The Love Horse Returns!

Lankan Rupee – Blue Diamond Stakes Day – 22 February 2014

This Saturday Moonee Valley Racing Club hosts the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes, a Group 2 race over 1600 metres. Though there is no Group 1 action this weekend, the Moonee Valley meeting has two very interesting Group 2 races, the aforementioned Dato Tan and the McEwen Stakes.

I have been attending this meeting for over ten years; in fact for many years it was the only race meeting I went to at all.

Over the years it has changed complexion, and different races were run. Up until 2009 the Manikato Stakes was the feature race, but that is now run Cox Plate eve.  

Also up to this year  there was the W H Stock Stakes a Group 2 race for mares, but that has been moved as well to the Moir Stakes night meeting later this month.

And this year the Dato Tan race meeting has been moved back a week, which has affected the acceptances for the feature race. Normally horses contesting the Memsie Stakes would run in the Dato Tan, but now the natural progression will be to go to the Makybe Diva Stakes, formerly run on this date, but now moved forward a week.

So it’s lucky that horses of the calibre of Lankan Rupee, acknowledged as the best sprinter in the world, will be competing on Saturday, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered to attend.

Lankan Rupee will be starting his spring campaign in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes and will no doubt start hot favourite.  Dubbed the “horse with a heart”, due to the distinctive heart marking on his forehead, he is also known as the “love” horse by others. Gone are the days when you could get good odds on him, as you could in the autumn, so he’ll be at unbackable odds tomorrow.

I can’t really see him being beaten, but fighting out second place will be eight other contestants chief among them being the filly Eloping and New Zealand horse Cauthen, thrown in at the deep end for his first start in nine months. He was also nominated for the Drummond Golf Stakes, but failed to make the field.  Others with a place chance are Our Nkwazi, Angelic Light, Orujo and Unpretentious.

The Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes generally attracts an interesting field of middle distance and long distance stayers starting their spring campaigns on their way to hopefully greater glory in the big cups and the Cox Plate. As previously mentioned, I have been going to this race meeting for over 10 years and have seen the stars of the turf of the day in action. I witnessed Northerly and Sunline racing against each other for the first time in 2001 in the Feehan Stakes as the Dato Tan was known then. Northerly overcame Sunline in the straight and won by a short margin.  I also saw Makybe Diva race twice in the Dato Tan, running second each time before going on to win her second and third Melbourne Cups in 2004 and 2005.  It certainly was something to see her burning around the outside of the field from the 600 and just narrowly missing out on a win.

This year’s Dato Tan has the current Melbourne Cup favourite in the field. The Offer won the Sydney Cup by almost 4 lengths, so it’s no wonder he is favourite. He’s trained by Gai Waterhouse who also trained last year’s Dato Tan and Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente. Looking at The Offer’s form, he obviously performs best over longer distances, but as proved by Fiorente last year a genuine stayer can still win over the 1600 metres.  By all accounts he’s a really good looking horse, so I’m keen to see him in the flesh.

His main opposition comes from crowd favourite The Cleaner, a speedy front runner with fitness on his side. If you follow Astrology his name is perfect for the zodiac sign of September – Virgo. Attributes of the sign of Virgo include  a compulsive need to tidy and clean. They’re handy if you’re having a party as they’ll do most of the clearing up for you at the end of the night.

Also in the picture is Star Rolling who won the PB Lawrence Stakes at long odds a fortnight ago. However, there is a hoodoo on PB Lawrence Stakes winners, as the the last four or five winners have failed to win again through the season, e.g. Puissance de Lune last year.

Old tried and true campaigner Foreteller is part of the field, and though he has not won a race for over a year, he occasionally springs a surprise.

Others with a chance are Lidari who finished second in this race last year and Mourinho who recently won at Moonee Valley over a similar distance.

In Sydney, the Randwick race card is much more interesting than what is on offer in Melbourne, with a host of horsey stars resuming in various choice Group 2 races.

The first of these is the Furious Stakes where Blue Diamond Stakes winner Earthquake kicks off her spring.  As usual Sydney has been wet so the track will be slow,  a condition Earthquake does not handle all that well and led to her defeat in the Golden Slipper. Still, she’s a very classy filly and wasn’t beaten by all that much in her only loss. Her greatest opponent in the Furious Stakes appears to be dual Group 1 winner Peggy Jean who has good wet form.  Alpha Miss, Winx and Memorial look the best of the rest.

The Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes is the feature race on the Randwick card and has attracted an outstanding field that include Sacred Falls, Royal Descent, Hawkspur and Criterion – all Group 1 winners with wet form. It is run over 1600 metres so suits middle distance runners and stayers.  It’s hard to pick the winner as any of the above could take home the prize.  Whatever, it is the race to watch on Saturday.

