Bowman's Winx secret - no pressure, just a horse, just a race
It was on the second screen and out of the corner of my eye, but there was other sport happening on Saturday. Footy games all over the place.
Mark Haywood
Journalist based in Melbourne, Australia.
All Star: Popular Does Not Mean Best
Yes, it’s still relatively early in the piece. But we need to talk about the All Star Mile.
An Open Letter To Peter V'Landys & Racing NSW
G’day Peter
Hope you’re well. Congratulations on the announcement of the Golden Eagle. I’m not sure about the name personally, but it’s an innovative new concept and promises to be a huge event. I’ll be watching.
After hearing you on Racing.com, there’s another topic I wanted to talk to you about.
Agents Cant Bet? What About Trainers?
In what would be a tremendous cultural shift for the sport, logic would dictate that a new rule that would ban licensed trainers from betting – in New South Wales at least – must soon come into consideration.
Racing NSW has enacted a new local role, banning licensed jockey managers from betting. This is somewhat of a personal crusade for Racing NSW: they had proposed a national rule, but unsatisfied that it wasn’t being considered quickly enough, have instead moved with a local rule.
Will the horses justify the carrots?
With Racing NSW putting together their own high-profile Spring Carnival, there’s much talk of potential clashes with established events in Melbourne.
So let’s imagine the new races announced today by Racing NSW were run in 2018. What would the impact have been on Spring Carnival Group 1 races?
Firstly, the two-year-olds… Racing NSW will run a $1 million ‘Golden Gift’ over 1100 metres on Stakes Day, the final day of the Flemington Carnival. It’ll have no impact on existing Group 1 events.
Can others shine in the era of Weir?
With the running of the Ballarat Cup on Saturday, the curtain was drawn on the 2018 Spring Carnival.
And there’s another racing event we can call time on: the 2018/19 Metro Trainers’ Premiership.
We’re a third of the way into the season, and Darren Weir already has an unassailable lead. He’s on 66 winners… 47 clear of the Hayes/Hayes/Dabernig team on 19.
Final Day = Sprint Day
It’s a great day, Stakes Day.
Or should that be ‘Sprint Classic Day’?
Let’s be honest… there’s no doubt as to what the real highlight is.
It’s a reflection of modern Australian racing: if you put a feature WFA 1200m sprint next to a feature WFA 2000m contest, the former is clearly going to be higher quality event. On face value, the prizemoney pools ($1 million versus $2 million) are the wrong way around.
Redzel one of the greats - on rich list at least
Winx, Redzel, Makybe Diva, Sunline, Northerly.
Anybody would love to own a piece of one of the five greatest prizemoney winners in Australian racing history. Still, it’s not hard to pick the odd one out of the bunch.
Track queries, all talk, talk, talk
It’s perhaps fitting that Mother Nature chose the biggest day of the racing year to play the most havoc with the track.
These days, nothing’s more important. The state of the track has become an obsession.
It started on Derby Day, as the jockeys were – as usual – immediately asked about it in their horseback interviews after most races.
Name and Shame
If you’ll indulge me on a short rant…
Looking through the schedule for the biggest week of the year, and other than the fact that we’re up for some great racing, I think one thing is blatantly clear:
We should call time on the ridiculous situation with race names.
Who's best? The eternal pub debate
There will never be a concrete answer.
It’s the classic pub discussion, but the “best ever” can never be truly crowned. All we’ll ever have is contenders.
Saturday’s fourth Cox Plate well and truly puts Winx in that group, if she wasn’t there already. If the Cox Plate is our best race – and you’ll get few arguments about that – then to win it four years in a row is a staggering effort. It represents a longevity of brilliance rarely seen in any sport, let alone racing.
Melbourne Cup rumblings gain more and more momentum
Rumblings about the state of the Melbourne Cup are usually reserved for after the race. In 2018, we’re still a month out and the debate is already in full swing.
The Aquanita case - 'Now this is not the end. It's not even the beginning of the end'.
It was when the Allies finally had a win at El Alamein in 1942 that Winston Churchill uttered his famous line: ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’
Of course the Melbourne Cup has lost relevance. So what?
The commentariat just can’t make up their mind on the Melbourne Cup.
Not even Winx can rescue the on-track experience
A few of the usual grenades were lobbed over the Murray River with the news that just over 9,000 punters had rolled up to Randwick to watch Winx scoot to her 19th straight win on Saturday.
Racing wars: What does it mean for the punters?
Australia’s two major racing jurisdictions aren’t exactly brothers-in-arms at the moment, as spring carnival changes threaten to turn the Murray River into racing no-man’s land.
All can win in the war for Winx
Of all the changes to Sydney’s spring program – and there’s plenty, and probably more coming in future years – the ‘War for Winx’ is the most intriguing.
National tote no certainty, and may not be the answer anyway
The merger with Tatts is locked away, but Tabcorp chairman David Attenborough was rightly cautious last week when addressing the question of a national tote.
Comment: WFA Caulfield Cup
A fair bit of noise around last week about the Caulfield Cup potentially switching to weight-for-age conditions.
Push the punt, not the pokies
A push by Victorian racing to boost the number of poker machines at racetrack venues has made news this week.
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