There were 78,500 people at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day 1976. Those still living, hold indelible memories of their visit to the historic course on the day mother nature threw a tantrum.
Wendy Peel was paid the ultimate compliment by David Reynolds when he elected to entrust her with the ride on Rather Salubrious in Saturday’s Battle Of The Bush Final, even though apprentices were unable to claim.
“You can’t let the strength of the Sydney riding ranks play on your mind,” says popular jockey Sam Clipperton. “You’ve got to stay focused and bring your A game every time you go to the races.”
Surely the most unique winning double of the weekend was the one achieved by Muswellbrook trainer Jan Bowen. The horse loving grandmother was on cloud nine when her consistent three year old Casino Kid stormed home to win the TAB Highway at Randwick.
Steve Tregea had cause to worry when Anthony Allen made the snap decision to send Incentivise to the lead 1200m from home in Saturday’s Bm80 (1810m) at Eagle Farm.
“I’ll wake up one day and say that’ll do me,” was Greg Ryan’s reply when I asked about his likely retirement date on a podcast posted on October 27th last year. Amazingly that fateful day arrived just five weeks later.
When Rebel Rama completely dominated an 1850m maiden at Newcastle on March 30th, trainer Marc Conners made hurried plans to launch a two pronged attack on the Adelaide carnival.
It’s not uncommon to see a winning jockey “pump the air” in the euphoria of victory, or shake his or her head when surprised by the dominance of a performance but at Kembla Grange on Saturday Blake Spriggs broke new ground.
Training partners Robert and Luke Price won’t forget day two of The Championships in a hurry. The father and son team brought only two horses to Royal Randwick, but came away with a healthy portion of the prize money and truckloads of satisfaction.
“I can’t allow myself to be stressed out because of my surname,” said Edward Cummings. “I just go about my job looking after the twenty horses in my care.
While Darren Flindell was weaving his own brand of magic at Royal Randwick on Saturday, a race caller from the previous generation was celebrating a unique anniversary at Warren - a tiny hamlet of 1500 people some 536 kms from Sydney.
A light mouthed horse can be a nuisance on a trail ride, let alone in a high pressure thoroughbred race. The first challenge for the rider of a “bit shy” galloper comes the moment the gates open.
Great to see the Melbourne Racing Club pay homage to two great race callers of yesteryear at Saturday’s Caulfield meeting. Races were named after Bill Collins and Bert Bryant.
As Kerry Parker walked off Randwick racecourse on Easter Saturday 2010, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever get another shot at the Doncaster Hcp.
Kim Waugh was quietly confident Great News would vindicate her short odds in Saturday’s Provincial Championship Qualifier at Gosford, but didn’t expect the four year old mare to win with such ridiculous ease.
Globetrotting trainer Paul Perry liked Pandano the moment he spotted him in a paddock at Arrowfield Stud some weeks before the 2018 Inglis Classic Sale.
Gary Colvin decided to join a group of Another One’s owners in the Wagga grandstand as the fifteen runners arrived at the 1400m starting point for Saturday’s Newhaven Park Country Qualifier.
A spate of effortless wins by Slipper bound hopefuls in recent weeks has the form students in a quandary. On January 16th Shaquero ticked every box with a flawless display to win the Magic Millions Classic on the Gold Coast.
A flurry of winners on provincial and country tracks in recent months has more than justified Christian Reith’s decision to carve a niche for himself outside the metropolitan area.