And finally for the Sydney racing scene I will make a point of watching the Group 2 Tramway Stakes (1400 metres) where Oaks winning mares Kirramosa and Rising Romance are in the mix along with Storm Queen Stakes winner Lucia Valentina in a big open field.  Top weight Tiger Tees will be gunning for a hat trick of wins, if he can defeat the likes of Weary and the aforementioned mares.

To finish this entry, the latest news on two former queens of the turf.

Black Caviar is expected to drop her first foal this month, an event that will no doubt be reported in the news headlines.  Will it be a colt or a filly? Check out this recent video shot at the secret location where she is waiting to give birth.

The other star mare More Joyous had her first foal (by star British horse Frankel) in early August – a chestnut filly.  There are photos of the filly here.

The Wide Open Spaces of Flemington

Beluga Caviar – a close relative to you know who

Psyching myself up for the Spring racing carnival, which will take off in earnest in two weeks, I decided to test if my Flemington season pass was working, so headed off to the big track yesterday.

By no means first class racing, it was however a moderately interesting meeting with the feature race being the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap, run over 1200 metres.

It was scheduled as Race 7, but as I arrived in good time to place a bet on a runner in the third race, the Trevor Dray & William Nield Handicap, I was obliged to stay for several hours to witness the main event. The time flitted by pretty fast.

Race 3 was for fillies and mares and run over 2000 metres. My selection Reckless Assassin romped home the winner 1½ lengths from Zazparella with Anfitriona running third, so I was pleased to see my afternoon at the races start on a winning note, even though my luck went down from then on.

Reckless Assassin being paraded after her win.

I was interested in witnessing the next race, the Joyann Erskine & Philip Carroll Handicap (1400 metres) due to the presence of Beluga Caviar, a three year old colt who is a close relative to Black Caviar. His dam Scandinavia is Black Caviar’s grand dam. Beluga Caviar was having the second start in his career. At his debut he ran third and yesterday he scored that placing again. So. he’s no Black Caviar or All Too Hard, but it’s early days yet. He’s a big boy and quite a good looker.

Beluga Caviar in the mounting yard

The race was won by the sole filly Fontein Ruby from Coram.

Fontein Ruby returns to scale after winning the Joyann Erskine & Philip Carroll Handicap

The fifth race was an open sprint over 1200 metres. I had my money on Hot Mama who only managed to run sixth. The race was won by Play Master, who I must admit I hadn’t even considered as a chance.

Hot Mama on her way to the track

I didn’t bother having a wager on the next race, rather I was more interested in the Sydney races at Randwick where two much more interesting races were featured. The first of these was the Listed The Rosebud for three year olds over 1200 metres. It had a crack field of classy colts and fillies that included the unbeaten Inkling, Sarajevo and Nayeli who I had witnessed winning the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes in Autumn. The race was won by long shot Scissor Kick, from Better Land with Inkling running third.

The other Sydney race, the Group 2 Missile Stakes was the pick of the afternoon with a fabulous field of Autumn and last Spring stars resuming, including Boban, Hawkspur, Rebel Dane, Kirramosa, Sweet Idea and Weary. Sweet Idea led from start to finish and managed to hold off a challenge by Messene to win, with Rebel Dane (who started as favourite – again!) running third.

Back at Flemington, the Aurie’s Star was about to start and the runners were assembling in the mounting yard.

Tiger Tees the winner

Mr Chard – ran second

Sino Eagle – ran fourth

Shanghai Warrior – ran ninth

I didn’t wait for the horses to return to scale after the Aurie’s Star, but left for the station. As I’d had my money on Shanghai Warrior , I didn’t have to wait for a collect.

Despite not being an overly successful afternoon at the races , it was pleasant being back at Flemington. In case you’re wondering, the weather was overcast and the track was rated good. However a very chilly wind was blowing over the wide open spaces of the public lawn.

Next weekend a much classier race meeting is scheduled at Caulfield with the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (formerly Liston Stakes) as the feature. Also on the cards is the Group 3 Vain Stakes (for colts and geldings) and the Quezette Stakes (for fillies), which always make for interesting viewing in terms of Golden Rose/Guineas prospects.

Who Will The Slipper Fit?

Earthquake on her way to winning the Reisling Stakes

I missed previewing the races at Rosehill last week, but to catch up, the three Group One races on the cards were won by outsiders – Gordon Lord Byron $21.00 (George Ryder Stakes), Tiger Tees $13.00 (The Galaxy) and Criterion $13.00 (Rosehill Guineas). The heavy track put pay to favourites chances, and it’s likely that results this coming weekend will be similar as the Rosehill track this Saturday will be slow at best.

