Weir Racing Personality

Darren Weir could be excused for missing the Victorian Racing Media Association’s racing’s personality award, for the previous season, conducted at the Emerald Hotel in South Melbourne

It was a case of business before pleasure; he had a prior engagement at Hamilton where he led in four winners, half the program, while stable rider, Dean Yendall, was aboard three of the winners.

Airways Need To Lift Their Game

Surely if airlines are serious about transporting racehorses from state to state, they need to provide a much better service than they are offering at present.

In the case of The Cleaner, it was ridiculous having the horse waiting in a float for three hours, and on top of that, a five hour flight to Perth for the Railway Stakes to be run on Saturday.

If there was going to be delay a phone call is not all that difficult, the horse could have remained back at the stable instead of getting agitated in a float with little room to move.

The Cleaner

Commanding Jewel Retired

Commanding Jewel has been retired and will ultimately go to stud, but not this season, as it is getting too late and her owner, Greg Perry, wants to give the mare every chance when she is mated.

She was a $205,000 yearling out of the Magic Millions Sales, purchased by leading syndicator, Brad Spicer; she won five of her 13 starts.

Trained by Leon Corstens, he nursed her through several nagging injuries; as a result she was sparingly raced.

Commanding Jewel is a three quarter sister to Atlantic Jewel, from Regard, by Zabeel, her only two foals to race.

Commanding Jewel

Sleep Walking Tom

Tom Queally, the regular rider of Frankel during his unbeaten sequence of 14 wins, has had his driver’s licence cancelled for 22 months, charged with drink driving.

He was more than twice over the legal limit behind the wheel of his B MW, however, there seems to be some confusion between sleep walking and drink driving.

His lawyer claimed his client was morally totally innocent, the jockey was asleep driving at the time, claiming the law needed to be changed.

Furthermore, the lawyer said,” Queally was forced to admit to the charge of drink driving, because the law had not caught up with medical science in recognising sleepwalking as a legal defence for drink driving. “

At 5.40 am an officer saw the offender with the car’s headlights on and the engine still running.  

Lee Freedman Returns To Training

Lee Freedman is ready to take on training again; he intends to form a partnership with his   brother Anthony, at Flemington.

He said, “I have missed the lifestyle and have more to offer and I am ready to settle down to some unfinished business.”

Freedman was the big occasion trainer, not many of the rich plums of the turf escaped him, five Melbourne Cups, four Caulfield Cups, two Cox Plates, four Golden Slippers, plus more than a 100 Group 1 races.

Half Brothers Sire Winners

Half brothers, Excites and Duporth, combined to sire three winners at Quirindi, in northern New South Wales, earlier last week

Both sires won Group1 races, Excites, by Danewin, won the A J C Sires Produce Stakes, while, Duporth, by Red Ransom, won the B T C Doomben Cup.

The half brothers were produced by Staging, an excellent dual purchase mare; she won 10 races with four at Group 2 level.

She produced seven foals; six raced, five were winners, including four at Group level.

Staging can be readily traced to her taproot Teppo, the greatest mare ever imported into Australia, she produced the full sisters, Deneb and Isa, both were great producers, each being by The Welkin.

Ernest Clark was just about ready to give up on horse breeding and sell Melton Park Stud until an old cross country jockey, Jack Brewer, appeared on the scene.

Brewer persuaded Clark to give him a cheque for 5,000 guineas and he would put the stud back on its feet again.

Clark was gullible and Brewer was honest, after some months had passed Jack returned from England with a few mares, including Teppo and Light, the dam of Gloaming, plus the stallion, The Welkin,champion Australian sire three times, without exhausting resources of his cheque.

Judge Calls A Halt

Senior racing judge, Bill Quin, has judged his last Melbourne Cup, 15 in all; he will bow out of racing as from Tuesday at Sale, when he will officiate for the last time after 28 years.

He has been involved in some tight finishes in that time, but nothing much tighter than the 2012 Melbourne Cup when Dunaden defeated Red Cadeaux, by just a lip.

Originally he made his mark as a race caller, spending some time in Ireland more that 30 years ago, in the era of the strand starts.

He was a great judge, his decisions could never be questioned, he leaves racing with a lot of great memories and a touch of sadness.

Racing has changed when the decision was made to have just the one person in the judge’s box; this made his job much harder it was now time to slip away.

Silks Well Worn

When Zambagh loomed up in the Sandown Cup, for a fleeting moment it looked as if she would take a hand in the finish, the red, white cap, was quite conspicuous, but alas it had only been for a fleeting moment.

Half a century is a long time to maintain the tradition of a set of racing silks that were almost an institution back in the sixties.

