The Carnival is Over

Shocking wins the Melbourne Cup

The Spring Racing Carnival that is…

Now that the Spring Super Stable results are in I thought I’d do a review of how my stable fared.

No surprise I didn’t win, but was I pleased to see that the competition organiser The Shu won it. He deserved to after the sterling effort he puts in each year running this excellent competition.

My stable managed to hang together pretty well for the whole season, with a minimum of retirements due to injury. All of them were in the money, but of course didn’t win any of the big rich races, so my final winning virtual funds were a modest $2 million.

BLACK CAVIAR – One of the most promising fillies to come along recently, she won every race she contested this spring. Unbeaten against her own sex, proved she can beat the boys as well. Pulled a muscle in the Danehill Stakes after blundering the start then was spelled for the rest of the spring.

BLACK PIRANHA – The closest he got to a win was early in the season when he came second to Absolutelyfabulous in the Group 3 Cameron Handicap. Didn’t race up to expectations after that.

DAFFODIL – came fourth in Caulfield Cup and eleventh in the Melbourne Cup. A super, staying mare that I’ll look forward to seeing race again in the autumn.

DENMAN – A superb young colt, surely one of the future stars of the turf and one to follow in the autumn.

EFFICIENT – Justified his purchase with a stunning win in the Turnbull Stakes, though was disappointingly scratched from the Melbourne Cup again.

HEART OF DREAMS - He was never far away in all the races he contested and won the Underwood Stakes defeating Whobegotyou and Predatory Pricer. He’s too good to dismiss out of hand, so keenly anticipate his return in autumn.

MANHATTAN RAIN – The much hyped (by Gai Waterhouse) Sydney colt, he managed to score second in the Cox Plate behind So You Think and third in the Guineas, so not totally hopeless.

METAL BENDER – out injured before the carnival began. Would he have made a difference if he had been sound?

MIC MAC – A very consistent performer, originally aimed for the Cox Plate, but his trainer wisely gave up that idea after his defeat by Whobegotyou in the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes, and freshened him up for shorter races later in the season, where he has done well in the past.

TYPHOON TRACY - A wonderful race mare, who remains unbeaten against her own sex, she was thrown in at the deep end early in the season in open fields, where she acquitted herself well without winning. One of my favourites of 2009 and hopefully will be back next autumn.

SHAMOLINE WARRIOR - No sooner had I added him to my stable than he was scratched from the Derby.

GATHERING – Ran well in the Derby, but failed to get a place.

VIEWED – Added as a substitute for Efficient for the Melbourne Cup in which he failed to place.

ALCOPOP – A Melbourne Cup substitute who was not successful in that race.

It was a great racing season with many unexpected results, favourites failing, outsiders winning – the usual in other words. Some potential new stars of the turf emerged from the scrum - So You Think, for one, Avenue a very classy filly, Denman the stunning Lonhro lookalike, Kidnapped who is racing again this weekend, Battlefield, Shamoline Warrior, Black Caviar of course and that other star filly More Joyous. What a mouth watering prospect - to see Avenue, More Joyous and Black Caviar all competing in the same race, if it ever happens.

Now I’ll have to think of other things to blog about…

Spring Racing Season 2009 – Week 15 - Emirates Stakes Day

Nicconi at Moonee Valley – September 2009

I had a very quiet and sober Melbourne Cup Day for a change. Over the past few years some friends of ours always hosted very enjoyable Melbourne Cup parties. Since the last one in 2008, they have moved to Northern New South Wales, so we are now left to our own devices on the Cup Day holiday. I chose not to party, and stayed home, placing a few bets online.

The Melbourne Cup itself was of course responsible for a certain amount of anticipatory excitement, though it was run at a slow pace. According to the jockeys reports it was also quite rough. Daffodil got hit on the head, Viewed almost fell, and various other mishaps destroyed the winning chances of other contenders. However, it was a good win by Shocking. He stayed out of trouble by racing three wide for most of the race and was therefore able to sprint freely at the finish. A good quinella in terms of names, Shocking and Crime Scene – if only I’d thought of it earlier. In fact Crime Scene, my roughie bet, was the only one who won me money.

The Victorian Oaks was run yesterday and Bart Cummings added to his spring haul when his filly Faint Perfume won, as was expected.

