With six likely favourites at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday the question arises with James McDonald whether champions are subject to form lapses.
Following a shoddy effort on the Chris Waller conditioned Angel Capital, the $2.20 in the Missile last Saturday, J-Mac was down on five Canterbury favourites midweek – three for Waller, Australia’s premier trainer.
Searching for the answer, once I approached the late Jack Thompson who before Malcolm Johnston was regarded as the best apprentice ever. Thompson was always a top horseman and was having a rare trot of 79 straight losses in town.
“Slow horses,” he answered. Long Jack rode for small stables. He had plenty of experience on top liners. “The good ones take the runs, can overcome traffic problems that stop the moderates,” he explained.
In fairness to J-Mac his Canterbury defeats were more lack of horsepower than rider expertise. With Waller, though, he is mounted on prime stock, perfectly tuned.
Still like top sportsmen of any ilk, jockeys are pressured by the ability to produce their best under extreme pressure which, to my mind, puts them on the top pedestal.
Being a great or just competent in the saddle requires courage, touch and timing. Consistency of excellence makes champions.
Yet they falter.
Great AFL players, like Buddy Franklin, missed kicks that he would normally hit blindfolded, while Adam Reynolds for the Mighty Rabbits would normally transmit that warm and exultant feeling lining up a sideline conversion that would miscue.
Not performing as well as expected, to a standard, hits sports and life. The reasons difficult to nail. Gurus, coaches, and shrinks are employed to maintain the standard. Melbourne Cup winning jockey Corey Brown, who educated Racing NSW apprentices, is a top mentor.
However, I am a bad loser, particularly of champions. Yes, I get travel sick on a merry-go-round so how can I hold a hoop navigating heaving mount to ridicule? Poor rides irk. But it’s just a GOM’s opinion.
I don’t criticise apprentices, they are just learning the trade and get an allowance for the lack of experience. I take into account lesser light hoops, nearly as good as the best but you get odds to compensate. “Money jockeys”, under most circumstances, will get a good thing home.
Nash Rawiller, for instance. The wrong side of 50, can put in a substandard effort one week but will save more than sink.
On Saturday Rawiller will be on Private Eye, a nine-year-old, in the Group Two P. B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield, Australia-wide the best race of the day.
This year? Private Eye under the Joe Pride touch will be out to probably become the oldest winner. Pride has a knack of getting the best out of the aged.
Yes, the gelding scored in the Lawrence in 2025 but eight-year-olds have been successful in the 1400 metre weight-for-age sprint. The rain affected surface, a heavy particularly, will help him against the favourite Cosmic Crusader who will have the services of Willie Pike, the wizard of the West making the trip over especially.
Being owned by Bob Peters, a major turf influence in Perth, Cosmic Crusader is now with Angela Leek at Pakenham. Despite Pike’s successes for Peters, Pike has never scored on the six-year-old.
Central Europe has only had two starts: should have beaten the future Group One winner, Campione D’Italia, in the Skyline at Randwick, and was third in the Pago Pago at Rosehill with J-Mac up at $2.20.
Waller is applying a cross-over nose band on the Frankel colt for the first time and ear-muffs prior to the race. Obviously Central Europe can be a handful but J-Mac has tuned him in two barrier trials: not flash and kept well under control.
Also for Waller, J-Mac handles Steel Wool, $1.65 on Friday, in the Kia Ora and should give him a smooth passage. Steel Wool made a Wyong field last start look like polo ponies.
Tarzing ($2.90) in the Rosehill Bowling Club is another Waller favourite for J-Mac. Last time out, Tarzing, ridden by him, was beaten over three lengths in a similar race over the Rosehill 1400 metres. Best Bets assessed the effort as “too much to do”. It was his first run for over a month on a surface rated as an advantage to be near the rail. Tarzing was wide.
Other short priced engagements for J-Mac are Kris Lee’s prepared Hawker Hall, $2.15 in the Asahi Super Dry, and Valedor, $3.40 in the Highway, developed by the Messara-Gavranich partnership for whom he scored on Avista ($2.25) at Randwick last Saturday. The champ reckoned he rode a bad race.
“Ride like a bag of flour and win and they will cheer you in the stand,” Banjo Paterson opined. Banjo was not a GOM – Grumpy Old Man.