About the first horse to carry those colours was Dark Jewel, by Star Kingdom, her only claim to fame as a racehorse was a second at Randwick.

Her pedigree was not flash yet she was a giant as a brood mare, she created a renowned dynasty for Sandy Tait and his family to follow.

That included Heirloom, Betelgeuse, Cabochon, Birthright and Baguette, the first horse to win the two year old Triple Crown.

Adelaide trainer, Philip Stokes, had the Midas touch over the four days of the Flemington Carnival, producing four winners, by far his best training performance.

When he comes to Melbourne you know it’s not for the good of his health, and he rarely goes home empty handed.

Stokes would be best described as a quiet type, nothing flash about him, he seldom holds court with personalities, preferring to watch races alone and always standing in the same place .

His winning strike rate is uncanny, there is ample proof of that and Flemington in particular has proved a happy hunting ground.

The stable jockey, Dom Tourneur, who hails from Mauritius, is a much improved rider since settling in Adelaide and joining the Stokes stable.

Tourneur was the original rider for the much touted Alcopop, he rode the gelding into second place behind Dunaden in the Caulfield Cup two years ago.

Hucklebuck was surely the star of the team, he opened up the winning spree in the Group 3 $ 200,000 Yellowglen Stakes, that was pretty good but the icing on the cake was the Group1 Emirates Stakes of $1 million.

Stokes praised his staff in the stable at home in Adelaide, “they have all put in the hard yards as well, it has been a team effort, it is now all worthwhile “ he said.  

He completed the carnival with four winners, two credited to Hucklebuck, while Held Hostage and Éclair Big Bang, each won on the final day.

Hucklebuck defeating Lucky Hussler

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The Darley Classic promised so much, and this time delivered, the best sprint field seen at Flemington in a long while.

Sydneysider, Terravista, continued the success of interstate horses over the carnival when scoring a brilliant win in the Darley Classic.

Previously known as the Patinack, it is the major sprint over the four days attracting the best sprinters that can be assembled at this time of the year.

The winner, Terravista, was set a huge task, with 400 metres to run he only had two horses behind him and looked to have been set a mammoth task to even run a place.

Once rider, Hugh Bowman, found a passage Terravista answered the challenge, he broke 12 seconds for the final 200 metres.

Trainer, Joe Pride, declared the gelding in world class saying,” I didn’t think he was going to get up, when I saw him so far back I wasn’t happy where he was placed, but that’s why you put blokes like Hughie Bowman on, he judged it to a tee , a great ride.” he added.  

Lankan Rupee was placed on notice to defend his claim as being the best sprinter in the world.

Backing up that reputation bookmakers were quite liberal opening him up at $5.00, he remained at that quote mostly throughout betting, except for a short time when he drifted slightly.

The gelding was not the dominant force he had been in the autumn, whilst he led for some time he could not open up a margin as he had previously.

Chad Schofield was the substitute rider for Lankan Rupee after regular jockey, Craig Newitt, was suspended at Mornington, the previous Sunday.

The trip to Perth for the Winterbottom Stakes have since been scrapped, he has now gone to the paddock for a break.

Terravista in the center winning the Darley Classic

When Ciaron Maher moved his training operation from Warrnambool, to set up at Caulfield among the big league, it was a gamble that has since payed off for the trainer.

If there were ever any doubts they were surely erased on Wednesday, at Flemington, when Set Square won the Oaks.

It was nothing less than a freakish performance, the transition from finishing third, in a maiden at Donald, to winning the $1million Oaks, plus two wins in between in the space of 53 days, is nothing short of remarkable.

The talents of Maher can never be questioned; he is not only a highly skilled trainer but a young man with a great future ahead of him.

Furthermore, all on just one preparation, there are no immediate plans for the filly Set Square, a break in a nice green paddock before the Spring grasses dry out would be the most likely option.

Her pedigree is nothing to enthuse over, even though she had won at her previous start she went into the Oaks having won at 2000 metres of the Ethereal Stakes at Caulfield.

She is by Reset by Zabeel, the second winner of her sire to have won over 2500 metres as Rebel Raider had won the Derby six years earlier.

Reset was never seriously tried as a stayer; he was unbeaten in his only five starts, but never tried beyond 1600 metres.

What staying powers Set Square possesses would be attributed her grand sire Zabeel, on the negative side her dam, Dynastar, did win seven races but no further than 1400 metres.

Furthermore, she is inbred to Zeditave, a brilliant sprinter with an impressive record, from 17 starts he won 14 races, his only win beyond 1200 metres was the 1400 metres of the Futurity Stakes.

Set Square ridden by Hugh Bowman

Ciaron Maher’s long range plan with Set Square is the 2015 Melbourne Cup, however, a lot of water will flow under the bridge before then.