So on to the last day of the Melbourne Spring Carnival – Emirates Stakes Day. To mark the end of the season there are two Group One races, the Patinack Farm Classic, a sprint over 1200 metres, that has Apache Cat having his last race in Australia before heading to Hong Kong. There’s also his stable mate Mic Mac who was narrowly beaten by the Cat in the Schweppes Stakes a few weeks ago. As usual it’s a good field that also contains top class sprinters Nicconi, All Silent and Danleigh, all in with a chance.

The feature event, the Emirates Stakes run over 1600 metres, sees Cox Plate winner So You Think back to claim more scalps. He’s up against the older horses again, Vigor, Black Piranha, Eagle Falls, Road To Rock and Rightfully Yours, a full brother to Heart of Dreams to name a few. Will So You Think win again and prove to be the freak racehorse he appears to be?

And so ends the Spring Racing carnival for this year, it’s been fun and fantastic as usual.

Spring Racing Season 2009 – The Melbourne Cup

Viewed narrowly wins the 2008 Melbourne Cup

Can he do it again?

From all angles Viewed looks the one to beat. He’s in great form, is proven over the distance and is trained by the great Bart Cummings who is having a very successful Spring carnival. Of the others, Alcopop could become a fairytale hero, being trained by young cattle farmer/ trainer Jake Stephens with provincial jockey Dom Tourneur onboard. Alcopop is the son of 1994 Melbourne Cup winner Jeune, so is likely to be able to run out the 3200 metres. He, as well as Viewed, has the Foolish Pleasure Factor from his dam side. The Foolish Pleasure Factor is not to be sneezed at, as one of his descendants, Scenic Shot , took out the Mackinnon on Saturday.

Admittedly when I first saw the acceptances for the Melbourne Cup, I was astounded at how many unfamiliar (to me) runners there were – particularly the six or so International horses. As International horses have won the Cup several times in recent years, it is wise to give them respect, but judging how Kirklees and Cima De Triomphe ran in the Caulfield Cup, and Basaltico and Crime Scene ran in the Geelong Cup, they appear to be hardly a threat to the locals this year. The best of them appears to be Mourilyan and Munsef , but having not seen them in action, I have no confidence in their winning chances.

Unfortunately Efficient was scratched from the Cup, there being some doubt about his fitness as regards an old injury. Bart has two other runners besides Viewed, these being Roman Warrior who was second to Viewed in the Caulfield Cup and has excellent credentials, and Allez Wonder, a lightweight chance with female jockey Michelle Payne on board. Zavite  has claims despite his lack of form, being the son of multi winning Melbourne Cup sire Zabeel and is trained by Bart’s son Anthony.

One of my personal fancies, Daffodil, who ran fourth in the Caulfield Cup has drawn barrier 21 and will most likely be in the finish if she  gets a soft run, and the track is not too hard for her.  Rain is forecast, also gale force winds, so the one weather condition could negate the other.
Others to consider are Shocking who ran a great race on Saturday, C’este La Guerre who may surprise after a terrible run in the Caulfield Cup (he came third in the MC last year) and Warringah simply because he has Damien Oliver on his back.

Derby Day was a thriller with drama at the barrier before the start of the Mackinnon Stakes, when Zipping was trapped under the gates. Thank goodness he was pulled out safely and sustained no serious injuries, though it was enough to scratch him from the Melbourne Cup.

The Derby was won convincingly by the favourite Monaco Consul. I was disappointed that Shamoline Warrior was scratched as I’d just added him to my super stable, so we’ll never know if he would have made a difference. Still, that’s racing!

It was however delightful to see Typhoon Tracy blitz the field of the Myer Classic and win by 4 1/2 lengths. She remains unbeaten against her own sex and may race again on Emirates Stakes Day.

I have used up my final substitutions in the Spring Super Stable competition, by replacing Efficient with Viewed, and Gathering with Alcopop.

Spring Racing Season 2009 – Week 14 – Derby Day

So You Think wins the 2009 Cox Plate (photo from The Age)

A sensational day of racing is on the cards for this Saturday with no less than four Group One races, including the Victoria Derby. The spring racing carnival in Melbourne is drawing to a close with only three more meetings after this weekend, the most interesting of course being the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.

