A WEEKLY REVIEW

The Good

Fortunately Pallaton and Gilded Water featured for the good on an otherwise drab Royal Randwick program last Saturday.

Victoria has maintained a quality spring with a strong Pakenham Cup meeting while Sydney at two out of three Saturdays, the week’s best betting programs, have been drab.

However Pallaton flashed out of the murk, quality not climate, with a very stylish effort to take the $160,000 Shinzo @ Coolmore Plate, overshadowing the Magic Millions pair Vein Girl and Icarian Dream at other venues.

Vein Girl notched the $252,000 Magic Millions Open on Friday night while Icarian Dream scored in Eagle Farm’s $300,000 McLachlan Stakes the following day.

Making his debut and still wayward, Pallaton hit the line in a manner suggesting considerable improvement under the Michael Freedman development program.

Perhaps comparing stayers last Saturday, the class of Gilded Waters, carrying the colours of King Charles, taking Randwick’s Precise Air, a benchmark 78, was cogs below Goldman, successful in the Listed Pakenham Cup.

But it was the way Gilded Waters, under Dylan Browne McMonagle moved and put the second-raters away that sparked the opinion this Great Brit bred four-year-old is going to make his mark in Australia.

McMonagle has continued the trend with Billy Loughnane also scoring at Randwick of overseas youngsters gaining from experience here in contrast to my early days when our topliners were overseas.

Consider Scobie Breasley, George Moore, Ron Hutchinson, Bill Williams and a horde of others that took England, Ireland and France by storm.

Certainly McMonagle and Loughnane are here more to further their education. Loughnane came with a John O’Shea recommendation. O’Shea introduced James McDonald to the Australian market.

Meanwhile on the local front Beau Mertens aboard Goldman, leading throughout, was another example of the get-up-go tactics influenced by Tulloch Lodge over decades.

Gai Waterhouse, racing’s first lady, primed Mertens with riding instructions on how to build up the tempo on Goldman, a skill that Tim Clark has mastered so well.

Tulloch Lodge gives jockeys the bone and muscle under them and Waterhouse relays the best way to use it.

Possibly Hotlips Houlihan, $201 in Precise Air at Randwick, was odds on to be the slowest horse at either venue last Saturday.

Named after the character in the great film “MASH” she was played by Sally Kellerman who was nominated for an Academy Star in the supporting actor category in 1979 for the role. Hotlips Houlihan went down by over 20 lengths but beat First Innings home.

Slow horses prompts the urge to tip a winner – Slow Horses, the television series, starring my personality of the period – Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). Previously those to take the title were Al Swearengen (Ian McShane – Deadwood), Polly Gray (Helen McCrory – Pinky Binders) and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly – Yellowstone).

The Bad

The finish of Nadal, the $2.50 favourite, in Pakenham’s Supernova was BAD. Didn’t get the distance, 1400 metres, according to the jockey Ethan Brown.

Nadal was dynamic at his previous Cranbourne triumph, albeit over 1200 metres, but last Saturday after commencing from the tail the finish petered out quick.

The winner Here To Shock, strong in the market at $4.80, was gallant failing previously at Randwick, beaten 4.8 lengths, due to cardiac arrhythmia that seriously puts horses into reverse. Still it was only a length worse than Nadal at Pakenham.

The rail area in the Randwick straight on Saturday was a no-go area after sunshine that should have produced a bias free ground. How do we get a good four description, rated as fair?

The Ugly

Ugly in the extreme.

Possibly it could be argued after early races, and the “Intelligentsia” oncourse, those who use a computer and not a racebook, had no doubt about the trend that front-runners were disadvantaged. Jockeys adapted to the conditions.

For instance Tim Clark riding Iowna Merc, launched from the one gate to take the Toyota Folklifts commented he went back in the field gate so he could make his run down the centre of the straight where the ground was superior.

But what about punters who bet early on the assumption they are getting a uniform surface?

And just how is the variation possible. Excessive watering? When questioned about the poor performance of So Risque in the Toyota Tyler Schiller told stewards “he would be better suited on a track with more give”.   

Going back the Australian Jockey Club committeemen would have been at Randwick to defend criticism of the course proper. If there was an Australian Turf Club director at Randwick on Saturday I didn’t see them.

And would the current bunch know? Members had the opportunity vote Lindsay Murphy, one of Australia’s best qualified on racing surfaces, in the last election and went elsewhere.

But enough bile in the season of good will. May Santa arrive on time and get a better passage down your chimney than coming along the fence at Randwick on Saturday.