Orr Stakes Express

Alabama Express returning to scale after winning the Group 1 Orr Stakes

Due to the positively awful weather I chose not to attend the first Saturday meeting of February at Caulfield, much as I would have liked to go, so was disappointed not to see Super Seth take out the Manfred Stakes in impressive fashion. I did however watch the races on my computer, and seeing the rain bucketing down, was thankful to be home and dry.

The weather last Saturday was warm and sunny, though a stiff breeze made it somewhat less than perfect, but it was the first Group 1 meeting of the new Autumn racing season and one not to miss.

Trains thankfully were back on track, so it took less time to reach Caulfield and I arrived in plenty of time to see the first of the Blue Diamond Preludes, the Group 2 Fillies Prelude run over 1100 metres.

As the field was heading out to the starting gates, one filly, Clean Machine, ditched her jockey, Luke Nolen, and took off back to the mounting yard. She was easily caught and guided out once more without drama. I assume a slipped saddle caused her to rear as I noticed she was resaddled at the barriers.

The race itself ended in 30/1 shot Letzbeglam running away with the prize, winning by over 2 lengths from Muntaseera and Geist. Starting favourite was Fresh who finished last.

With a swish of her tail Letzbeglam takes off down the straight

It was different story in the colts and geldings  Blue Diamond Prelude with second favourite Rulership looking the winner up until the last minute when Hanseatic bolted from the tail of the field to snatch victory on the line.  Raithlin finished third.

Rulership & Raithlin fight it out down the straight

Hanseatic charges into the picture to overtake Rulership

The next three races on the card were won by favourites, the first of these being the Group 2 Autumn Stakes, a race for three year old's over 1400 metres. Microphone who won the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes last year and ran second to Kiamichi in the 2019 Golden Slipper was the class colt in the race and the natural favourite.  He looked at one stage as if he couldn’t win, but rallied and tackled the leader Banquo to win by a narrow margin. Adelaide Ace ran a close third.

Microphone about to overtake Banquo as they approach the finish line

Microphone on his way to the barriers

Race 6, the Group 2 Rubiton Stakes was up next. A sprint over 1100 metres it has been won in the past by the likes of Chautauqua, Lankan Rupee, and Nature Strip last year. The favourite was three year old filly Anaheed, who romped in to win by 1¼ lengths from Bold Star and All Too Royal.

Anaheed in full flight down the straight

The feature race was of course the Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes, scheduled to run as Race 8 at 4.50pm, so the Group 3 Carlyon Cup was next up.  A race over 1600 metres, Miss Siska, a half sister to Black Caviar’s great rival Hay List, was the favourite.

She delivered in spades, and after racing three wide for most of the race, won by 1¼ lengths from Odeon  and Guizot.

Miss Siska flashes down the straight

Odeon leads the rest of the field behind Miss Siska

Miss Siska on her way to the barriers

Odeon on his way to the barriers

Guizot on his way to the barriers

It had been a long afternoon so it was a relief when the Orr Stakes field finally filed out onto the track.

As my photos of some of the contenders turned out rather well here is a selection.

Avilius

Begood Toya Mother

Hey Doc

Ringerdingding

Scales of Justice

So Si Bon

Former Western Australian horse Scales of Justice started as favourite, but ended up unplaced. Hey Doc and Begood Toya Mother fought out the lead for most of the race, then were swamped by Alabama Express who had been racing handy in fourth place and sailed past to win by a neck from the fast finishing Fierce Impact and Kings Will Dream.

Alabama Express takes the lead

Alabama Express in full flight down the straight

Alabama Express was the sole three year old in the field, so he did have a weight advantage. A son of Redoute’s Choice, he emulated his sire who won the C.F. Orr Stakes at the age of three 20 years ago in 2000.

I can’t say I’ve ever taken much notice of Alabama Express and obviously the punters didn’t give him a chance as he paid a generous double figure dividend.

Next Saturday the racing is at Flemington for the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning, starring Nature Strip. Also on the card is the C S Hayes Stakes which looks like it could be a doozy of a race with the exciting prospect of Alligator Blood taking on top New Zealand colt Catalyst and possibly Super Seth as well.

