Missile Stakes Lacks Impetus Amid Racing Politics

Like the form of AFL teams, the quality of major races ebbs and flows, but today’s Royal Randwick Missile Stakes, once an event of historic significance, is more of a flag start to the season than a slick execution from the barrier stalls.

Never before has a prelude to the “spring” began with so little pizzazz while the politics, centred around the absurd proposal to sell Rosehill Gardens and getting another sitting before a Parliamentary committee on Friday, been so active.

In fact a wise guy is tipping Peter V’Landys, the Racing NSW strongman, won’t be in the position come Christmas. Mind you at least three attempts to shift him previously have failed. The protagonist was asked to give odds but declined.

Under Thursday’s Sydney Morning Herald headline “Latham tells racing chief V’Landy’s to resign”, the CEO argued those against him “were some very wealthy breeders who don’t want to be held account for animal welfare”.

On the same day the Daily Telegraph crowned V’Landy’s King Of Rugby League. Without doubt he is the most influential influence, including committees, ever in NSW racing or the state generally. Racing is an industry and bigger than Rugby League. Did Kerry Packer, who battered opposition with front-row forward tenacity, wield more authority?

So the current chapter of the Missile at Randwick lacks impetus by comparison with the ditching of Rosehill debate. Historically The Missile, particularly at Rosehill Gardens, featured budding topliners set on a Group one course, but Schwartz, favourite this year, hardly gets the blood pounding. Only 10 sprinters were left in the field on Friday and four were late entries.

Yes, Schwartz has only had seven starts and should do much better than previously. The opposition isn’t inspiring. In fact the Group two $300,000 Missile doesn’t look as strong as last Saturday’s lesser Group three Aurie’s Star at Flemington, worth $200,000, another example of Sydney racing being prizemoney rich and Australian Turf Club poor.

Fortunately Rosehill had the Jockey’s Celebration last Saturday, bolstering a very sparse attendance, thousands short of those who went to the course to be thrilled by the feats of Ron Quinton, Malcolm Johnston, and Kevin Langby, amongst others at the special lunch. In all they represented thousands of winners, great rides, and wonderful memories. Amongst them was Peter Miers, good in Sydney, strong in Hong Kong with even wider experience further abroad which came in handy for the 1984 Missile at Rosehill, remembered by Bart Cummings in “Bart – My Life”.

“The starting barrier was bogged so they set off with a flag start and the race was won by my horse, Plus Vite at 200/1 my longest priced winner. It was a thrilling win for veteran jockey Peter Miers ….”

The decision to attempt a flag start when the barriers couldn’t be used was made by Australian Jockey Club chief steward John Schreck in association with Sydney Turf Club starter Bill Dale.

Dale had to launch the field with a “ready, steady, go” and dropped flag. The first attempt was regarded as a false start so the horses had to lineup again.

Miers had been riding in the north of England, turf primitive to the degree the barrier stalls hadn’t arrived. Getting the fly at the break was an art with which Miers was proficient while rivals were more tuned to the clang of the gates.

Plus Vite finally won but Schreck and the stewards deliberated for 10 minutes before declaring correct weight. “It took racing back to the 19th century,” Bill Whittaker wrote in the Sun Herald. The crowd howled and hooted the decision. “No race” with all bets refunded would have been well received.

Miers, 81, is now the doyen of Sydney jockeys. I wrote the first story about him when he was an apprentice in the late 1950’s. Grecian Vale, a gelding still going strong at 12 and trained by George McCahon at Rosebery, was one of his early winners. McCahon was the master of Cliff Clare, who until this year, was the senior survivor of the jockey ranks. McCahon once king hit Clare when he was a 44kg apprentice.  Clare, the first stable jockey for the founders of the Woodlands Stud and Crown Lodge empire, Big Jack and Bob Ingham, and all-time good bloke, retaliated by slamming a chair over the trainer. The AJC outed the Clare because he wouldn’t apologise.

Characters and incidents abounded. Current jockeys and trainers are just as good but the horses? Ebbs and flows? Take me back to the Missiles of Campaign King, Razor Sharp, Joanne, Lonhro, and Dance Hero if not flag starts.