Last Saturday’s Cox Plate was a ripper, with Bart Cummings surprising everyone (again!) when his three year old colt So You Think turned the tables on all the fancied runners and won by two and a half lengths to the other three year old Manhattan Rain, with the oldster Zipping coming third.

I had been contemplating the Plate in terms of planetary influences having drawn up a horoscope for the occasion out of interest. Mercury was in exact aspect to the Ascendant at the time of the race, which indicated a horse with a Mercurial name would win. With Uranus also in aspect to the Ascendant the indications were for a surprising winner. I woke in the middle of the night with the thought that So You Think was the name most applicable to Mercury. Did I follow this hunch? Unfortunately, no.

It was great to see Apache Cat in winning circles again. His win drew a huge cheer from the crowd. He’s enormously popular, and even though he’s now getting on in years, he can still beat high quality fields like the Schweppes Stakes.

Avenue also won as expected. She has now been spelled so we’ll have to wait for autumn to see her race again.

So onto Derby Day…

The Coolmore Stud Stakes over 1200 metres is the first of the Group One races and is an open race for three year olds. It has a very classy field which includes Phelan Ready, the Golden Slipper winner, Demerit with both Lonhro and Foolish Pleasure factors in his breeding, brilliant fillies Irish Lights, Headway and Paprika, leading to the question - will the girls be able to beat boys?

Traditionally the last chance for unqualified horses to qualify for the Melbourne Cup, the Mackinnon Stakes (2000 metres) has an interesting field which includes Caulfield Cup winner Viewed, unsuccessful Cox Plate contenders, Scenic Shot and Zipping , and others like Racing to Win, Vigor, Rangirangdoo, who won the Crystal Mile last Saturday, and Cima De Triomphe, unsuccessful in the Caulfield Cup, no doubt running in the hope he can win some honour for Luca Cumani, who brought him all this way with disappointing results so far.

The Derby is always hard to pick and often results in a surprise winner. Run over 2500 metres it is a staying contest for colts and geldings. Half brother to last year’s winner Rebel Raider, Shamoline Warrior is one of the main chances, along with New Zealand hope Monaco Consul. I rather like Gathering who has not been out of place in all his starts and has run close second to the best. There’s also Viking Ruler, one of Gai Waterhouse’s youngsters. His father Elvstroem won this race in 2003. Rockferry and Our Heir Apparent also cannot be overlooked.

The stars say (according to my interpretation of a horoscope of the race) that a horse with a Martian or Lunar name has a chance. Mars in Leo is trine to the Moon in Aries and the Mid Heaven in Sagittarius, a grand trine in fire, which being a favourable alignment of planets, could indicate victory for the favourite.

Typhoon Tracy will be contesting the Myer Classic (1600 metres), against her own sex again. She’s drawn wide this time, but shouldn’t be too disadvantaged by this as she likes to mix it with the leaders, if not lead. She will be up against Hot Danish once more and super smart mare Zarita. Glowlamp is also in the running as is Gold Water and Jolie’s Shinju. I’ll be barracking for Tracy.

My Super Stable has 3 runners this weekend – Typhoon Tracy, Shamoline Warrior & Gathering, the last two being substitutes for Denman and Heart of Dreams.

I still have two substitutes left, so after the Derby I can buy two Cup horses to compliment Efficient and Daffodil.

The Sweet & Seductive Music of the Mercurials

The Mercurials - Adi Sappir, Mark Ferrie, Andrew Pendlebury

A pleasant way to beguile away Friday lunchtime in sunny Melbourne was seeing The Mercurials perform live at Basement Discs.

The Mercurials, a trio comprising two guitars and a cello, are Mark Ferrie, Andrew Pendlebury and Adi Sappir. The have been playing as a threesome since 2003, though previously Andrew and Mark performed for many years on and off as a duo, and individually in other bands such as Truckasaurus, Sports, The Models among others.

Andrew Pendlebury is a virtuoso musician and plays exquisite ornate guitar, and together with Mark’s more than adequate guitar playing and Adi’s mastery of the cello, they produce a beautiful sound. Mark and Adi take turns on lead vocals, though all three provide harmonies for each other’s songs. Adi, who is originally from Israel, has a wonderful voice – sweet and sad like the cello she plays.

