Sunday, October 31, 2004
The Race that Stops the Nation and has the Reserve Bank pondering the vexing issues of disposable income and discretionary indiscrete spending.
UPDATE: THE WASH UP.
The following advice proved to be true -
MAKYBE DIVA Top class mare.
"The form and quality of the imports has to be balanced by the local experience of the import's jockeys. Home ground experience is worth a couple of lengths, minimum." Vinnie Roe's jockey chose to race wide in the run home, covering many metres more than did the winner's jockey who saved ground on the inside.
"Form in traditional lead up races is the winning form." Makybe Diva's run in the Caulfield Cup ... say no more.
On the other hand -
"12 ZAZZMAN (6) N RYAN (a) (52.5) Likely leader, seriously outclassed. Will be fighting it out tooth and nail with Roman Arch and Delzao for last." Unqualified and abject apologies to Zazzman.
On the other other hand, we won the sweep, which leaves us only $495k down on the day. Not bad considering.
VIC TAB ODDS
1 VINNIE ROE (Barrier 10) P SMULLEN (58)
Legend in his own backyard.♥
2 MAMOOL (21) L DETTORI (57)
Ridden by Frankie. 'Nuff said. NO chance.
3 ELVSTROEM (3) N RAWILLER (56.5)
Classy, but looking for the paddock.
4 MUMMIFY (15) D NIKOLIC (56)
Not a wrap for this one.
5 MAKYBE DIVA (7) G BOSS (55.5)
Top class mare. ♥
6 MEDIA PUZZLE (11) D OLIVER (55.5)
Solved - and nope.
7 RAZKALLA (16) K MCEVOY (55)
Who? (Oh yes, now I remember. It ran last in a field of 5 last start.)
8 DELZAO (2) STEVEN KING (54)
A light of other days ... other days it never quite had.
9 DISTINCTION (12) D BEADMAN (54)
Trained by Sir Michael Stoute. Another seriously sneaky chance. ♥
10 HUGS DANCER (4) G CHILDS (52.5)
Peaked too early.
11 ROMAN ARCH (5) L CURRIE (52.5)
Hang on to your sweeps tickets if there's a pay-out for last.
12 ZAZZMAN (6) N RYAN (a) (52.5)
Likely leader, seriously outclassed. Will be fighting it out tooth and nail with Roman Arch and Delzao for last.
13 GREY SONG (24) D BEASLEY (52)
Grand campaigner who deserves to win but won't. ♥
14 LASHED (20) J CASSIDY (52)
NZ mare. They wouldn't be bringing her over for nothing, but that's most likely what they'll get.
15 STRASBOURG (22) S BASTER (52)
Meating tough opposition here, but is prepared by master charcutier J.B. Cummings. ♥
16 PACIFIC DANCER (8) M RODD (51.5)
Welcome to dance on my grave if it wins.
17 SHE’S ARCHIE (9) C BROWN (51.5)
Her flash in the pan happened last year.
18 ANOTHER WARRIOR (13) J BYRNE (51)
Last start beat a crap field in the Moonee Valley Cup. They're dreamin'
19 HARD TO GET (14) L NOLEN (51)
... and hard to have.
20 UPSETTHYM (23) R MCLEOD (51)
Sneaky chance of living up to its name. ♥
21 DON RAPHAEL (19) S SEAMER (50.5)
Out-classed plodder.
22 ON A JEUNE (18) J BOWDITCH (50.5)
It's dad won a Melb Gup. (N.B. Check the Don's son's cricketing feats.)
23 WINNING BELLE (17) C MUNCE (49.5)
His Excellency's excellent outside chance. ♥
24 CATCHMEIFYOUCAN (1) M J WALKER (49)
No sooner said than done.
His Excellency's steeds of choice are marked thus - ♥
We will be having a brick on No. 13 for the place, a pony each-way on No. 15, a gorilla on the nose of No. 23, a monkey on the back of No. 20 and a downstairs maid on a box trifecta of the vice-regal steeds of choice.
P.S. A word from the wise - the wise who is not immune to the Gup hype, and who invariably and inwisely ignores the following words.
For punting purposes forget that this is the Melbourne Gup and view it as a common or garden 2 mile handicap race. A high class jumper's flat if you will.
The imported horses are invariably hyped by the racing scribes. Remember the Alamo. Also remember Oscar Schindler and Double Trigger. The form and quality of the imports has to be balanced by the local experience of the import's jockeys. Home ground experience is worth a couple of lengths, minimum. Frankie Dettori has ridden numerous Group 1 winners elsewhere, on just about every continent. His performance in Australia - a single Group 2 victory. How many Group 1 wins have overseas jockeys ridden in Australia over the last ten years? Two, Kinnane and Cochrane.
Form in traditional lead up races is the winning form. Dismiss every horse that hasn't been placed in its last 4 runs. Dismiss every horse that has failed more than twice over 2 miles.
All longshot horses will be under the odds on the TAB - by as much as half. You'll get truer odds with your local S.P. bookie. (Collecting your winnings -well that's another histoire, though we understand that the Remand Centre has extended visiting hours during the Spring Carnival.)
Vice-regal social notes and trivia.
ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 23, His Excellency and Her Excellencyess attended the Cox Plate in the Phar Lap room at Moonee Valley. As it happened, we had to share our table with an elderly couple, Bill and his good lady. As is our wont, we fell into conversation (a pleasant change from our usual race course experience of falling amongst thieves) and it transpired that Bill was the track-rider for the legendary Bernborough and that he strapped the mighty Tea Rose. (Racing afficondoes will of course know that Tea Rose was one of the very few fillies to win the AJC Derby.)
Sadly, this year's customary booing of the incumbent Victorian Premier during the Cox Plate presentation seemed to lack the gusto of previous years. Although one doesn't expect to see the glory years of Jeff to ever pass our way again, we have to say we were disappointed.
The Head Trompe d'Oeil Chef at Moonee Valley certainly didn't disappoint us. His "Roasted Salt Crusted Prime Rib Eye of Beef" was every bit as good in both colour and texture as "The $6.95 - Any Colour You Like as Long as it's Grey - Roast of the Day" (replete with all the vegies you can save from drowning in the bain-marie) available on pension day at the Robin Hood Hotel in Ballarat.
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