A WEEKLY REVIEW

The Good

James McDonald ended the season at Royal Randwick on Saturday with strong figures again but the question arises how long he will remain in Sydney and does he compare with the all-time greats?

The Daily Telegraph mentioned him in the same category with Glen Boss, Shane Dye, Jim Cassidy and Darren Beadman. While other hoops were just as good, the four left me with great recollections, and I hope the current generation can look back with same awe concerning J-Mac.

Now with eight Sydney premierships he has topped Darren Beadman, levelled with Ron Quinton and trails only George Moore by two. Prizemoney in Sydney? He wasn’t far short of $20 million.

Perhaps it’s the era when jockeys are not, unfortunately, acclaimed as they were or J-Mac lacks the same charisma, more subdued in the Gary Willets mould, rather than the other fellow New Zealanders, the extroverts Dye and Cassidy. Boss and Beadman, too, could find a headline.

Boss with his “balls of steel” attitude in Group Ones, particularly Makybe Diva’s third Melbourne Cup, was epic while Dye had a “master of the universe” attitude making him a media natural.

In the saddle Cassidy pumped “like a dog shagging boot”, a vision splendid never seen before or will ever again. Alas, he considered legal action over the description, pleading the greater the truth the greater the libel.

On ground level Beadman was more pious, but mounted made a difference. Before him Saintly hit the line like I approach The Gap. Beadman put courage into Saintly’s tank.

Maybe J-Mac doesn’t resonate in the same way at present because time inflates memory or he makes winning look too easy, taking away the spectacular.

On Saturday at Royal Randwick J-Mac adhered to the view of Tommy Smith, my go-to reflection on turf matters.  The champion trainer opined that a jockey producing five top rides on five favourite per program was the one he wanted.

By J-Mac standards the Randwick treble last week was hardly flash but two of his defeats on strong fancies, Kerguelen and Sequestered, proved worthy of closer examination.

Should a protest have been lodged and upheld on behalf of Kerguelen, the $2.60 favourite in the Trainers Handicap, and why did Sequestered ease alarmingly from $2.2 to $3.60 in the Thank You Stable Staff?

Racing NSW stewards conceded that prior to correct weight they declined to lodge an objection on behalf Kerguelen because of “slight contact” from the winner Invader Jim, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, just prior to the finish in which Invader Jim scored by a short head.

However McEvoy pleaded guilty to careless riding passing the 100 metres in the event as he “failed to make sufficient effort to prevent his mount from shifting in, resulting in Yorkshire being “crowded onto Kerguelen”, another inconvenience to the runner-up. Surely if McEvoy stops riding and straightens his mount as required by the rules of racing, Invader Jim would not have beaten Kerguelen. Maybe I’ve been too influenced regarding objections by former chief steward John Schreck, a protest hardliner.

Perhaps the savage betting drift of Sequestered was due to him coming into the enclosure before the race with a coat like a hairy goat, very rare indeed for a Godolphin charger. Usually, they glow. Once trainers would throw a dummy by camouflaging muscle under a rough exterior to get better odds, but others, particularly Jack Denham, didn’t rug horses letting nature provide the protection.

Anyway Sequestered showed that beauty is only skin deep and did well to go down by under a length to Cadetship in the minor placing, not through lack of condition, but the winner gained better ground nearer the outside fence, astute navigation by Tom Berry from the two gate. J-Mac drew six so was it a major negative against the premiership winner with Berry getting to the better surface quicker? On jumping Sequestered was “bumped” by The Replicant.

Hopefully J-Mac makes Sydney his base and travels to the major centres to prove he is the best in the world, a title never given to Boss, Dye, Cassidy and Beadman.

The Bad

Alex Johnson, the mighty Rabbit, being sidelined from between five and eight months with an Achilles injury sustained in the Canberra clash last Sunday, topped off a BAD week.

A try scoring phenomenon with 195 touchdowns, trailing only Ken Irvine, makes Johnston special but also his contribution to South Sydney. He’s a great club player.

Perhaps others have left a greater mark at representative level but none have surpassed him wearing the red and green.

My first great Rabbit winger in the late 1950’s was John (Wacker) Graves followed by Ian Moir, both Kangaroos. In those days wingers didn’t have the involvement load of Johnston,29, who did plenty of heavy running, taking the ball up after the kick-off, particularly for Latrell Mitchell, also on the injured list. Hopefully next season, under Wayne Bennett, Mitchell, 27, as talented as any Rabbit ever, can put more into it for South Sydney.

A couple of weeks back Cody Walker featured in what was regarded as an appalling goal-kicking performance. Could it get any worse? Damian Cook’s result against Canberra toeing the ball like he had gout.

The Ugly

Threading through the gate with over 30,000 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday a female supporter told her young daughter: “When I first came here to follow the Swans, they were lucky to get 4,000.”

No doubt those early believers would have gone home happier than we did after the Bulldogs shellacking.

“We’ve been competitive for the entire season, and we weren’t tonight,” coach John Longmire later confirmed. “We’re really disappointed in how we went. Got off to another poor start and not any real part of our game looked like it should.”

It was UGLY. So much so a keen judge who goes back to the South Melbourne days asked what price about Swans not winning another match this season.

Sure, Tom Papley, Dean Rampe and James Rowbottom were out but Callum Mills and Luke Parker were expected to pick up most of the slack.

Anyway, on a personal note my Melbourne Grand Final accommodation was cancelled.