Three more Group One races are scheduled at Rosehill this Saturday and the feature race is the Golden Slipper Stakes, always an interesting race to watch, it being the richest two year old event in the world.

Also on the card are the Group One BMW for stayers, run over 2400 metres, and the Vinery Stud Stakes a 2000 metres race for three year old fillies. Several interesting Group Two events add to the excitement.

But first I’ll muse on the Golden Slipper, where unbeaten filly Earthquake will be aiming to win the rare Blue Diamond/Golden Slipper double, last won by Sepoy in 2011.  She has drawn barrier 13, considered unlucky by some, as no contender has ever won the Slipper from it. She has also never raced on heavy going, but Overreach who, like Earthquake, was sired by Exceed and Excel, won it last year on a slow track. Earthquake’s greatest rivals appear to be fellow fillies Mossfun, Oakleigh Girl and Bring Me The Maid. Of the colts and geldings, Unencumbered, Ghibellines and Valentia are viable chances. I regard Earthquake as a potentially exceptional filly so I hope she proves me correct.

The BMW appears to be a rerun of the Ranvet Stakes only over an extra 400 metres, with pretty much the same contestants in the field – It’s A Dundeel, Fiorente, Foreteller, Silent Achiever, with the addition of Australian Cup runners Voleuese de Coeurs and Let’s Make Adeal, and several other stayers. Carlton House is not in the field, so perhaps we’ll finally get a good competition down the straight between It’s A Dundeel, Fiorente and Silent Achiever. Who will win? Can It’s A Dundeel finally show how good he really is or can Fiorente redeem his disappointing showing in the Ranvet.

The third Group One is the Vinery Stud Stakes (formerly known as the Storm Queen Stakes) and a full field of fillies has accepted the 2000 metre race.  Top picks are Solicit, Marianne, who finally won a race at her last start after running second four times consecutively, Zanbach who finished second to Kirramossa in the Crown Oaks, and New Zealand fillies, Rising Romance who ran second in the New Zealand Derby and NZ Oaks winner Miss Mossman. The Vinery Stud Stakes is the main lead up race to the AJC Oaks, so it’s worth watching with that race in mind.

Catkins also returns this Saturday in the Group 2 Emancipation Stakes. It’s a much easier race than the Coolmore Classic where she finished third. She looks the class act in the Emancipation field. and  also has great wet track form. Her main challengers are Sharnee Rose, Floria and Diamond Drille.

Though I probably will not be attending any more race meetings until early Spring, I will naturally follow the remainder of the Sydney autumn carnival with keen interest.

Update Saturday evening

The results today were nowhere near as shocking as they were last week, with the trifectas of the BMW and Golden Slipper being logically the top three contestants in the race.

A very clever ride by James McDonald on Mossfun denied Earthquake her fifth win, when he slipped through on the inside and stole the Slipper. Earthquake was by no means disgraced, but the heavy going may have slowed her usual acceleration. Bring Me The Maid ran third. Fillies took  the first seven positions, Ghibellines in 8th place being the closest of the colts to finish.

Silent Achiever starred again in the BMW, beating It’s A Dundeel who couldn’t quite catch her at the line. Fiorente ran third.

In the Vinery Stud Stakes, outsider Lucia Valentina beat Solicit with the long odds Forever Loved running third.

And the reliable Catkins easily took out the Emancipation Stakes defeating Sharnee Rose again, with Angel of Mercy filling third spot.

Oaks Day & the Carnival Finale

Kirramosa in the winner’s rug after the Crown Oaks

Oaks Day at Flemington is touted as being one for the girls, and certainly attracted quite a number of the fair sex, dressed in their finery and extravagant headgear, but it seemed to me there were as many blokes present as women.

I must have been the roughest dressed lady at the track – a sparrow among the peacocks - as I have no interest in fashion and wouldn’t be seen dead in a fascinator.  So I went in my usual jeans and t-shirt and sensible shoes. I’m not there for the fashion, I’m only there for the horses.

This was the first time I have attended the Oaks meeting, and I must admit I enjoyed it. Perhaps backing a winner in my first of  two bets on the day gave it that extra sparkle. Anyway, it wasn’t as crowded as it was on Derby Day so it was easier to move around and it certainly was colourful. The ladies below – tatts and all -  sitting on the public lawn, are a veritable rainbow.

I got to Flemington just before Race 3 and watched from my usual spot on the fence by the path to the mounting yard. It was the Heritage Stakes, a 1200 metre race for three year old fillies. It was won by 10/1 shot Melrose Place, with the equally long odds Sense of Hite and Fare Well running the minor places.