I must admit I’m partial to cellos. You don’t get to see them played all that much, but they add a wonderful gravity and drama to any music piece.

The Basement Discs in store performance was to promote their latest CD Silver and Gold - a collection of folk and pop originals and covers. They performed about half the CD today – including Redemption Song, How Come, Hope Springs Eternal, The Same Sun and Adi’s song about her daughter, Yalda sheli ktana (my little girl).

Check out the band’s My Space page and listen to their music. I’m sure you’ll agree that they are something special.

Spring Racing Season 2009 – Week 13 – The Cox Plate

Whobegotyou with trainer Mark Kavanagh posing for photos after winning the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes

It is many years since I last attended a Cox Plate meeting at Moonee Valley, but I used to go regularly in the past and witnessed Octagonal winning in 1995, Saintly in 1996, Dane Ripper in 1997 and, probably the most memorable, Might & Power in 1998. After the 1998 Cox Plate the cost of entry doubled as did the crowds, so I contented myself with watching the race on television after that, much as I would have liked to see Sunline’s two Cox Plate victories in the early 2000s.

This year’s Cox Plate has a better field than last years offering, with a good mix of old and young horses, but no mares or fillies this year.

Whobegotyou is the favourite, but I’m hoping Heart of Dreams can beat him this time. They have each beaten the other twice, so they’re evens at the moment. Of course they may not even feature in the finish, though that would be surprising as I regard them the top chances. There’s the Foolish Pleasure factor to consider in Scenic Shot, then there’s Speed Gifted, the much touted Lee Freedman trained import. Vision And Power can’t be overlooked either, nor 2007 winner, good old El Segundo or Black Piranha who, though he finished out of a place last start, has good claims. Of the two three year olds, everyone is wondering if the Bart Cummings trained So You Think can add to Bart’s already illustrious record or can Manhattan Rain give Gai Waterhouse her first Cox Plate. The last three year old to win was Savabeel in 2004.

Whatever, the Cox Plate is always an interesting competition owing to the peculiarities of the course and the high powered nature of the race.

Besides the Cox Plate, the program also offers some mouth watering competitions, for instance the Group 2 Schweppes Stakes (1200 metres), with top sprinters Apache Cat, Lucky Secret, Mic Mac, Light Fantastic, Ortensia and Danleigh all in the mix.

The Group 2 Aimee Vase, run over the same distance as the Cox Plate (2040 metres), will surely give one some idea of who to back in the Victoria Derby next week. Carrara, runner up in the Guineas, will be running beyond a mile for the first time and faces a big test with competitors such as Viking Legend, Space Craft and filly Miss With Attitude among others.

The Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes (1200 metres) for three year olds sees Avenue competing again. Can she continue her winning ways?

Last week’s Caulfield Cup, as I’m sure everybody knows, was won by Viewed, giving Bart Cummings his 7^th Caulfield Cup victory. It was a splendid win and a beautiful ride by Brad Rawiller, who patiently awaited his chance on the inside and, unimpeded, drove Viewed through for a two and a half length win over stable mate Roman Emperor. The International runners were never a threat, despite the pre race hype.

Typhoon Tracy proved unbeatable back against her own sex, easily winning the Tristarc Stakes by a couple of lengths.

My super stable this weekend is represented by Mic Mac, Heart of Dreams and Manhattan Rain. After Black Piranha’s failure in his last race, I substituted him with Daffodil who managed to run fourth in the Cup and is still a good chance in the Melbourne Cup.

Go Ask Alice – John Coulthart’s Psychedelic Wonderland

Looking for that elusive Christmas present for the old hippy in your life? Have a hankering to listen to that old Jefferson Airplane record again? Or maybe you’re just feeling nostalgic for the sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll of the 1960s.

John Coulthart has designed a drop dead gorgeous calendar for 2010, incorporating 60s psychedelic art and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

I admire John’s designs immensely and regularly visit his wonderful blog, {feuilleton}, wherein he explores art and design through the ages and also provides illumination on his own methods. He has excellent taste.

His latest project is the 2010 Psychedelic Wonderland Calendar, but he has collaborated with the well known dark fantasy writer Jeff VanderMeer on his projects, recently designing fabulous covers for Jeff’s latest books Finch and Booklife.

You can check out (and buy) the entire Wonderland calendar here.