Generally Saturday weddings, birthday parties, funerals and major sporting events finish second to the races, particularly those with the fascination of today’s Golden Rose at Rosehill Gardens, but not the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne.
As usual the cry reverberates: Rugby League or Aussie Rules. Which is the best? Nothing, not even the Melbourne Cup tops the Grand Final at the MCG, hardly superior to the Big One at Flemington or Moonee Valley’s Cox Plate but just as good.
Melbourne produces great sporting events better than Sydney, especially for spectators. Flemington is superior to Randwick. Broken down lifts and escalators at the autumn carnival in Harbour city were embarrassing.
Yes, Rugby League is the game of my youth, and much better now than previously. Two decades back I argued it was the “greatest of all” but after being converted, principally with the excellence of Adam Goodes and Buddy Franklin, it is no better than AFL, supposedly outrated on recent TV surveys by Rugby League.
Still in the recent finals series the AFL, dynamic in both thrills and attendance look sparse.
Getting to Saturday the Swans and Brisbane have been involved in nail-biters. The Swans necessitated my personal switch in blood pressure medication. Topsy turvy but what a memorable season.
When they are good, they are bloody brilliant but have lapsed like they are a horse suffering from cardiac arrythmia trailing the field. Remember Port Adelaide earlier in the season?
Anyway, I’d travel to Birdsville to watch Isaac Heeney, Errol Guldan and Tom Papley, amongst others, in their current form which makes Melbourne a more viable alternative.
Sure, it takes me away from The Golden Rose promising to be a battle of “bulls”, as in stallions, and the sprint has a rich history in producing winners that developed into lucrative assets at stud.
So far this year some of the colts involved have been feeling their oats more than usual, evidenced in the Run To The Rose at Rosehill two weeks back.
Thus, changes have been made to the gear of Storm Boy, who promises to be a gold mine when he finishes racing, and Linebacker, showing stallion traits that could diminish his racing record.
Storm Boy gets a barrier extension in the hope of assisting him to break clean out at the gates where he produced a vital hiccup in the Run To The Rose while a stallion chain will be applied to Linebacker to give greater control.
Linebacker was “flashing” his stud potential before being whisked early out of the enclosure last start. Application of ice is a remedy but time was the issue in this Rosehill incident.
During the running Linebacker proved a handful for Kerrin McEvoy beaten 2.3 lengths after settling nine lengths off the pace. Later stewards reported the three-year-old proved difficult to ride in the straight and “wasn’t fully tested”.
No doubt the extra distance from 1200 metres to 1400 metres will suit him but also favours Godolphin pair, Broadsiding and Traffic Warden, successful in the Run To The Rose where he produced a wow factor under apprentice Zac Lloyd.
The opinion of Betsmart’s Dan O’Sullivan, regarding the sprint, is worth noting: “Traffic Warden made an excellent return with a strong win in the Group Two Run To The Rose, earning at 101.5 rating which surpassed his previous peak of 98.4 as a two-year-old. The race shape was far from ideal for him, with a below average pace to the 800 metres before picking up just above average in the middle and late stages. He closed from nearly five lengths off the lead at the 600-metre mark with determination and quality of a real good horse ….”
Alas Lloyd has been replaced by Ben Melham, an accomplished Melbourne hoop. I would be more comfortable with Lloyd due to recent experience with the colt and Rosehill knowledge.
Perhaps Broadsiding is having his first start, a negative for the event after a Brisbane campaign, but barrier trials indicate James Cummings has him prime for today. The depth of the Brisbane opposition is questionable but he donkey licked them.
From the one gate James McDonald should give Broadsiding a sweet passage whereas Traffic Warden, who produced a stallion neigh of delight entering the enclosure before the Run To The Rose, launches from nine, possibly negated with anticipated pace aplenty.
With the Golden Rose, the Shannon Quality appeals because Celestial Legend is out to confirm his credentials for the Spring features. Celestial Legend received a pass mark for his first-up effort, eighth in the Theo Marks at Rosehill on September 14, but hardly superior to rivals he meets again today. For instance, New Endeavour, Osipenko, New Energy and Tannhauser received a “inconclusive” assessment, improvers but not as much, I’m tipping, as Celestial Legend coming to hand under the carry touch of trainer Les Bridge.