Makybe Diva Stakes Day & Go Winx

Humidor winning the 2017 Makybe Diva Stakes

Group 1 racing returns to Flemington this Saturday with the running of the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes, and at Randwick in Sydney, superstar Winx continues her progress towards the Cox Plate in the Group 1 George Main Stakes the day after her 7th birthday.

So there’s lots of action as the Spring racing carnival gathers pace.

Much as I’d like to be in Sydney to watch Winx race, I’ll be attending the Flemington meeting. It is very likely that Winx will contest the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington in early October, so I’ll be content to wait until then to see her in the flesh in what may be her last racing season.

It all depends on the train timetable at which time I will reach Flemington, but I hope to be there in plenty of time to watch Race 4, the Listed Antler Luggage Plate where the handsome Brutal will be aiming to keep his so far unbeaten run intact.  His main opponents are The August, Good ‘n’ Fast, Crockett and Declarationofheart.

Besides the Makybe Diva Stakes, there’s a solid support card with three Group 2 races, the first to run being the Bobby Lewis Quality, a sprint over 1200 metres. Hey Doc, who disappointed at Moonee Valley at his last start will probably start as favourite.  The rest of the field is not much chop, the best being Rich Charm, Grand Rosso and Crack Me Up.

The Let’s Elope Stakes has attracted a nice field of well performed mares that include I Am A Star, La Bella Diosa, Miss Gunpowder, Merriest, Bella Martini and Kenedna returning after a long break. 

As the Makybe Diva Stakes has not been consecutively won by the same horse since the 1950s, can last year’s winner Humidor achieve this rare double?  He surprised at big odds winning the Memsie Stakes at his second start for spring 2018.  Half of the 12 strong field that contested the Memsie Stakes have accepted for the Makybe Diva.  Added to the usual suspects – Happy Clapper, Humidor, Kementari et al  are the in form Comin’ Through, New Zealander Jon Snow and  Western Australian Pounamu.  Other than the aforementioned the romantically named Kings Wiil Dream looks top pick having won over the distance at Flemington previously.

Run after the Makybe Diva Stakes, the third of the Group 2 races is the Danehill Stakes for three year olds run over 1200 metres. Top chances are Native Soldier, Tavisan and Ef Troop. I probably won’t witness it first hand as I plan to leave Flemington after the feature race.

The must see race of the day is of course the George Main Stakes where Winx will be facing seven rivals, four of them her stablemates Who Shot Thebarman, Religify, Egg Tart and Unforgotten. Unforgotten won the Chelmsford Stakes at her last start, a race won by Winx the previous year. Though not likely to beat the invincible Winx, she is very likely to run second. 2017 Victorian Derby winner Ace High and three time Group 1 winner Le Romain are also not without place claims.

There are also some quality Group 2 races at Randwick, The Shorts for instance, a sprint over 1100 metres that pits three The Everest stakeholders against each other, namely Redzel, Brave Smash and Invincible Star. It looks a doozy of a race.

Though it is warm and sunny in Melbourne today, the weather is forecast to be cold and wet tomorrow. Hopefully it will not be as bad as predicted.  It seems that each weekend of this spring racing season the weather alternates between one extreme and the other – sunny and soggy.

Handsome Brute – Racing at Moonee Valley

Brutal returns to scale after winning the McKenzie Stakes

One of the star attractions for me at Moonee Valley last Saturday was to see the hyped colt Brutal run the second race of his career. He had won his first start at Caulfield back in July by 5 lengths, so there was a great deal of interest in seeing how he’d fare in his second, and whether he would live up to expectations.

Though he didn’t win the Listed McKenzie Stakes by as great a margin, it was a tougher competition and he prevailed, overtaking race leader Tavisan for a gritty hard fought win.

He’s a very pretty young fellow, quite an eye catcher in fact. I noticed him in the parade ring early in the afternoon and he had a distinct air, that stood him out from other horses circumambulating at the same time.

