What Might Have Been–Caulfield Guineas Day Review

Caulfield Guineas finish – 100/1 shot Mighty Boss wins the bikkies

The weather couldn’t have been better for Saturday’s bumper day of racing at Caulfield, but it wasn’t a day for favourites or my particular fancies.

All the feature Group 1 events resulted in long shot winners, but none more astounding than the win of Mighty Boss in the Caulfield Guineas. Being the emergency runner, he only made it into the field after Summer Passage was scratched. 

I took my time getting to Caulfield, public transport ensuring that my journey thence was unhurried and I arrived in time for Race 4, the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes, a race for stayers over 2400 metres. Imported stayer, Lord Fandango, who since arriving in Australia has only raced on country tracks, winning the Benalla Cup at his last start, demonstrated that he could play on the big stage by impressively winning the Herbert Power by a length from Wall Of Fire and Gallic Chieftan. His winning odds were 12/1.

Lord Fandango returns to scale

Before and after the Herbert Power Stakes I cruised through the stalls to see who had arrived. 

Bonneval

Jon Snow

Catchy smiling for the cameras

Egg Tart

Omei Sword

Race 5 was the Listed Weekend Hussler Stakes, a race over 1400 metres. Fast ‘N’ Rocking, who seems to have been around forever, and had not won a race for 2 years, came in at big odds (10/1), narrowly defeating Religify with Dibayani running third.

Just past the post in the Weekend Hussler Stakes

Fast ‘N’ Rocking on his way to the starting gates

Religify on his way to the barriers

Dibayani on his way to the barriers

The first of the Group 1 events, the Thousand Guineas was next to run, and you guessed it, first and second favourites Alizee and Shoals were upstaged by the unfancied Aloisia who beat Shoals by a 1¼ lengths with Alizee running third another length behind.

Luke Nolen celebrates Aloisia’s victory in the Thousand Guineas

Aloisia on her way to the barriers

Shoals returns to scale

Alizee returns to scale

The inside rail was thankfully in its true position, which made it much easier to get good rail free photos, and the light was excellent where I was standing as usual on the hill above the stalls. In between the Thousand Guineas and the Caulfield Stakes I managed to get New Zealand trainer, Murray Baker’s signature against Bonneval’s name in three racebooks (ATC Oaks, Dato Tan & Underwood Stakes), though didn’t want to jinx her on the Guineas Day’s racebook.

Bonneval started as favourite for the Caulfield Stakes, but was obliged to start from the widest barrier which rather limited her chances of racing up with the leaders and her jockey Damian Lane appeared to make little effort to get her closer. She raced at the back of the field for most of the race, then was blocked for run by a wall of horses when it counted, so did well to run sixth. Her stablemate Jon Snow fared better racing on the speed, finishing third. Gailo Chop who led for most of the race held off a fast finishing Johannes Vermeer to win by a neck.

Hartnell who was second favourite seems to have been cursed with P B Lawrence Stakes winner’s hoodoo as he has been beaten ever since he won that race back in August. He finished 9th.

Just past the post in the Caulfield Stakes – Gailo Chop leads

Gailo Chop returns to scale

Johannes Vermeer returns to scale

Jon Snow on his way to the barriers

Bonneval on her way to the barriers

Hartnell returns to scale

As previously mentioned the Caulfield Guineas result was a boilover, with Mighty Boss, who had only a lowly win at Sale to his credit, winning $1,200,000 at his sixth start.

An unusual looking chestnut colt with blonde mane and tail he paid over $100 for the win.  Kementari finished second with sole filly Catchy running third. Royal Symphony had a torrid run and ended up running forth. His next race is the Cox Plate against Winx (!!)

Mighty Boss on his way to the barriers

Kementari on his way to the barriers

Catchy returns to scale

Royal Symphony on his way to the barriers

It was getting on to late afternoon by the time the final Group 1, the Toorak Handicap was set to run.

Egg Tart was the starting favourite, but as was the rule for the day, she finished out of the placings. Tosen Stardom the Japanese import, who since his arrival in Australia last year has not won a race, finally had his moment of glory in his new home, and a Group 1 at that, winning the Toorak Handicap by a length from Sovereign Nation with Petrology a further length behind running third.

Toorak Handicap finish – another jockey (Damien Lane) shouting for joy

Tosen Stardom on his way to the barriers

Sovereign Nation returns to scale

Petrology on his way to the barriers

Egg Tart on her way to the barriers

I watched The Everest, which was run before the Caulfield Guineas, on the big screen and duly noted that Redzel won, and that Chautauqua, due to a confused ride by his jockey finished out of a place in fourth. Vega Magic ran second with Brave Smash scoring third place.  She Will Reign finished second last, outclassed by the more seasoned sprinters.

