AND SANDOWN CLOSES A CHAPTER

AND SANDOWN CLOSES A CHAPTERGai Waterhouse wins her first Caulfield Cup.That same horse doesn't even complete the Melbourne Cup course.The French horse wins the Melbourne Cup. It was so obvious in retrospect, and by Saturday it had been confirmed with the win of Moudre in the quaintly named Queen's Cup (next year it goes back to being The Queen Elizabeth Stakes).Brazilian Pulse shows on MacKinnon Day and again in the Oaks that she's the best filly around.Beware! Last year Faint Perfume did more

AND SANDOWN CLOSES A CHAPTER

Gai Waterhouse wins her first Caulfield Cup.

That same horse doesn't even complete the Melbourne Cup course.

The French horse wins the Melbourne Cup. It was so obvious in retrospect, and by Saturday it had been confirmed with the win of Moudre in the quaintly named Queen's Cup (next year it goes back to being The Queen Elizabeth Stakes).

Brazilian Pulse shows on MacKinnon Day and again in the Oaks that she's the best filly around.

Beware! Last year Faint Perfume did more or less the same thing and hasn't featured since. I was one of the suckers. She's going to be in again this Saturday and Michael Rodd is, I have to admit, more confident than I am about her chances. I can't really afford to let her go around at big odds, but I'm sure not backing her if she's drummed into a short price. Fillies and mares are a tricky bunch.

So You Think demolishes the fields in both the Cox Plate and the MacKinnon Stakes, but probably goes a little bit early in the big one and then is sold for sixty times the kind of money you and I can only dream of. Nice bit of dosh.

The usual bunch of outsiders knock most punters out of business in the first two races on Cup Day. Half the races are won by outsiders. Don't mention the weather.

And the Derby has gone to (for most people) a surprise result. Will it stand on a dry surface? That's in the lap of the gods. Lion tamer? My jury is still out. Half the field had trouble standing up on Derby Day and probably more than half were less than 100% confident on the following Tuesday.

A nine year old, Zipping, runs yet another fourth in the big one and acquits himself with Glory over the entire Melbourne Spring. Sentimentally, you have to hope he'll take out Sandown on Saturday, don't you? He doesn't seem to know that he's nine.

And the savagery with which Black Caviar disposed of her rivals. A mighty mare indeed. Nothing out of the current crop can live with her. But already I read in a major racing paper that she is probably the "best ever:". Aw, come on mate! Have some unemotional perspective.

And yet again the AJC Derby hoodoo holds up. No gong for Shoot Out. May have got to his top, have come to the boil, too early in the season?

Wall Street might be exceptional. I marked his win down as one of the best of the entire carnival. We'd seen him on the telly when he won in New Zealand, but this win was awesome. Yes, he just might be the champion weight for age performer of next autumn.

What does it all say?

Well, it reinforces our view that this is one heck of a difficult time for punters.

Cynics will say that this is because everybody is trying, but I don't think so. I think it's more a question of having a whole lot of incredibly gifted riders competing against each other in a series of situations where 1/100th of a second is the difference between the old "rooster and feather duster" thing. I've seen most of good jockeys in most parts of the world over the past fifty or so years, and I can tell you that the current Australian bunch can hold its head up with any of them. True, a Frenchman rode the winner of the big race, but he rode a magnificent racehorse and it was virtually a matter of not making any mistakes, rather than doing anything clever. After the Geelong Cup, nobody could be in any doubt as to his quality (although he was suspended for his tactics), but he looked no better than perhaps twenty or so of our local product.

This also goes for a certain great Italian/English jock, who is more than capable of riding an average race. I've seen him perform in Australia and England and he's quite marvellous; but without parochialism, I reckon I could name half a dozen locals who, given the same opportunities, would perform at the same lofty level.

That should stir up a few of the overseas readers shouldn't it?

All in all, we really need to rule a line under the Spring Carnival after this Saturday, and go back to our basics.

True, there were some great performances and there were several disappointing ones. There will be rapid improvement from much of the younger generation (as always) but what you can take as probably established, is that any horse which is four or older now has probably shown you what it's capable of. Even the great Makybe Diva did that in the Spring before she performed her first execution.

Take three deep breaths, check your balance (I mean in dollars and cents), and have a good hard look at where you intend to go between now and, say, next March. That really is a very essential step to take after every Melbourne Spring Carnival.