The McKenzie Stakes was run as Race 7 in late afternoon, but I reached Moonee Valley around 1.45pm, and just caught the end of Race 3, the MSC Signs Plate, which Michelle Payne won on Sweet Rockette, a filly she also trains, upstaging the race favourite Multaja. Quite an achievement!

Getting to Moonee Valley from Ivanhoe is pretty easy with a number of public transport options. I chose this time to catch the 510 Ivanhoe to Essendon bus, which links to a connecting tram near Pascoe Vale Road. This I caught  to Moonee Ponds Junction, the whole journey taking about 45 minutes all up.

Entering Moonee Valley racecourse I noticed this special display honouring Winx’s three Cox Plate victories.

Winx tribute close to racecourse entrance

I didn’t manage to get any photos of Race 3, so sauntered around the stalls area to kill time until the next race. I was hoping to get photos of Brutal and Hey Doc, but neither were in their stalls at that time.

Returning later I snapped this photo of Brutal in his stall

Brutal in his stall

A woman standing by asked the strapper if Brutal was a biter. The strapper admitted he was a biter, but having a large over bite didn’t cause too much damage.

Back trackside on the public lawn I watched Race 4, the Woodside Park Handicap, run  over 2500 metres.  Starting favourite Tiffany’s Lass led from start to finish and won by 1¼ lengths from Fontein Lad, with French import Zilbiyr running third.

Tiffany’s Lass leads down the straight to the finish line

Tiffany’s Lass returns to scale

Fontein Lad returns to scale

As you can see from the above photos the afternoon was sunny for a change and good for taking photos. Though it remained sunny out the back in the stalls area, as the afternoon progressed the shadow of the grandstand gradually overlay the the track.

Race 5 was the Dr Sheahan Plate, a race for mares over 1200 metres.  The Chris Waller trained Our Malambo won, with Mamzelle Tess running second and Chiavari third.

Our Malambo has a good lead down the straight

By the time Race 6 was run the shadows had lengthened over the track, which made photography somewhat tricky, so these photos of the finish are somewhat dark.

Trap For Fools, another who led from start to finish on the pace favoured track, won the I Print Handicap (race 6) from Our Venus Beach and Sikanderabad.

Trap For Fools crosses the finish line 2½ lengths ahead of his nearest rival

Trap For Fools returns to scale

Moonee Valley recently installed a new finishing post, doing away with the old display that required a couple of blokes to change the sponser names after each race…

Moonee Valley old finishing post

…to a new snazzy digital display.

New winning post

Throughout the afternoon I’d mostly watched the races from the east side of the course, but by the time the feature Mckenzie Stakes was run, the track was shadowed up to and beyond the finishing post, so I moved back to the public lawn for the remainder of the afternoon.

Brutal is about to overtake Tavisan as they gallop towards the finish line

I stayed for Race 8, the Carlyon Stakes a sprint over 1100 metres. Dual Group 1 winner Hey Doc was the favourite, but he only managed to finish 5th. The race was run at a blistering pace, close to the track record, and the globetrotting Faatinah won the bickies from race leader Sunday Escape with Mr Sneaky running third.

Up the straight, Faatinah (blue silks) is about to overtake Sunday Escape with Mr Sneaky trailing behind

I called it quits after the Carlyon Stakes and headed for the bus terminal at Moonee Ponds Junction, just managing to catch the 504 Moonee Ponds to Clifton Hill bus.

It was pleasant being back at Moonee Valley it being one of my favourite race courses, and generally excellent for taking action photos.

I’ll finish this post with a final photo.

It’s not every day that you come across a unicycling juggler, so I couldn’t resist getting a photo of this friendly bloke, who was only too pleased to pose for it.

Unicycling Juggler

Next Saturday the racing returns to Caulfield where the Group 1 Memsie Stakes is the feature race, with an interesting support card. Black Caviar’s second foal, a colt named Prince of Caviar, is nominated for the Group 3 HDF McNeil Stakes, so I hope he is part of the field at acceptance time, as I’ve yet to see him in the flesh.