Even though there was one more race to go, the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes with *Lankan Rupee back on the track after a longish layoff, I headed off after the Toorak Handicap, catching an express train at Caulfield and a nicely coinciding connecting train at Parliament, then the bus, and managed to get home in 1¼ hours. 

Next Saturday is the Caulfield Cup meeting which looks to have a decent support card as well, so I’ll be back at Caulfield again and hope the stars smile this time on my fancied runners.

* Lankan Rupee failed to run a place in the Scillaci Stakes and has been retired. A beautiful bay gelding with a distinctive heart on his forehead, he was the top sprinter and Australian Horse Of The Year for 2013/2014 and will be missed, though I’m glad his connections have finally ended his racing career.

Lankan Rupee – Flemington 8 March 2014

Early Spring Fever – Winx, Bart, Hartnell & Catchy

Black Heart Bart at Caulfield after winning the Futurity Stakes

Technically it’s still winter, but the  Spring racing season gets a fine taster of what is yet to come this Saturday at Caulfield and Randwick.

For a start, the wonderful Winx will be kicking off her spring campaign in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes at Randwick, a race she won last year on her way to her second Cox Plate. She faces seven rivals, whom she should easily account for, the most threatening being her stablemates Fox Play and Antonio Giuseppe and young gun Inference. Winx will be gunning for her 18th consecutive win. We all hope she succeeds.

Hartnell was runner up to Winx last year in the Warwick Stakes, and many other times besides, so his path this spring will not cross with hers. We get to see him in Melbourne this weekend in the feature race at Caulfield, the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes, where he will take on local hero Black Heart Bart.  The Lawrence Stakes has attracted a classy field that include Australian Cup winner Humidor, 2015 Mackinnon Stakes winner Gailo Chop,  former Japanese horse Tosen Stardom, He’s Our Rokkii and Group 1 winning mares Abbey Marie and Montoya’s Secret.  Lankan Rupee was an acceptor for the Lawrence Stakes, but has been scratched to take an easier option at Morphettville. He ran a great second in the deferred Bletchingly Stakes, only narrowly beaten by Ability.

As well as the Lawrence Stakes there is also the Quezette Stakes and Vain Stakes, both Group 3 over 1100 metres for three year olds heading for the Thousand Guineas and Caulfield Guineas later in the season.

The Quezette Stakes for fillies has a super field, highlighted by the return of Blue Diamond Stakes winner Catchy. 

Catchy returning scale after winning the Blue Diamond Stakes

Up until the Golden Slipper Stakes, where she ran last on an extremely heavy track, Catchy was unbeaten in her previous four starts.  She will no doubt start favourite in the Quezette Stakes and is the top pick.  Tulip who ran third in the Golden Slipper Stakes is a serious rival along with Crown Witness, unbeaten in two starts and Arctic Angel to a lesser degree. I Am A Star won this race last year and has since proved a talented filly with a Group 1 race (Myer Classic ) to her credit.

As for the Vain Stakes,  Jukebox and Kobayashi appear the best chances along with Lone Eagle and Wait For No One. Last year Russian Revolution was the Vain Stakes winner, and he went on to win the Group 1 Galaxy against the older horses in autumn.

The weather on Saturday in Melbourne is forecast to be cold and wet, but that doesn’t put me off attending this first interesting meeting of the new season. It can only get better from now on.

Harbinger of Spring and Bingo update

Talya & Bingo curled up together on Talya’s bed

You might think from the above photo that the relationship between the resident cats has improved, but you would be wrong. It’s very rare to see the two of them in such close proximity and fortunately I managed to get photographic proof that such a state of harmony is possible. Note that neither cat is touching the other, a slight gap separates them,  otherwise it would be a different story.

Bingo is now eight months old and just as mischievous as ever, interested in everything we do. He’s been helping pack boxes for the move and would love to lend a paw with the cooking or anything else that’s forbidden to a greedy kitten. He’s my shadow, following me around like a dog inside and outside and my little mate when I’m reading in bed.

He loves food and will eat anything. As mentioned before he doesn’t mind eating zucchini and devours four large zucchinis a week. Unfortunately he has also decided  that dried cat food is edible, but we don’t feed him any and he only gets what he can steal from Talya who is fed a small amount of the stuff as a snack when she’s begging for a handout. She refuses to eat zucchini or any other vegetable, whereas Bingo is fond of broccoli as well as zucchini and eats it with relish.

As winter drags on I’m pleased that the new racing season is almost here.  The old season goes out with the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield tomorrow, which I am looking forward to attending.  Lankan Rupee, one of my favourite racehorses, is one of the contestants. He has been out of action since last spring, his last races being on Caulfield Cup Day and at Flemington on Emirates Stakes Day where he finished third and fourth respectively.

