Kennedy Mile.

This last day of the carnival is generally pretty pleasant and not as crowded as Derby Day or Melbourne Cup day, and so it was last Saturday, making it easier to move around the course.

I arrived at Flemington at around 1.30 pm in time to witness, though not photograph, race 3, the Listed Spring Stakes for three year olds.  I’d taken along my step stool and got it through Security without any difficulty, but it was cumbersome to carry around so I hid it behind the rose hedge near my favourite spot on the access gate along from the finish line, so I could go and visit the stalls area.

Security was out in even more force last Saturday due to the incident in Bourke Street on Friday afternoon, and they made taking photos challenging, intruding on my view of the finish line and horses returning to scale.

I didn’t tarry long in the stalls area, only getting a few photos of Darren Weir’s contendants for the feature races.

Brave Smash – VRC Sprint

Derby winner Extra Brut a contender for the Mackinnon Stakes

Trap For Fools – Mackinnon Stakes eventual winner

Back trackside for race 4, the Group 3 Chatham Stakes, I was keen to try out my step and see if it overcame the high rail that obstructs one’s view of the track, and it worked like a charm. Though only 220 mm high, it gave me sufficient leverage to avoid rails intruding on shots, and as the sun was shining, most of my photos came out well.

Dreamforce, the winner of the Chatham Stakes led from the start to the finish to hold out Widgee Turf and Perast.

Chatham Stakes finish – Dreamforce wins

Dreamforce on his way to the barriers

Widgee Turf returning to scale

Perast returning to scale

Race 5 was the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a race for stayers over 2600 metres.  Race favourite Jaameh fought out the finish with Sully down the straight, to win by a nose. Libran ran third two lengths behind.

Jaameh & Sully head to head cross the finish line in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes

Jaameh returning to scale

The feature Group 1 races were scheduled as races 7 and 8, so there was one more race to go  before they were run. This was the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes for mares run over 2000 metres.

Miss Siska was the race favourite , but was relegated to second place by the Darren Weir trained Kenedna who had not won for over a year. Sydney mare Luvaluva finished third.

Kenedna breaks through to win the Matriarch Stakes

Kenedna on her way to the barriers

Miss Siska on her way to the barriers

Luvaluva on her way to the barriers

Sprints down the straight at Flemington are always difficult to photograph as the field either splits into two separate groups or races down the middle towards the grandstand side, so you are lucky to get the winner in the picture of the finish. To make matters worse, the security guys spread themselves around the perimeter of the course outside the fence but within the outer rail. As a consequence I totally failed to get any photos of the VRC Sprint finish.

Santa Ana Lane raced down the grandstand side to defeat In Her Time.  Jungle Cat and Pierata dead heated for third. Santa Ana Lane has now won five Group 1 races in three States.  The VRC Sprint field was as good as the field that contested The Everest, and The Everest winner, Redzel, was the hot favourite for the Flemington sprint, but finished fifth.

Santa Ana Lane returns to scale

In Her Time returns to scale

Jungle Cat (no 5) & Pierata return to scale

Quite a few of the Group 1 races contested this spring were won by International raiders, so Santa Ana Lane’s victory was sweet for locally bred racers, as was the win of Trap For Fools in the Mackinnon Stakes. 

Originally racing in Western Australia, Trap For Fools is now trained by Jarrod McLean who is based at Yangery outside Melbourne near Woodford. 

Trap For Fools was denied a chance to run in the Cox Plate this year and missed running in the Coongy Cup on Caulfield Cup day owing to a stabling mix up, but ran second to Ventura Storm in the Moonee Valley Cup, so he is thoroughly deserving of a Group 1 win. 

He led from the start and held on to win by a nose from import Latrobe having his first start in Australia. Victoria Derby winner Extra Brut flew from the tail of the field to finish a close third.

Trap For Fools on his way to the barriers

Latrobe on his way to the barriers

Extra Brut on his way to the barriers

The step stool, as well as giving me an advantage when taking photos, also doubled as a handy seat in between races, so I’ll definitely take it along to Flemington in the future.

A young couple asked if I’d take their photo, so here it is for Johanna and Martin with the finishing post in the background.

In the main it has been an entertaining Spring Racing Carnival, the highlight being of course Winx’s Cox Plate.

It was sad that Thecliffsofmoher was euthanised on Melbourne Cup Day, but generally the season was relatively injury free.

RIP Thecliffsofmoher – A handsome beast photographed on Caulfield Cup Day

I won’t know what to do with myself on Saturday from now on, but perhaps I can think of other things to blog about whilst waiting for the Autumn racing season.