The charmed run of Zac Lloyd at Royal Randwick on Yorkshire, like Reece Walsh, the golden boy of Rugby League, was scheduled to appear in the Good, Bad and Ugly earlier this week.
Alas, being closer to the carrier pigeon than the internet, technical difficulties prevented being aired, but the situation cannot be overlooked.
Cynics figure some misdemeanours of Walsh were treated with kid gloves because of his public appeal. In fact, Peter V’Landys, the Mr Big or Rugby League and NSW Racing, is a fan.
Rawiller will be kept sharp by other rivals Jason Collett, Tom Berry, Kerrin McEvoy and Josh Parr backed up by Dylan Gibbons, Tyler Schiller, and Tom Sherry. With the girls who ride like dynamos, Rachel King and Alysha Collett a match for them. And there are others. Sydney jockeys rank as high as ever at present.
Lloyd, though, with the baby-faced appeal of Walsh, coupled with exceptional saddle traits, at times has a devil-may-care attitude, which was evident on Yorkshire in the $2 million The Ingham last Saturday.
Yorkshire was the $3.90 favourite so the triumph was well received by the punting public. Later the stewards reported Lloyd was severely reprimanded for “shifting out” mentioned briefly regarding Robusto as “inconvenience” at the 100 metres.
Course broadcaster Darren Flindell first declared Yorkshire at the time was “running out again” and later “the pair collided again”, surely entitling a more detailed explanation from officials.
When a horse is racing erratically don’t the rules state the jockey should stop riding and straighten his mount? Robusto ($26), the minor placegetter, finished under two lengths behind the winner. I don’t think the outsider, carrying my support, would have beaten Yorkshire but runner-up Estadio Mestalla, downed only a half-length, is a different proposition.
Yorkshire backers were fortunate. Robusto also pulled up with the “thumps”.
Yorkshire has more to come but last Saturday Persian Spirit, a “penny dreadful” was a challenging contender for the most promising type of the day.
Horse flesh value for money appeals to me.
Persian Spirit was picked up for $6000 as a yearling. On Saturday at Pakenham, the now five-year-old gelding, took his tally to six wins from 18 starts including 10 placings.
Sure, the Gold Bullion, 1400 metres at Pakenham, was worth only $175,000, chicken feed compared to The Ingham but Persian Spirit completely dominated moderate opposition, hardly comparable with most of those contesting the Randwick major.
Still Enxuto, trained by Robbie Griffith at Cranbourne, accepted in both but took the Randwick option.
Enxuto was beaten only two lengths by the erratic, bumping Yorkshire. Most good judges down south regard Persian Spirit, developed by Simon Wilde at Warrnambool, as more than two lengths superior to Enxuto.
Maybe Persian Spirit was a “penny dreadful” but what about Where’s The Circus, who left Vatican, $1.2 million yearling, rearward in the $400,000 Inglis Nursery also at Randwick a week back?
Where’s The Circus changed hands for $1250, prompting the question whether she had four legs? How would she be termed? A “half-penny (pronounced hapney)”? Anyway, trainer Paul Murray, of Kembla Grange, is congratulated on his horse sense, which was GOOD, coupled with Persian Spirit while the BAD was Robusto. The UGLY is the continued takeover bid of the Australian Turf Club by Racing NSW. May its Christmas sleigh strike turbulence.
Now festive season exes take pride of place and Lloyd is unlikely Santa Claus, in appearance if not the employment of reins, with King’s Secret (Super Dry), Gallant Star (Forklifts) and Bartolf (Petaluma) the reindeers.
King’s Secret is prepared by Joe Pride for Proven Thoroughbreds, a syndicate for which he has had remarkable success.
Yes, last Saturday Private Eye, owned by them, was beaten in the last stride at Pakenham but they scored with The Black Cloud, helmed wisely by Daniel Moor, at Eagle Farm on the same day.
Pride and Proven will be out for a repeat with Accredited, a consistent placegetter in Sydney, in the Lough Neagh over the same circuit on Saturday.
Like Accredited, Pride sought the right target for King’s Secret. Resuming after a spell the four-year-old was disadvantaged by a tricky gate, seven, wide throughout and beaten just under two lengths, humping 60.5kg. Dropping to 52.5kg from the three launch makes him attractive on Saturday.
The barrier also could play a role for the Dubbo tuned Gallant Star, beaten from the 16 by Yorkshire in the Festival at Rosehill on November 29. Gallant Star down in grade and from five, Lloyd should give him a sweet passage like Walsh carving through the Poms.
Lloyd will need a Yorkshire – who started from 13 in The Ingham – on Bartof (14), a stablemate under the conditioniing of O’Shea and Charlton.
No doubt they tell him good jockeys beat bad barriers.
NO NAMES, NO PACK DRILL
Hi Max,
It is surprising how often a winner of a feature race backs up a year later and wins it again.
Often, surprisingly, without either a win in between or any lead-up form to suggest it would or could.
The idea that a horse would have been ‘set for the race’ is sensible enough but perhaps questions might be asked, and answered, about the sincerity with which it contested its lead-up races, so apparently failing to flatter.
Administrators may like to encourage their stewards to offer some guidance.
Whenever I see this, it makes me think of Prince Trialia, who won the Doomben 10,000 in 1990 and 1991 and nothing in between; coincidentally, beating Planet Ruler in 1990, who was busy running up a losing streak of his own between his wins in the 1989 and 1990 Salingers