The Good
Once the Melbourne Cup was regarded as Australia’s greatest sporting event but surely this year, for one, it will be surpassed by the third and final State Of Origin clash in Brisbane.
Grand finals, particularly AFL in Melbourne, have huge appeal due to the tribal following, but the civil war aspect of State Of Origin encompasses wider enthusiasm.
Test matches, cricket and rugby league, aren’t what they were: the good ones don’t come around as frequently as the first Tuesday in November at Flemington.
However following the razzle dazzle of New South Wales, masterminded by Mitchell Moses and, the pure grit of Angus Crichton, amongst others, downing the Maroons last Wednesday, it’s hard to imagine the Melbourne Cup generating so much anticipation and enthusiasm this year.
Alas the Melbourne Cup has lost local prominence due to the international involvement. Perhaps it’s a better race with the European and Japanese invaders but the dinky-di feature, with New Zealanders contributing, has faded.
World-wide broadcast rights stress lucrative but currently it’s hard to find horse and human in the Big One promising the same impact as Moses and Crichton. Hard yards impress me more than slick hands, and will be required against a home side that will improve, get a better spread of early penalties and “six again” decisions in the first half.
Moses was so good how would you drop him in favour of the injured Nathan Cleary, a half-back who compares with the greats?
No doubt State Of Origin was the highlight for the GOOD, bloody brilliant in fact, but trainers, Danny O’Brien, Ciaron Maher and the Gai Waterhouse – Adrian Bott combination, figured in the category.
Undoubtedly the casualty rate, particularly the visitors, has been the downside of the modern Melbourne Cup, but O’Brien prepared Vow And Declare to score five years ago and the gelding indicated he is still going strong as an eight-year-old by taking the Tatt’s Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Fortunate to be up close and personal with most of the great trainers over the last 60 years with tremendous respect for their ability I can’t rate them superior to their current counterparts.
O’Brien is an example and so, too, Ciaran Maher in keeping the gallant six-year-old mare Bella Nipotina going so well for so long to win the Group one Tatt’s Tiara at Eagle Farm on Saturday at her 52nd start was exemplary.
And the old Tulloch Lodge ploy of producing a “put in and take out” special to ward off the winter blues was evident with Bear On The Loose in the Petaluma Handicap at Rosehill Gardens.
Instigated by Ernie Smith, in charge while his brother Tom was abroad for the cold months, the plunge produced pelf for stable punters during the off season.
Bear On The Loose, an Irish bred, was making his debut here and backed from $4.80 to $3, a strong move considering the support for runner-up Don Diego De Vega. Prior and during the race Bear On The Loose looked like he would not be out of place at Royal Ascot while “Don”, with a rough grey coat and plenty of headgear, didn’t glow in the same manner. Still there was plenty of muscle under the hairy exterior.
Obviously the trainers cut down on the risk factor using Nash Rawiller on the gelding. Rawiller gave one of his keep out of trouble and take no risks tactic on Bear On The Loose, a good thing, anticipated by Dan O’Sullivan’s Betsmart.
The Bad
City Tatt’s, a bookmaker’s club the history of which is capsulised on the “Write To Max” page by Mark Hewitt, at Pitt Street has gone.
The settling on Mondays, when bookmakers, legal and SP, was a sight and volume to behold where the congregation would meet to pay and receive from the week’s racing action. Thousands changed hands when a quid was a quid, and the rattle of poker machines could be heard at Railway Square.
Current market conditions were given as a reason for the demise. New premises will be sought, but the character long gone.
“Whoever passes through these doors does so at their own risk,” was the unwritten sign over the entrance, highlighted in my book Good Losers Die Broke (Allen and Unwin).
Characters galore, card sharks, snooker exponents that made Fast Eddy Felson (portrayed by Paul Newman in The Hustler) look slow, mixed with general businessmen, good blokes, and fitness fanatics like my old Kenso mate Charley Anscombe, more inclined to the facilities than the punt.
Perhaps the safety deposit looting at City Tatts didn’t rate with the Melbourne bookmaker shake down when robbers fleeced the bagmen, grounded at gunpoint. The City Tatts sting was more cerebral.
The safety deposit boxes were used to plant black money, non-taxable, and valued items but the code lock was broken, a special key, and the “safes” ransacked.
The true value of the operation was never estimated because bookmakers would not disclose how much they had salted away. Later “Hollywood George” Edser was given credit that gained substance when he was shot. City Tatts was famous for a “whip around”, a charity supported by members for those in need. In this instance it paid for a hitman from Melbourne to despatch “Hollywood George”, who survived more by good luck than a bad shot.
The Ugly
“Why does Sydney Saturdays have so many scratchings?” trainer Joe Pride queried on Sky Radio recently.
Sure, there were circumstances for the 51 withdrawals at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday. After all it was a heavy track and races have been abandoned due to bad weather in recent weeks.
Tommy Smith, premiership winning Sydney trainer for 33 seasons, would only withdraw a charge if its leg was hanging off. Yes acceptors for Saturday then were declared on Thursday and not Wednesday. Also now horses dual accept interstate. Travelling is far more convenient. Trainers, too, appear field shy due to wide barriers.
Pride more or less adheres to the Smith policy – fit horses should race and applied this to Anagain who hardly triumphed out of turn at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday.
“It is always difficult to find the right race for Anagain,” Pride explained. “She drew wide (12) but everything broke well.” Well, not everything. Jockey Jay Ford, in fine touch lately, had the whip knocked “out of his grasp” by rival Nash Rawiller at the 100 metres.
Despite the scratchings – it costs around $250 per horse to withdraw – 11 races were held with the upsetting report circulating that that 11 race programs, due to the extra turnover, could become a Sydney Saturday norm.
I started with seven Saturday events which left you in need of more action, possibly the dogs or trots even the two-up, but went to eight which was perfect, nine acceptable, and 10 too many.
Eleven?
UGLY.
