So smooth on Mawjood for Bjorn Baker at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday, Aaron Bullock is more Leon Fox than “Skeeter” Kelly.
Bullock, now “King Of The Country”, inspired memories of other bush saddle greats with Fox and Kelly looming strong but, of course, there were others.
For instance, “Matey” Malloy, from the West, was outstanding but I hope the more present crop, like Bullock, can be recalled in a half century like them.
Highly skilled, the finest of Fox wasn’t seen in Sydney but he impressed Darby Munro, regarded as the best hoop ever.
Fox rode Gold Fiddle for Munro, then a trainer, at Warwick Farm for two successes on the same day.
Similar to Bullock, Fox was heavy, limiting Sydney opportunities but he went to Hong Kong when it started to encourage talent in the early 1970’s and lasted eight years.
Kelly, also, was very effective but hardly refined: more a horseman, who got the job done. Perhaps his major metropolitan triumph was Grey Ghost in the 1958 Doomben 10,000 for Jim Barker, a trainer renowned for not suffering defeat well. He preferred dishing out a smack over the mouth rather than a verbal rebuke.
Fortunately Kelly was not riding for Barker when a mount came out of the Rosehill barrier without him. He was astride the gates and not the horse.
Ugly indeed for Kelly as was his death in a race fall at Glen Innes in 1958. Kelly was effective, emphasised by his winners in the hundred around NSW on surfaces and opposition much rougher than currently.
But just how good is Bullock? When major carnivals are elsewhere, like last Saturday, the ability of lesser lights are showcased.
Often the subject was broached with the legendary Tommy Smith, who, like Chris Waller, only engaged jockeys he regarded as best.
Wouldn’t others, in the Bullock mould, do as well with the same opportunities?
“Put one on five favourites and get five good rides, not necessarily winners, and you are cooking with the right ingredient,” Smith pontificated.
“It’s pressure”
James McDonald, the world champion, does it well for Chris Waller and Baker’s training skill is hardly askew with his navigators, more adventurous than Waller but is he getting leftovers?
Anyway, Bullock is worthy and hopefully adds to another dimension with more Sydney opportunities, despite it being rich with saddle talent. Adam Hyeronimus, too, qualifies being superb Headley Grange in the Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm.
Hypo’s astute steering won the sprint, a balm for Accidental Bid being BAD in the Queensland Derby which should be under review for Group One status.
Accidental Bid tottered to the line with “clinical signs of the thumps”. The Classic went to Providence, giving the Waller–J-Mac combination yet another triumph, with State of Origin maintaining the hype last Wednesday.
It was a mix of good, bad and UGLY emphasised when Queensland’s Kalyn Ponga knocked Tolu Koula (NSW) rotten with a shoulder charge and was sent off.
BAD was the criticism of referee Ashley Klein for making the correct decision and the judiciary only fining Ponga, not suspending under some representative match rigmarole.
Still the GOOD came from the James Tedesco mark, as accomplished as the Swan’s Issac Heeney, that won the game for NSW as well as the accuracy and ability of Nathan Cleary.
Definition between bad and ugly is difficult to define with the situation regarding the appeal by Racing NSW in its takeover bid against the Australian Turf Club. Hardly money well spent (legal waffle). Peter Mair reports ….
Read “RNSW v. ATC ” from Peter Mair via the link below (scroll to the bottom): https://maxpresnell.com/write-to-us/
