You Were Robbed!
THE LEGISLATION TO ALLOW the merging of the NSW and Victorian TAB pools is due to slide through the NSW Parliament in the not too distant future and the NSW punters it cannot come quick enough. The appalling discrepancy in dividends between NSW and Victoria is prevalent in almost every race run - but today it struck a new low at Lismore.
The quaddie pool at today's Lismore meeting held 27K in NSW and 21K in Victoria. The divident was $1700 odd dollars in NSW and $18,000 odd in Victoria. The winners prices were $121, $2.70, $7-70 and $21.30. Do the math and you will know how much punters betting on the NSW tote were robbed!
No, it is not an isolated case - it is a frequent occurence. NSW would pay unvers an average of 80% of the time in comparison to Victoria and I find it hard to believe that we are just that much better judges this side of the border!
YESTERDAY'S MEETINGS WERE COSMIC and several things became apparent. The first is Sydney trained horses are set to dominate the Victorian Gr 1's over the carnival - again.
The Caulfield Guineas is looking an all-Sydney affair. Trusting, Denman, Manhattan Rain and So You Think are the benchmarks and the winner will come from those four.
More Joyous will win the Caulfield Guineas if she progresses on after winning the Flight Stakes at our autumn carnival. There is talk Bart Cummings may progress to the Cox Plate with So You Think if he wins the Caulfield Guineas - and Bart has won the race before with a three-year-old - Taj Rossi.
If he goes on to the Cox Plate he will take a power of stopping. Predatory Pricer proved he was back on track for the Cox Plate yesterday and past results have shown that there is only luck in running between Heart Of Dreams, Predatory Pricer and Whobegotyou.
Drumbeats was ultra impressive at Rosehill and he will probably progress on to races like the Toorak and Emirates over the Victorian carnival and he will be very competitive in whatever he contests.
Fist Of Fury was very good yesterday and he will measure up in the better sprints over the carnival down south and Racing To Win looks sure to be competitive in races like the Mackinnon.
I will be very surprised if the Victorians come away with more than slim pickings over the carnival.
CONTROVERY IS GOING TO REACH FEVER PITCH if English trainer Luca Cumani brings Chechnyan President's Ramzan Kadirov's horses to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival.
Racing Victoria and the VRC were passing the issue sideways to the Federal Government today when it became known that two of the murderous Chechyn dictator's horses were mooted as likely Melbourne Cup runners.
It seems that the issue is going to be up to the Federal Government, particularly if they refuse to issue him a visa to come to the meeting.
This will not go away.
GRAND GALLOPER WAIKATO won today's Gr 1 Kranji Mile at Singapore for Kiwi trainer Laurie Laxon and Aussie jockey Johnny Powell. He has been a wonderful galloper and represented Singapore internationally in Hong Kong.
THE MATT CHADWICK juggernaut rolled on in Hong Kong today when the superstar apprentice landed another winning double - both for his master Tony Cruz. He has ridden a double at both Shatin meetings so far this season. Today's meeting was robbed of a lot of interest when outstanding prospect, the unbeaten Fair Trade was scratched due to swelling in a fetlock joint.
THE ANNUAL COLLARENEBRI CUP was conducted yesterday up in the cotton belt in north western NSW and former Victorian galloper Prince Raheed took out the feature with Coonamble apprentice Kacie Chater on board.
Prince Raheed is now trained at Narromine by Kylie Kennedy.
TODAY'S DUBBO CUP saw former South Australian galloper Tora Tora Tora win the feature at his third start for Dubbo trainer Tom Mulholland. Tora Tora Tora was formerly trained by Byron Cozamanis and was ridden today by Jon Grisedale.
He got up to beat evergreen b ush champ Newton's Rings (Hari Singh) in the last few strides.
THE GRIFFITH CUP MEETING WAS staged on the Narrandera racecourse yesterday with Canberra apprentice Ben Moffatt winning the event on the Brett Cavanough trained Steal The Thunder.
I do not know the reason the meeting was held at Narrandera, as Griffith used to be a wonderful little racecourse. I would be particularly sad to see Griffith closed as a racing venue as it is a town where I spent a good deal of my youth living at Lake Wyangan. I learned to ride fast work on the track and in fact rode my first winner, Lucky Brutus on the track for Cootamundra trainer Phil Biggs. We beat Biddy Noval, ridden by Gary Newham in the race, and Gary of course, went on to gain fame as a top trainer in Queensland and the man who put the polish on Starcraft for his Australian racing career.
THE FORMER JOHN O'SHEA TRAINED galloper Reigning To Win is now with Mudgee trainer Tracey Bartley. From all reports this horse has really turned the corner and he was particularly impressive in winning the barrier trial at Dubbo races today - by six and a half lengths.
LOTS OF OWNERS WILL BE HAVING a sleepless night as their babies get ready for the first of the official two year old barrier trials at Randwick tomorrow. There are nine trials scheduled and the early two year old races will become clearer after the trials.
As well as the usual city stables it is good to see country trainers bringing their hopefuls to town to trial with Neville Layt and Tony Sergi (Queanbeyan), Nick Olive, Trevor McIlrick and Mark Schmetzer (Canberra) and Ken Callaughan (Goulburn) having starters.
CANBERRA TRAINER JOHN NISBET has unearthed a very smart galloper in Beyond Expectation who put his fourth win on end together when he won the last race at Rosehill yesterday - coming from a wide barrier, doing all the work, and fighting like a tiger to hold of the heavily backed favourite Serenissima.
After winning at Canberra on the Acton track Beyond Expectation has strung together three further wins at Forbes, Canterbury and yesterday. This is a very smart racehorse. "Nissie" is a good trainer and he will manage this horse well. He could be a real good horse come next winter's Brisbane carnival.