Lankan Rupee in his stall at Caulfield 2016

Lankan Rupee was named the top sprinter in the 2013/2014 racing year, but has been below his best at more recent outings, injury of one sort or another putting him out of action for lengthy periods. He’s now a rising eight year old and is not expected to win first up in the Bletchingly Stakes, though it wouldn’t be all that much of a surprise if he did win.

He faces 12 other rivals, four others, like him, resuming after a break. Supido, who recently won the John Monash Stakes, is obviously the one to beat. Others in the picture are Keen Array, Dayton Grey, Chocolate Holic, Ability, Duke of Brunswick and sole filly Savanna Amour.

As it’s forecast to be 19° C in Melbourne  tomorrow, it will pleasant to be trackside again, though I’ll take my time getting there as the feature race is scheduled as Race 8, later in the afternoon. 

The Speed of Light(ning)

Flying Artie – Derby Day Flemington 2016

Flemington hosts a super race meeting this coming Saturday, which despite a gloomy weather forecast, promises many thrills, in particular the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning, a 1000 metre dash down the Flemington straight.

I’ve attended the last five Lightning Stakes meetings, the first two in 2012 and 2013 featuring Black Caviar. The race is now named in her honour - after all she won it three times.

Last year it was won by the grey flash Chautauqua and the year before, the “horse with a heart”, Lankan Rupee, was the victor. Many stars of the Australian turf have won this race over the years – Fastnet Rock, Miss Andretti, Takeover Target, Apache Cat etc.

This year has attracted an intriguing field with several of the younger sprinting brigade such as three year old colts Flying Artie and Star Turn challenging older sprinters Flamberge and Terravista and The Quarterback and all those in between.

Also in the field is speedy mare Heatherly who may well give the boys a run for the money.

Owing to the train timetable, I’ll be obliged to get to Flemington around 1.30pm, which means a fairly long afternoon at the track with the Lightning Stakes scheduled to run at 4.45pm.

Luckily there are several quite interesting races to watch while waiting for the main event. Firstly the Talindert Stakes for two year old Blue Diamond hopefuls. I witnessed Black Caviar’s little brother All Too Hard win the Talindert Stakes back in 2012 at his first start. Interestingly, several  (four) of his progeny are contesting this year’s race, and one or other of them may well win it.

The Group 3 Vanity Stakes for three year old fillies run over 1400 metres and the colts equivalent the C S Hayes Stakes run after it, have both attracted classy fields. The Vanity has Legless Veuve who recently beat the boys in the Manfred Stakes, up against Crown Oaks runner up Harlow Gold and the amusingly named Nurse Kitchen who won a race at big odds on Cox Plate Day last year.

As for the C S Hayes, it’s good to see Hey Doc return to the track. He’s already had one run this season in the Manfred Stakes where he finished third and will probably start as favourite. He’s up against smart colts Seaburge, Morton’s Fork and Inside Agent.

Apparently, according to the VRC website, there will be ten Living Legends present at Flemington on Saturday. They could make a race field themselves if they weren’t in retirement.  They’ll include former Hong Kong stars Silent Witness and Bullish Luck. And who else?

Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting back to Flemington and a pleasant afternoon in the open air among the famous roses.

Jameka, Queen of the Turf–Caulfield Cup Day Review

Nick Hall all smiles after Jameka wins the Caulfield Cup

The Caulfield Cup meeting on Saturday was considerably better than I thought it would be and culminated in a stunning victory for locally bred racehorses, when Jameka beat the International raiders by a comprehensive margin in the Caulfield Cup.

My afternoon at Caulfield started fairly early at around 1.15pm which was in plenty of time to watch the third race, the Listed Alinghi Stakes for fillies and mares run over 1100 metres.

There was a much bigger crowd for the Caulfield Cup than for Guineas Day, so I avoided the front lawn and spent the afternoon out the back in the stalls area and up on the hill, which as I’ve mentioned before is ideal for taking photos of horses going to and from the barriers and returning to scale, though not for them racing down the straight.

It was a fine sunny day with a strong head wind blowing directly down the straight, which adds kudos to the winners fighting against it and their rivals.

The Alinghi Stakes was won by outsider Palazzo Pubblico from Aegean Sea and Vezalay, also long odds runners.

Alinghi Stakes just after the post – the winner Palazzo Pubblico is the second from the left

Palazzo Pubblico returns to scale

Race 4 was the Group 2 Ethereal Stakes and I was glad to be present to witness Eleonora appropriately winning the race named in honour her granddam.

