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Ajax, after 17 successive victories, was beaten in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick in the late 1930’s at 1-40, in a three horse field. Spear Chief won the event.
Prettiest jumps course that I have visited in Europe is Merano in Italy, and the most challenging is Downpatrick in Northern Ireland.
Amazing story — bought for about 400 pounds, then wins two of biggest races on the calender.
Stan looks like he might be hard to beat, but UK horses have not had much success in this race, which is often run on very hard tracks.Jeremy,
That last name, Rubika, brings back a few memories as I had a horse in training with Stan Mellor at that time.
Do you know Rubika’s claim to fame in NH racing?
The rider, Mr D (for Denis) Gray was quite a character too – a tanned NZ sheep farmer who came over after New Year every season at that time to ride for Stan in hunter chases. He was as good as most pros, but because he was unknown over here, you could get top prices when he rode. He was on board Kings Curate in an Ascot handicap two months before that horse won the Stayers Hurdle and was available on course at 10/1.
Unfortunately Dennis Gray, who had a great record in his native NZ, became a para, after a fall that broke his back some years ago in NZ.
500-1 Pablo’s Pulse at Warwick Farm in Sydney (22-8-1987)
500-1 Anntelle at Canterbury in Sydney (3-7-1982)
400-1 Zulu Gold at Cheltenham in Adelaide (11-5-1982)
Highest tote dividends (Australia)
702 pounds and sixpence for 5 shillings — Chief Park Drive 29-12-1951 (odds of 2808-1)
Biggest trifecta ( 1-2-3 in order) for a $1 stake
$175,155 Randwick Welter Hcp 28-6-1986. (placed horses were 40-1. 50-1, 100-1)
At Caulfield the 1982 Oakleigh Plate trifecta dividend on the NSW tote paid $348,849.Up until the mid 1990’s the jumps in Melbourne were quite substantial, particularly the Flemington fences, where a person could walk across the top the them.
The hurdles were made of brush, but unfortunately the racetrack unions decided that they would not lift more than 60 kg in a hurdle, and the jumps had to be redesigned to meet this critirea.
The new look Irish flexi hurdles look the best solution for jumping here, but unfortunately the industry has gone from spending extravagantly, to looking at closing unprofitable racetracks (11 tracks have been given 12 months notice of intention to close them), and saving money wherever possible, as betting revenues dry up.
Yarra Glen, being closest to the biggest population centre is the best option for the creation of a specialist jumping venue. It has a very spectacular steeplechase course.
The best days of Australian jump racing were in the years up to the 1930s == when up to 20 pc of races in the southern states were over obstacles.
The introduction of the Golden Slipper for 2yos in the mid 1950s, shifted the breeding impetus to sprinters, then the introduction of the TAB in 1961, meant that clubs closely analysed the betting revenues gained from each race.Australian jump racing has come under enormous pressure both economically and from the animal welfare groups.
After looking likely to be scrapped, the 2009 season has been carded, about 25 races and a month shorter than last year.
Biggest blow has been the loss of jumping at Flemington, where the best races have been conducted going back to 1840.
Since the uncertainty began, following the smash up Derby in the Grand National Hurdle, few horses have been purchased for the forthcoming season. All parties understand that this will be a trying year, but the 2010 jumping season will probably tell if the sport can be cemented for the longer term, or will die out quickly.
Falling betting revenues have forced the governing bodies to look at ways to curtail costs.
Occupational health and Safety issues have forced the design of portable jumps that are not heavy to move, but the hurdles used over the last few years are too small, and encourage horses to go too fast and not jump properly.
The hurdles for this season have been substantially stiffened.
