CLIVE ALLCOCK

Very good Australian Turf Club promotion!

At the start of the National Thoroughbred Awareness Week on Thursday, November 20, the ATC put on a promotion for members willing and able to get to Rosehill by 7am.

I made it!

And it was well worth the effort. For the group of 100, the limit, a wide range of issues and presentations occurred.

While many, including myself, knew much of the material covered, others found new aspects of the industry and even those well involved picked up points.

I did.

The morning started with a talk about track preparation and the target of a good four for race day being the aim although nature intervenes and that target cannot always be reached.

Then some horses were galloped with special permission down the straight as that is usually reserved for race day. Explanations about the timing of the gallops and what is looked for were given by two representatives from the Chris Waller stable – Charlie Duckworth and Darren Beadman.

After that over to the stalls where a display of racing gear, plates and the food for horses in work was set up.

I declined to try the equihorse mechanical ride but many were braver than me.

A clear highlight however was the presence of a horse called Kolding. The reader may recall he won an Epson and the first Golden Eagle. He was looking in magnificent condition. Now dressage and show jumping calls.

Still he was quiet and enjoyed posing for photos – yes, this activity I got into.

Food for humans was a very large bacon and egg roll with coffee although the oats and lupin looked tempting.

An excellent piece of work by the club hopefully to be repeated next year. Perhaps it should be widened to regular race goers who are not club members.

WELL DONE FAVOURITES

Chatting to Max at Rosehill recently I commented that I could not recall a run through a carnival where so many favourites had won main races and often at short prices. Given that favourites win around 33 percent this is an excessive number statistically.

I am speaking through my wallet a little, but I did back some while taking others on.

Ever since, the pattern has remained with favourites taking out The Gong and the Cranbourne Cup.

But it has been manna from somewhere for futures bettors. I was told some years back that futures betting was regarded as just a small segment of the market and almost not worth thinking too much about.

But that view may change after this carnival. One astute player in this field I know had good results from Ka Ying Rising backed months in advance at very much better prices than on the day. Another good return was from Half Yours backed at one point at $34 and lesser prices later. Of course, some bets dropped out to be written off but the balance was well in the black.

For me the territory is a no-go zone. Past wounds arise from those dropouts but also horses going to the post at longer prices than I had obtained. That hurts.

Still, for those willing to study and have a wide range of bets this may work well. Will the run of favourites continue in the autumn?

The comments about Autumn Glow at the function above suggest that is one likely to fit the bill.