Even Frankie Dettori looked good in “Race For The Crown”, a Netflix epic, emphasising the spectacular aspects and character of racing in the United States, a far vision from Saturday’s Rosehill Gardens and Eagle Farm meeting that has the Queensland Derby.
Brilliantly filmed and edited, “Race For The Crown” in 2024 captures the colour and atmosphere of those chasing the Triple Crown, the big three of the US racing, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes for three-year-olds.
However, it showed how the Sydney turf has deteriorated in the turmoil of the attempted sale of Rosehill Gardens. Sure the average Saturdays over there would be no better than here but Rosehill, particularly, has lost the former zing in the major events, that still ignites Flemington over the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Once the Golden Slipper gave Rosehill pizzaz. Green two-year-olds perhaps but it generated a special vibe. Cynics reckon it’s now the location. Nobody wants to go. I say it’s the Australian Turf Club.
Horses and those that make them are just as good as ever. Take the Championships at Randwick, for instance. The staging is slack. Headquarters is depressed to what it was. The Everest, a good sprint but not the best, takes pride of place and an advertising budget to go with it.
But a serve of “Race For The Crown”, backed by tradition, showed how appealing racing can be.
During an episode Dettori had the assistance of Bo Derek, in her heyday described as a perfect 10, a jockey rating Dettori had in Europe, but he was more a five in Australia or less in the Melbourne Cup.
Now 53, Dettori, made a comeback in the United States, emitting charm on ground level although a tad doddery in his star jump out of the saddle. Still he was riding slick on dirt amongst current greats over there, most imports from Europe or down south around Panama.
On personal visits going back over a decade United States racing, particularly the dirt surface, more brute force than graceful flight, didn’t impress me.
Louisville, for the Kentucky Derby was an experience, but didn’t leave an urge to return, unlike Epsom, Royal Ascot, Chantilly, Longchamps, Aintree, or Sha Tin.
But Hollywood Park still reverberates. A mural in the Club Stand surprised, not Secretariat or local champs but Phar Lap. Hollywood Park has now gone the way of the developers, the situation planned for Rosehill.
Obviously, Eagle Farm, with two Groups ones, the Kingsford-Smith as well as the Queensland Derby, takes pride of place on Saturday.
Joliestar, from the Chris Waller stable, is favourite for the Kingsford Smith and is a very valuable mare. Her former stablemate, Zougothca, was sold for $5.25 million recently. Zougotcha is by Zoustar, the sire of Joliestar. Both have a rating of 116.
Waller also has strong chances in the Queensland Derby, including Belle Detelle, a filly by Zed, who stands in New Zealand for an advertised $6,000 service fee, a flea bite for what they are asking for the Great Britain import, Wootton Bassett announced at an Australian record of $385,000.
Wootton Bassett will be presented by a two-year-old colt, Gallo Nero, in the Sires Produce at Eagle Farm.
Gallo Nero is out of Chianti, a I Am Invincible mare, so a triumph would lead to him being worth big bucks, even on at the Keeneland (Kentucky) sale market, captured on “Race For The Crown” which featured the mainly good, very little bad and a liberal dash of ugly.
Wayne D. Lucas, a veteran trainer, showed he still has it rising 89 with Siege the Grey in the Preakness, while Ken McPeek, won the Kentucky Derby with Mystic Don, who had plenty of assistance from Brian Hernandez junior, one of the few US born jockeys in the series. McPeek would be comfortable at the Breakfast Creek pub having one for the road after the last but I don’t know about Mystic Dan over the Queensland Derby distance 2400 metres.
No doubt female riders do better in Australia than over there. Billed as “one of the few women jockeys in the sport”, Katie Davis, successful in 300 races, is still battling for acceptance. She looked good but no better than our Rachel King. Consider, too, the bevy of saddle birds on the rise here.
The owners involved in the series were a weird bunch but the exuberance of former baseball star, Jaysan Werth, successful in the Preakness with Dornoch was hard to top. Another lived up to the claim that “good losers die broke”. Wait until the end. He’s a multi.
In Race For The Crown,the owners certainly cared about winning the races.Unfortunately this doesn’t transfer to fans and gamblers.As seen in this years Triple Crown,the owners cared about winning the Derby,but had no interest in the Preakness. This had nothing to do with the health of the horse. Winning a Triple Crown was once a big accomplishment in sports. Sadly that is not the case anymore. There are a select segment in racing who care, but the general public sees this as another “event day.” Sadly racing is no longer a sport.