WINNERS & LOSERS
"I think that Hugh's got to realise himself that he is a good rider and better off up front than being dictated to by bad luck" ... trainer Chris Waller after Hugh Bowman scored on Specific Choice at Rosehill. Photo: Mick Tsikas
Humble-breds, led by the brilliant Barakey, again came to the fore in the majors at Ascot on Saturday. Barakey is by Key Business, now 22, which earned $77,000 as a racehorse. Unbeaten Barakey notched 11 straight wins in the Winterbottom. Mr Moet, a Mosayter gelding, triumphed in the $1 million Railway Stakes. Connections backed him at long odds ($151) and he started at $20. At best, Mosayter was regarded as "unconventional" even in Western Australia and deported to country NSW. Miss Andretti, the heroine of Royal Ascot, was "bred for nothing" and her full sister, Peggie's Dream, kept the family flag flying, by taking her winning tally to six out of seven, in the Jungle Mist Classic on Saturday.
Bias or baloney?
The ugly four-letter B-word again cropped up at Rosehill Gardens. Six out of the eight races on Saturday were won by leaders or those on the pace, while the seventh race was riddled with interference.
Circumstantial evidence points to frontrunners having a distinct advantage. Turf student Peter Lawrence, paranoid about track surfaces, on Saturday morning phoned the Australian Turf Club course manager, Lindsay Murphy, to ask if any special treatment was applied to the course proper. Perhaps the class horses took up the vanguard; hot days with good tracks favour speedsters. Track walkers are employed in Victoria to assist punters and racing has become so scientific in the modern era that Racing Radio on Saturday morning was whining about an ill wind likely to blow at Ascot in Perth and upset hot fancies. Maybe bias has always existed but we are still left pondering just how much is in the eye of the beholder.
Vics need wake-up
Trainers are "under more scrutiny" in Sydney than Melbourne as far as the when and where of pre-race treatment is concerned. "And we are continually being asked about performance," trainer John O'Shea said.
Horse manure has hit the fan recently down south where more of a sweep-the-dirt-under-the-carpet policy has existed. If you think the latest spate of Melbourne stable raids means treating on race days is a modern phenomena, you'll believe jockeys don't bet.
"They have a different mindset about drenching in Melbourne," O'Shea said. "Ray Murrihy [the chief steward] will walk through Sydney stables on race mornings."
Interstate woes
The home-town champion title of Gai Waterhouse was emphasised again on Saturday. Yes, she had a Rosehill double but her interstate team failed again, this time at Ascot.
Epsom winner Fat Al finished 12th in the Railway and jockey Nash Rawiller recommended the blinkers be dropped in future. Stablemate Hallowell Belle was only eighth in the Winterbottom. She pulled up with blood in one nostril and lame. Upon This Rock did best when fifth in the Jungle Mist but was restricted for racing room over the latter stages. Rawiller was again pinched, $500, for a breach of the whip rule. Meanwhile, Waterhouse's husband, bookmaker Robbie, was back at Rosehill after a mammoth Melbourne carnival. He would have liked to work in Perth but local fielders threatened to go on strike at his only previous attempt.
Beware the ghost
Some locals are concerned about historic Kensington stables being turned into home units. Council signs went up about real estate around 150 Doncaster Avenue that housed Harry Darwon's team, later Betty Holland, Randwick's first woman trainer, and Tiger Holland. It later came under the control of John Messara, turf supremo and chairman of Racing NSW. Messara had gained the valuable property by tender from the Australian Turf Club, says Darren Pearce, the ATC chief executive. "We understood it was going to be a Sydney base for Paul Messara [whose main operation is in the Hunter Valley],"Pearce said. If the development goes ahead, will it carry an appropriate racing title like "Arrowfield Court"? However, it could be noisy. They say the ghost of "old H" (Darwon) cracks a stockwhip at 2.30 every morning and yells: "Get up you sleepy bastards."
Quote of the week
"I think that Hugh's got to realise himself that he is a good rider and better off up front than being dictated to by bad luck," trainer Chris Waller after Hugh Bowman scored on Specific Choice at Rosehill.
Horse to follow
Saturday's seventh at Rosehill, won by Travolta, was littered with hard-luck stories, but Keith's Legacy produced an eye-catcher. Forced wide throughout, the gelding went down by a half-neck. He hung in, but, unlike others, Keith's Legacy had 59.5kg.
Disappointing
Soros, the $3 equal favourite, was sixth in the third at Rosehill and jockey Peter Robl said he was bumped at the 500 metres then never travelled. Soros sustained a wound on a near-hind tendon.
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