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.

Miracles Still Happen–A Review of Guineas Day

Wandjina returns to scale after winning the Australian Guineas

Today is International Women's Day, and the girls did the gender proud yesterday, in Sydney in the main.

Gai Waterhouse, lady trainer supreme, notched up two of the Group 1 winners – Cosmic Endeavour in the Canterbury Stakes at Randwick and Wandjina in the Australian Guineas at Flemington. She also trained two other winners at Randwick – English in the Riesling Stakes and Vancouver in the Todman Stakes.

The race result that pleased me the most was the win of little Miracles of Life in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes, where she won with ease, beating a classy field of sprinters.

My day at the races was enhanced by the win of Madam Gangster in the Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes, where admittedly she ended up starting favourite. However I got a good price on her before she became favourite, which paid for my few purchases (a race book and a drink) and a few unsuccessful bets.

I arrived at Flemington in time for Race 3, the Saintly Handicap. I didn’t have a bet on it or the next three races, but watched the Peter Moody trained Orient Line win over Hi World and Maastricht.

Orient Line returns to scale after winning the Saintly Handicap

After that I went and visited the Living Legends in the stalls area.

Apache Cat was hanging around outside his stall and posed for a photo as I drew out my camera…

Apache Cat

…and Bullish Luck was munching hay in his stall, totally unfazed by the situation.

Bullish Luck

Whilst in the area I checked out the arrivals and came across Tassie horse Admiral in his stall.

Admiral

Several other contenders for the feature race were also in attendance…

The handsome Alpine Eagle

Guineas favourite Kermadec

Trackside, the runners were leaving the mounting yard for Race 4, the Group 3 Tab Rewards Stakes. It was won by 10/1 shot Amorino from Aeronautical and Gracious Prospect.

Amorino returns to scale after winning the Tab Rewards Stakes

As I wrote in my previous post, the Flemington support card was not all that interesting, so it was a case of hanging out for the main event.

Race 5 (Roy Higgins Quality) was a race over 2600 metres for old stayers. An old stayer, Crafty Cruiser, was the winner. He hadn’t won a race for seven months. He beat Martinvast by a short margin with Rawnaq a half length third.

Here’s some photos of them in the mounting yard

Crafty Cruiser

Martinvast

Rawnaq

It started to get interesting at the 6th race, the Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes. For fillies and mares it is run over 1400 metres.

As mentioned before I had a bet on Madam Gangster, having determined on Friday that she was good thing and that her name resonated with me in a positive way.

She won easily, sneaking along the inside and exploding to the front leaving Girl Guide and Nadeem Miss in her wake, winning by 1¾ lengths. That was her fourth win in succession.

Madam Gangster returns to scale after winning the Frances Tressady Stakes

Finally the feature race was due to be run.

I’d watched the Randwick Guineas earlier, and it was a great competition between the top three Sydney colts with Hallowed Crown being the victor. Sweynesse ran second and Shooting To Win hung on for third.

The Canterbury Stakes was run before the Australian Guineas so I took time out to watch it before returning to the public lawn. Cosmic Endeavour leading from start to finish, denied Catkins her first group 1 win. Catkins, ever reliable,  finished second, unable to catch the winner in the straight. Criterion ran third.

The Australian Guineas was the quality race of the day in Melbourne and delivered an exciting finish. Wandjina took up the lead from early in the race, and though Alpine Eagle tried hard, he just couldn’t catch him, losing by a short margin. Stratum Star finished third half a length behind. I had my money on Alpine Eagle for a win only, so didn’t have to hang around for correct weight.

Wandjina in the winners rug post race.

Next Saturday there is more Group 1 action at Flemington with the Australian Cup and Newmarket Handicap being the feature races.  Always a great day, I’ll be there with bells on.