As a wizened Englishman named Mick has been heard to sing, 'Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste'. And a man of wealth and taste I am, of course, if wealth is measured in the immaterial, furniture-less 'font of knowledge' sense of the word, and taste in the oft-misunderstood heart of Billy Ray Cyrus records and, for that matter, those of his precocious daughter Miley. For horse racing is wholly responsible for my failings as an erudite man of the world, having distr
As a wizened Englishman named Mick has been heard to sing, 'Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste'. And a man of wealth and taste I am, of course, if wealth is measured in the immaterial, furniture-less 'font of knowledge' sense of the word, and taste in the oft-misunderstood heart of Billy Ray Cyrus records and, for that matter, those of his precocious daughter Miley. For horse racing is wholly responsible for my failings as an erudite man of the world, having distracted me from my once varied cultural pursuits to the point where the challenge of a fresh formguide is as inspiring to me as a blank page may have been to Joseph Conrad, once the fallow 'horror' of his writer's block had dissipated to free paralysed mind and ink.
And so it is that twice a week I shall here posit my observations (read: hilarious witticisms), analysis and bold posterior-biting predictions relating to this most wonderful 'Sport of Kings'; the game recently-deceased-due-to-unrelenting-tedium rugby fans wish they played in heaven.
Obviously it would be remiss of me to pen my first blog without mentioning the incredible buzz generated by racing's flagship horse, Black Caviar. It has all been said before by stunned journalists the nation over, and whilst the world is Black Caviar's freshly shucked oyster, I would like to put it on the record that Saturday's Lightning Stakes gave me my biggest thrill in racing to date. With her unique combination of brute power and Bradman-esque elegance, this mare is just a freak, pure and simple. Backing hot-pots isn't my go, as I'm sure you'll learn over the weeks, but if you'd started with $100 and backed 'The Bearded Lady' all-up at her starting price in each of her nine starts, you'd have collected a cool $8,157 after the weekend's outrageously effortless cakewalk. Truly easy money...
What else can one deduce from Saturday's racing? Darley galloper Bullbars roared into Australian Guineas contention with a most impressive last-to-first victory in the CS Hayes Stakes, and now heads markets. The Guineas has changed complexion several times in the last month, and at this stage it looks very difficult to identify a clear-cut standout. As such, value is the order of the day, and if Peter Moody decideds to go to the mile Group 1 with his most promising stayer Eclair Surprise, I may be tempted to have something on him. Enjin Number Nine didn't quite live up to his boom at Flemington, but the inside wasn't necessarily the place to be and I still consider him a live chance. One-time favourite Anacheeva, on the other hand, would need to improve dramatically to figure in the finish.Another horse staking a potential Guineas claim was the South Australian filly Southern Speed, who took her record to three wins from as many outings with a dominant performance in the Vanity. This daughter of Southern Image might just be very, very good.
And having scanned the noms for this Saturday, I see that the Black Caviar-less Oakleigh Plate has attracted significant interest as trainers scramble to contest a Group 1 sprint where they're not automatically running for second. Unfortunately, Peter Moody appears to share the same view, and has nominated five of Black Caviar's flying stablemates - Avenue, Hinchinbrook, Panipique, Reward For Effort and Set For Fame - in an attempt to feed off the scraps from the Queen's royal table. A Beggars Banquet indeed...