Melrose Place returns to scale after winning the Heritage Stakes

I was really interested in the next race, the Group 3 G H Mumm Stakes, because Dystopia, a Sydney mare I have been following for years, was making a rare appearance in Melbourne.  She’s part of the Chris Waller stable, and gave Chris Waller his third win of the day with her victory in the Mumm Stakes.  His other winners were Marmelo in the first race, and Multilateral in the second.  Myself, I was delighted that Dystopia won as I’d bet on her at fairly good odds. Shamal Wind ran second with She Can Skate taking third place.

Dystopia returns to scale after winning the Mumm Stakes

The final race in the Subzero Challenge was the next on the cards, and old Subzero led the large field of grey horses out to the mounting yard. This was the race where the winner’s strapper got king hit by a stable hand (I have since read it was a domestic matter). I did not witness the incident, but I did photograph the winning horse Black Cash returning to scale.

Black Cash returning to scale after winning the Subzero Challenge

Race 6 was the feature race of the day. The Crown Oaks is a race for staying fillies run over 2500 metres.  Dear Demi won it last year and previous winners have also been the top fillies of their time – Miss Finland, Samantha Miss and  Mosheen for example.  This year the favourite was Wakeful Stakes winner Kirramosa. I must admit I had not heard of her before as she has done most her racing in Sydney.

I decided to reinvest my winnings on Dystopia in a boxed first 4 of Kirramosa, May’s Dream, Solicit and Zanbach.  May’s Dream let me down and surprisingly finished out of the first four. Curses! I should have boxed them for a trifecta instead, as Kirramosa prevailed, narrowly winning from Zanbach and Solicit.

Kirramosa on her way to the track

The rest of the race card wasn’t all that interesting, so I headed home after the Oaks, pretty happy with my afternoon at the track.

I will return to Flemington tomorrow for the finale of the Melbourne Spring racing carnival. Emirate Stakes Day features two Group 1 events, and several interesting Group 2 & 3 races.

The first of the Group 1 races is the VRC Sprint Classic. It was known for years as the Patinack Farm Classic, but as Patinack  is no longer the sponsor,  the name has been changed. It’s run over 1200 metres and has been won by champion sprinters, most notably by Black Caviar in 2010 and 2011.

This year’s edition has a crack field that includes Hong Kong star Lucky Nine, Buffering, Epaulette, Sessions and Rebel Dane. Buffering finally won his first Group 1 in the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley in late October, narrowly beating Lucky Nine with Sessions running third. Lucky Nine didn’t really handle the tight corners at Moonee Valley, so will appreciate the long straight at Flemington and will most probably turn the tables on Buffering this time.  Buffering has had two previous attempts at winning this race and finished 8th last year, and 2nd in 2011 behind Black Caviar. He may have a hope of beating Lucky Nine if the track degrades to slow. Currently that is unlikely as there has been not enough rain in Melbourne today to really affect the ground.

The other Group 1 race is the Emirates Stakes, which is run over 1600 metres. It has resulted in some long shots winning in past years. The underrated Happy Trails won it last year, and Albert The Fat the year before and famously the 100/1 shot Tears I Cry in 2007.

The Chris Waller trained Boban will start as favourite, and rightfully so, looking at the picket fence of wins next to his name on the form guide. Also in with a chance is his stablemate and Doncaster winner Sacred Falls, and Toorak Handicap winner Solzhenitsyn, and last start winners Smokin Joey, Toydini, Spurtonic and Mouro. Old favourite Linton also has a chance if he can repeat his Stradbroke Handicap performance. And for Country Music fans, there is a New Zealand horse called Nashville who appears to have excellent form in his home country. Overall it looks to be a doozy of a race.

Of interest is the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a Group 3 race over 2600 metres. Puissance de Lune won it in spectacular fashion last year, which catapulted him into early Melbourne Cup favouritism.  This race is a sort of consolation prize for stayers who didn’t make it into the Melbourne Cup. So you’ve got Precedence, who just missed out, despite winning the Moonee Valley Cup and Kelinni who ran 4th in the 2012 Cup, as well as Shoreham, Sertorius and Forgotten Voice.

The most interesting runner however, is Makybe Diva’s little three quarter sister La Amistad, who will be trying to emulate her famous sister who won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2002 before going on to win the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Melbourne Cups. La Amistad has been very lightly raced, and now four years old has only run five times on country tracks, for two wins, a second and third.

So the grand finale of Melbourne’s spring racing carnival should see it out in fine fashion, race wise I mean. I’ve been getting good value out of my Flemington season’s ticket, which fortunately covers me for the 2014 summer/autumn racing season. I’m rather regretting now that I didn’t go to the Melbourne Cup, but perhaps I’ll make it next year.