AND FIRST, A FEW KEY AND RELEVANT WORDS AS WE SEE CHANGES AFOOT.
While Lady GaiGai was showing in Oz who’s the boss and separating the men from the boys and the boys from the women and jockey Tommy Berry was proving how he is not “just another talented apprentice” by winning The Epsom and The Metropolitan at Randwick while Nash Rawiller suffered a serious senior moment on Proisir, The Zac Attack was running rampant at Shatin.
Perhaps it was getting that killer toothache sorted out, perhaps it was the beautiful day, perhaps it was giving the quite manly legislative councilor Rita Lau a peck on the cheek at the presentation ceremony after winning the Day’s Cup Race- sadly, no photos available on the HKJC site- but another double not only moved him higher up in the jockeys standings, it was also confirmed that he would partner former Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Ambitious Dragon at its next start.
It’s just a one-off ride, one which many jocks were salivating to get on, but if Purton were to win on it, well, who’s to tell that he won’t become its regular rider? The question is whether Ambitious Dragon is still the same champion horse we remember or if that ill-fated and, well, stupid, trip to Dubai where it flopped miserably has taken much outta the mighty galloper.
As with anything in life, time will tell, but one thing is certain: At the moment, Zac Purton is on fire, he can win on a pogo stick and is, not surprisingly the flavour of the day. He’s also no arrogant knob and knows all too well how quickly tastes can change. Look at all the bankrupt and bereft bars, restaurants and clubs in Hong Kong. Once receiving five star ratings and brilliant reviews, many are now either up for sale or drowning in debt and how a local F&B business in tatters through over-supply versus demand and little to none business acumen.
Back to Shatin on Saturday, we also saw a great finish where Douglas Whyte and the Zac Attack went toe to toe and with the former coming out on top on the Sean Woods- trained Radiomarreli. If anyone thinks Whyte is “not strong in a finish”, watch a replay of the race and the jockey’s fierce determination against Purton who is tremendously hard to get past. Once can hear The Durban Turban yelling, “YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!” when he won the battle royale and then getting off after the winning post and doing a little dance and getting down tonight like a KC and Sunshine Band song on acid.
YIKES!!! This was once COOL???
And what a day for Woods who, until Saturday, was more known for that daft promo spot for Racing To Win with fellow trainer Paul O’Sullivan and with both coming across like dumb knobs who cannot even tip winners to their owners. But on Saturday, Woodsy aka Bob The Builder whom we thought would be used as a pacemaker due to the lack of pace in most races, scored with a double including first starter Goldland Dancer.
Sean Woods
Elsewhere, one of our favorite local riding talents- Vincent Ho- rode a double on his first day as a senior jockey. Like Matthew Chadwick and the somewhat enigmatic Derek Leung who has enormous natural talent but keeps dropping his whip, Vincent Ho WILL go far and be a success. It couldn’t happen to a nicer kid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA-1ohHcKcI
As for that other kid- apprentice Alvin Ng- I really have no idea where he is heading. To me, he should be heading back to NZ or, better yet, Oz and getting more experience riding in places like Lismore or Toodyay in WA and be under the tutelage of someone like Brent Thompson. Alvin Ng is simply not good enough to ride at Shatin or Happy Valley. Not right now, anyway.
Alvin Ng celebrates not copping another suspension.
The kid needs help and I don’t think being indentured to trainer Dennis Yip helps as it could be an albatross around his neck when his owners want jockeys on their horses who can win races. And what’s the point of Ng being put on horses that are just going around so they drop in the handicaps? Nor does “The Chipmunk” himself want another round of suspensions like last season- 22 and a record- and where he sits on the sidelines and comes back worse than ever and becomes a pest in races. Yes, like Dougie Whyte did with another apprentice- Keith Yeung- Alvin The Chipmunk has been receiving some counseling from Zac Purton, but no jockey wants to hand out too many trade secrets to a rival jockey. This is just some Band-Aid when the gaping wound goes untreated.
“Okay, Keith, so here’s the deal: Never EVER get in my way, Ok?”.
On the subject of Ng, I have no idea how he and Brett Prebble got their horses into the wrong barriers before Race 9 without anyone noticing and why they copped a fine for this mistake, but all I know is that both horses cost me the Six Up Bonus and which was based on numerology. Think I would pick an Alvin Ng ride for any other reason?
In the meantime, it was good to see former Sky racing presenter Jo Jo McKinnon back on television screens- in Hong Kong. Always pleasing on the eyeballs, she was her fine professional self when presenting the stimulating simulcast of the racing from Longchamp while sitting with two blokes around a very small table. Perhaps they were going for un bistro ‘look’, but jeez, it looked cramped. Or, the two blokes wanted to get closer to Jo Jo- and who could blame them? Once in a while tips from that big Wally would pop up but you know what I think of them.
The Wally plods through the Happy Valley Beer Garden. Meanwhile, Jo Jo has a word for her fans Down Under.
“Hello, possums.”
As to why, ATV abruptly cut to a documentary with no Aurevoir from the HKJC team, no replays, no post-race interviews, well, that’s just not good enough and the terrestrial station should be pulled up for this shoddy treatment. Do something, do it properly. Don’t EVER use great racing as filler fodder!
Getting back to Longchamp, what a great simulcast it was with some tres magnifique camera work of the races- especially those slo-mo finishes when one can truly see and appreciate the athletic prowess of jockeys- especially noticeable in a tight finish between Olivier Peslier and Frankie Dettori- two great jockeys and with one having to come second. It was simply put, horse racing at its very best- great riding talent- Lemaire, Dettori, Peslier, Richard Hughes, Soumillon- the very best horses money can buy, some of the world’s best trainers, the world’s most cashed up owners and, of course, the running of the Arc and what a brilliant ride by Olivier Peslier on Solemia and such heartbreak for Japan’s Orfevre.
Did Soumillon go too early on it? Did racecaller Ian Bartlett give it the kiss of death with his premature ejaculation and calling it home? Both.
“Bloody hell, I was sushi by the end of that race. What was he trying to do to me?”
It could not get any better and just showed how a brand like Longines and an event as spectacular like this makes for brilliant marketing, how it makes the sport progress and enter a new era and how, many of us tend to overrate the very ordinaire and the tres merde.
I can’t speak highly enough about the television coverage of this event- the long lens shots, the dramatic slo mo camerawork, how the presentation was showcased, the top shots, cameras shooting low angle shots, the creative editing and, of course, the rich visual tapestry of the world’s richest race run on turf.
There is punting and there is Group 1 horse racing- and which is a huge difference.
There are jockeys and there are legends and racing heroes who, win or lose, are timeless.
There is talking through one’s pocket and appreciating the thrill of the sport- win or lose. There is whingeing and old-school racing pundits who are paid to ramble on and there is only the racing and which everyone can see and make up their OWN minds about.
Before I forget and going from the sublime to the somewhat ridiculous, was I seeing things or is Clint “Starsky” Hutchison the lone tipster on Racing To Whinge aka “Thunderbirds Are Go”? If so, hmmmmm. Darren “Hutch” Flindell always comes up with some very good tips and, when he isn’t taking the bull or the horns by the ears, Brett “The Scarecrow” Davies shows there is method to his madness. But now, three talking heads with three different perspectives of a race and then one coming up with his set of tips? Perhaps I was nodding off and dreamt it all.
THE GURU
PS
WTF???
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