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Having watched and listened, and having called a few races myself I can’t excuse the form but can confidently tell you what the cat was doing…
Contraband fell, Belwley’s Berry called falling. They have similar marking on their dials.
D’argent and KJC – well if you can’t see the similarities in those two animals then you have problems….
He’s not spotting the jocks and calling on the animal. Still completely wrong and he shouldn’t be calling the national. I’ll be happy to do it.
Well I’m gearing up for a long night here in Melbourne, and I’m not going to enter into the Melbourne Cup argument – the Grand National for me is the greatest race on the planet bar none. It’s an amazing spectacle and the very reason I came to England for my first overseas trip at the ripe old age of 24.
My first memory is of waking up in the middle of the night when I was 5 at a friend of my parents house and seeing the last lap of Aldaniti’s National. Not a bad first memory of the race. Jumps races in Australia have been limited to 14 runners for decades so as a youngster watching something so different fuelled a completely irrational desire to go see this magical event.
Sadly, Australia stopeed showing it on the telly after 1987, as the tote couldn’t cope with more than 24 horses and no one could bet on it. Sad but true!
So in 2000 I set out for Liverpool and went to all three days and happily backed Papillon and Mely Moss (and a few others) in what was a truly magical moment in my life…..
I’ve subsequently lived in London for 5 years and am now back in Melbourne, campaigning Sky Channel to extract the digit and put it on the box. Hopefully tonight it will be aired, but I have my reservations… the TV guide illustrates the ludicracy of the networks here. They’re showing 5 races from Lingfield and nothing about the GN.
For what it’s worth I reckon Bewleys Berry and Hedgehunter will show that Aintree form is worth two in the bush.
Good luck all, and may they all come back safe and sound. Unlike me in the morning – as it’s 2.15am when it starts here and I’m already having an ale.
Shane
If the European style angled exit from a shallow water jump works and adds a spectacle to the event, why not give it a go at some of the tracks and possibly then move the idea out to others. Surely changing one jump a minor amount wouldn’t be a serious problem for many of the tracks…
The water jump is a throwback to many years ago and remember that Bechers and Valentines were effectively water jumps too until the brooks were filled in.
Personally I’d quite like to see Ferdy win it with Aces Four next year with G Lee up. Nice blokes who speak the truth and bollocks to the Dicheat politics. Something new please.
Being stuck in Melbourne I was just about to tuck in for a long night in front of the PC only to find out now I get a good night sleep and an earlier start tomorrow night. Result for me!
The first for a while in fact!!
In respect to the Cheltenham executive, they’ve made the call early and it could properly blow up in their faces if the wind dies off and then get 12 inches of rain overnight and have to abandon tomoz or Friday. They’ll look pretty farking stupid then.
Being in Melbourne like MDeering, I agree completely about Hills radio. Absolutely shocking stuff.
Sporting life have a great web site planner, which makes it so friendly to use imo.
Racing Post is of course brilliant but that’s nothing new in this thread.
I am well impressed with jackane24 on youtube who is getting so many of the races up so quickly… keep up the good work!
Since the Gold Cup has already moved from Thursday to Friday the trasition is already gone… A Saturday Gold Cup would mean you have the greatest race on a day when the masses can actually watch it. Makes a lot of sense.
BTW Melbourne Cup day is a publlic holiday in Melbourne only, it’s just that the rest of the country down tools to watch it. It brings a tear to the eye just thinking about it.
Last year the stat in Melbourne was 40% of the workforce took the Monday as a/l or just took a sickie making it an unofficial 4 day weekend.
Apache Cat is not a great traveller I’ve heard from sources close to the Eurell stable… didn’t win a thing in Sydney last year. My thoughts are that Ascot will sort something with JJ and TT will appear there in June when it counts.
The Melbourne cup offers a starters subsidy of more than it would cost to get a horse there from most parts of the world. I think the only trainer in recent years who has really dipped out in Melbourne is Brian Ellison. I’d not blame him if he never came back after his luck with Bay Story and Carte diamond.
I’m looking forward to seeing a rematch between SK and MA because she clearly hated the right hand track at Sha Tin but he truly was an impressive winner at the international meeting.
I’d have to say though the placegetters in that race wouldn’t come near half a dozen Aussie sprinters, so let’s not blow him out of proportion.
I’ll tell you something, Apache Cat will have a legion of supporters in the UK when they see him, he’s nothing short of a freak with his entirely white face, literally looks like someone painted him first then just threw the whole tray at him after.
Takeover Target will be back for more at Ascot, but there are rumours circulating that Miss Andretti will not be going across this year.
Even so, Apache Cat would be very difficult to beat.
Oh… here’s one. That race at Southwell (from memory) where they all fell and AP got back on the favourite and won about 15 minutes after the race started…. can’t remember the name of the horse… something Lad??
Would love to see that one again!
The Listener should get away with it this year. They just have to go a sensible gallop.
If the top weight argument is to be believed then you could instantly forget backing all runners above about 11-4 but you must remember the great place reckord of horses with high weights in recent years. Royal Auclair was mentioned, What’s Up Boys very nearly won with about 11-6 (with about 100 yards to the rest). Suny Bay (in that quagmire) carried 11-12 to second and that was before the weights were compressed! Earth Summiy may have struggled if he’d been carrying the weight Smith would give him today. Hedgehunter of course The list goes on.
There’s no reason to be completely put off. And to the point of Beef or Salmon’s jumping – Red Marauder was the worst jumper in training and he won.
Inglis Drever definitely better. we’ll have proof in the pudding if he can win a third stayers hurdle this year. He’s a class act with an engine an aston martin would do well to match.
I’d say that a real example of a great ride is where a jockey uses great skills and gets a horse over the line that didn’t want to win.
Example A – A couple of years ago Ruby on Almost Broke at Wincanton in a decent handicap chase and he beat Dunbrody Millar if my memory serves me correctly. The horse basically refused to go to the lead and Ruby produced him with about 10 cm to go before the post to get him over the line.
Flagellation of the equine to the point where it hates life is not in my opinion the epitome of a great ride. Whip me if I’m wrong.