Seeing Red– Black Caviar Lightning Review

Regan Bayliss celebrates Redkirk Warrior’s Lightning win as he returns to scale

It was another classic Group 1 finish in the Black Caviar Lightning with Redzel, who looked the winner, being overtaken at the finish line by Redkirk Warrior, who flashed down the outside to win by a nose. It was a perfectly timed run by jockey Regan Bayliss who had reason to celebrate after several recent misjudged rides had dented his reputation. Missrock finished third 1.3 lengths behind.

I reached Flemington at around 1.30 pm,  and headed directly to the stalls area to see the Living Legends who were out in force to mark The Great Horse Raceday.  As I already have heaps of photos of the old legends,  I didn’t bother to get snaps, other than one of Maluckyday who I had not seen before.

Maluckyday – 2nd in the 2010 Melbourne Cup

Dillydallying in the stalls area I missed  Race 3, but returned trackside to watch Race 4, the Goodwood Racecourse Handicap (1600 metres) where the romantically named Kings Will Dream, an Irish import with the Darren Weir Stable,  won easily from Notio and Downhearted.

Kings Will Dream wins the Goodwood Racecourse Handicap

Kings Will Dream returns to scale

Flemington was in festive mode though not crowded, with families out in force. The roses were not yet in full bloom, no doubt perfectly timed to display their full glory on Australian Cup Day.

Flemington roses

Race 5 was the Royal Ascot Handicap, a sprint over 1200 metres and the Darren Weir trained Ken’s Dream won the race comfortably from Lucky Liberty and Prima.

Ken’s Dream (outside) wins the Royal Ascot Handicap

Ken’s Dream returns to scale

At Randwick, Winx was scheduled to have a trial under race conditions against her stablemates and the race was played on the big screen. Winx looked as good as ever, winning the trial easily in her customary style.

Meanwhile at Flemington, while waiting for Race 6, I idly watched a group of guys form various pyramid poses for photos.  They looked absurd, but obviously put some thought into their configurations. Naturally, a girl was enlisted to take photos.

High spirited race patrons

With the Group 3 Vanity Stakes up next, I took up a position on the mounting yard fence to get photos of the fillies parade.

Aloisia

Bring Me Roses

Rimraam

Then I returned to my favourite spot at the access gate to photograph the race.

Aloisia started as favourite, but she was nowhere in the finish, the race being won by Rimraam from Bring Me Roses and Shokora.

Rimraam wins the Vanity Stakes

Rimraam returns to scale

The C S Hayes Stakes was next to jump and the last race before the feature event.

It was a wide open race that any of the 18 strong field could have won, the oddly named Grunt eventually winning quite impressively from Cliff’s Edge and Muraaqeb.

 
Grunt wins the CS Hayes Stakes

Grunt returns to scale

For the Black Caviar Lightning I decided not to bother taking photos from my usual spot, due to Flemington sprint fields generally splitting into two sections – one on the inner rail, the other on the Grandstand side, which makes it hard to get photos of the finish.

So I hung around near the clock tower after watching the mounting yard parade.

Redzel  on his way to the track from the mounting yard

Hey Doc in the mounting yard

Redkirk Warrior in the mounting yard

Terravista in the mounting yard

Missrock on her way to the track from the mounting yard

Wouldn’t you know it, the field raced in a bunch down the centre of the track, so I made the wrong call for photographs. The light would have been much better at my usual spot, rather than waiting for the  runners to return to scale with the sun in an unfavourable position for photos – too dark as it turned out, though I must admit the photo of Redkirk Warrior returning to scale above isn’t all that bad.

Redzel returns to scale

Redkirk Warrior in the winners rug

I headed home after the Lightning Stakes, the two trains transporting me thence coinciding nicely at Southern Cross Station.

Next week we return to Caulfield for Blue Diamond Stakes Day, which features three Group 1 events. Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign will be contesting one of them, so something to look forward to, though it could be tricky and tiresome getting to Caulfield with buses replacing trains between Ivanhoe and Clifton Hill.