She showed considerable staying power over the 2000 metres distance to win by 1¼ lengths from a fast finishing Tiamo Grace with Savvan a length further back running third. Eleonora will now head to the Crown Oaks at Flemington on the Thursday after the Cup.

Just past the post in the Ethereal Stakes

Eleonora returns to scale after winning the Ethereal Stakes

Tiamo Grace returns to scale

Savvan returns to scale

The colts and geldings version of the Ethereal Stakes, the Ladbrokes Classic, also run over 2000 metres, was the next race on the program.

James Cummings, grandson of the late great Bart, trained the winner, Good Standing. Good Standing has done most of his racing in Sydney and contested the Caulfield Guineas without running a place, but started as favourite for the Ladbrokes Classic. He didn’t disappoint his backers winning narrowly from Rocketeer. Inference finished third

Rocketeer must be the unluckiest horse in Australia, running a close second again to a better horse on the day for the fourth time this spring. 

Just past the post in the Ladbrokes Classic – Good Standing (red & black stripes) & Rocketeer (lime green) lead the rest of the field around the turn.

Good Standing returns to scale

Rocketeer on his way to the barriers

The afternoon passed remarkably quickly, the races being spaced 35 minutes apart, no doubt adding to the sense of  having little time to do anything, before another race was about to start.

Race 6 was the Group 3 Coongy Cup run over 2000 metres as well. It marked the last race in which popular front runner The Cleaner would compete. His owners finally have made the decision to retire him, for which I am glad.  Now 9 years old, he has not looked anywhere like winning for over a year, so it has been sad watching him try.

The Cleaner returning to scale after the Coongy Cup

Back to the race, It’s Somewhat was the starting favourite, but he only managed to run third.

The Chris Waller trained Vanbrugh having only his second start in Melbourne won the prize from Tom Melbourne.

Vanbrugh returns to scale

Tom Melbourne returns to scale

It’s Somewhat on his way to the barriers

I was looking forward to the next race with keen interest and hoping to get a good photo of First Seal who was having her first start in Melbourne.  The race was the Tristarc Stakes for mares run over 1400 metres.

Tycoon Tara was the popular favourite, but First Seal proved her quality by beating her narrowly on the line.  Pearls ran third.

Tristarc Stakes finish (l to r) – First Seal, Pearls & Tycoon Tara

It’s great to see First Seal back in winning circles. She obviously had no trouble racing the Melbourne way.

First Seal returns to scale

Tycoon Tara returns to scale

Pearls (no 3) returns to scale

First Seal – head shot with her tongue hanging out– returning to the stalls area

There wasn’t long to wait after the Tristarc Stakes for the main event, so I stayed on to my spot on the fence on the hill and watched The Cup being driven past to the presentation area, but was too late to get a photo.

The horses paraded down below in the pre parade ring as the National Anthem was sung, then the field began to make their way to the mounting yard.

It was an interestingly run race, with the lead changing as the race progressed. Looking at the big screen I was pleased to see that Nick Hall had Jameka up near the pace in about fifth spot. As they turned into the straight Scottish had the lead and somehow Hall had got Jameka clear of the fence and running wide. She overtook Scottish and tore away for an easy win three lengths ahead of Scottish with Exospheric coming late to run third.

Past the post in the Caulfield Cup – Nick Hall celebrates Jameka’s win

Jameka returns to scale

Scottish returns to scale

Exospheric returns to scale

Jameka returns to the stalls area after the presentation

Jameka’s strapper and, I assume, one of her owners pose for snaps

With old favourite Lankan Rupee engaged in the next race, I did not depart like most of the crowd after the Caulfield Cup, but stayed to watch the running of the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint.

Lankan Rupee started from Barrier 1, which is either a blessing or a curse, and it proved the latter in this race, when he was blocked for a run and only found a gap at the last minute. Carrying 61kgs, he did well to run third.

Our Boy Malachi stormed down the outside to win by 1½ lengths from Fatinaah.

Past the post in the Caulfield Sprint – horses spread out as they turn the corner

Our Boy Malachi returns to scale

Fatinaah returns to scale

Lankan Rupee returns to scale

It had been a very enjoyable day at the races and gratifying that most of my favourite horses were successful in their various races.

The icing on the cake of course was Jameka’s victory in the Caulfield Cup.  She will now contest the Melbourne Cup and has been penalised to carry 53.5kgs. If she were to win the big one, it would be a weight carrying record for a four year old mare.

Next Saturday is the highly anticipated Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, where Winx and Hartnell are set to clash for a mouth watering contest that also involves the mystery French horse Vadamos and the three year old filly Yankee Rose.

Sounds like the stuff of legends – I can’t wait to see it.