On Saturday I attended a wedding in Echuca and during the torrential rain that teemed down as the caterers were valiantly trying to prepare the food, under a canopy that was buckling in the conditions I might add, I marvelled at the determination of the women involved.A few hundred kilometers north another type of determination was taking place at Randwick racecourse when, Ista Kareem, who became the oldest horse to win the Sydney Cup since nine year old Kingfisher won in 1877, fought his way to
On Saturday I attended a wedding in Echuca and during the torrential rain that teemed down as the caterers were valiantly trying to prepare the food, under a canopy that was buckling in the conditions I might add, I marvelled at the determination of the women involved.
A few hundred kilometers north another type of determination was taking place at Randwick racecourse when, Ista Kareem, who became the oldest horse to win the Sydney Cup since nine year old Kingfisher won in 1877, fought his way to victory. Although the horse defied the statistics back in Melbourne one can only imagine the joy this win provided Jackie Little, wife of trainer Colin Little, who has been fighting the ravages of cancer for the last two years.
In the persistence stakes the top award goes to trainer, Mick Price, who scored his first Sydney Group 1 victory with the marvelous Pompeii Ruler, after 31 previous attempts to win a Sydney Group 1 event and to again show how emotional some wins are you only had to see jockey Craig Newitt throw a kiss to his recently deceased father after the win. Pompeii Ruler was Craig Newitt's fathers favourite horse and clearly the win was something special to Craig.
In recent years I have come to a conclusion about wfa races and the win by Pompeii Ruler again highlighted the thoughts I have had about these races. Top class horses, those that usually contest wfa events, have an ability to produce efforts normal horses just consistently cannot. It is their courage that makes the difference. Rather than do the form per se in wfa races I am really convinced that in the long term it is better to simply backthe best horse in the race. It would not have been silly to suggest Pompeii Ruler was the best horse in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Think about it. The cream always rises to the top in just about every situation we mortals know so why not in horse racing?
Speaking about cream rising to the top what about Damien Oliver? His rides on Danleigh in the All Aged Stakes and Amberino in the Emancipation Stakes were absolute gems and really shows how fickle some members of the punting world are when they deemed he was past his best a couple of years ago. He is the leading rider in Victoria, without the support of a stable like Freedman or Hayes, and I am betting his figures at the recent Sydney carnivals at Rosehill and Randwick are outstanding. To suggest he is worth following at the major carnivals would be an understatement. AT some stage this week I will go through all his rides this calendar year in the Group races and just see how he actually has fared.
However, once we acknowledge the magic moments for all involved this Saturday at Royal Randwick a sobering thought about the Sydney Cup was raised in an email by a viewer of Sky Channels Racing Review. Is this race worthy of Group 1 status when you consider Ista Kareem, an average horse in all fairness, can win a Group 1 race as a rising nine year old and the likes of No Wine No Song, Gallic, Honor Babe, Henderson Bay, Mr Prudent and Streak have been recent winners? These are hardly household names in the racing world and it is only the win of the mighty Makybe Diva, in 2004, that gives the backers of this race some fuel to fight the case that it's status as a Group 1 race should be kept.
We all await the return of the mighty Takeover Target when he goes to Morphettville this coming Saturday to contest the Set Weights and Penalties 1200m Goodwood. The pre post betting has him at $2.00 with the next in the betting at $12.00. All things being equal he should win by six lengths, hard held, however if racing were only that simple all punters would be retired and be seen diving into a Scrooge McDuck type swimming pool full of money. Time, as always, will tell.