Many of us are still stunned with the brilliant performance of Treve in the L’Arc de Triomphe and a magnificent ride by Thierry Jarnet.
If not for a cruel injury to his ankle last Friday, Frankie Dettori was to have ridden the filly and, so, of course, ‘cos these are politics of racing, is whether the legendary Italian would have employed similar tactics to Jarnet. Of course, he would.
Impossible as it might sound, he might have even ridden the horse completely differently and still won. Why?
That run by Treve was out of this world- a freakish run that made his very good Group 1 rivals look like plodders. And whether Thierry Jarnet or Frankie Dettori, both experienced world class jockeys many times over, they would know that, like the Bruce Springsteen song, Treve was Born To Run- and run like something we have never seen before.
To those who even HINT about Treve carry five kilos less than the runner up in the great Orfevre, stop being churlish.
As its jockey said, Orfvere simply didn’t have the turn of foot of the winner.
In another twist of fate, Nash Rawiller has been replaced on the Gai Waterhouse-trained Fiorente by Damien Oliver.
After its run last week where it was a certainty beaten, I have no hesitation in declaring it the winner of the Caulfield Cup- and it’s not even running in it.
Should Rawiller have been replaced for one bad ride on the horse?
Well, with no room for mistakes in any big race, perhaps the connections have erred on the side of caution though, let’s not forget that people learn from their mistakes.
Nash or Damien? I would have stayed with Nash who, many years ago, was almost jocked off Elvstroem for “not being a big race jockey.”
Tony Vasil’s faith in the then-up and coming jockey paid off in spades.
To show there is a heart to horse racing, think about Harry Coffey.
The young apprentice based in Melbourne suffers from cystic fibrosis- but that’s not keeping him down.
In fact, every time he rides a winner, he donates $200-$500 to a fund setup to fight the disease- a figure matched by Country Racing Victoria.
Harry Coffey night not be a household name like a Frankie Dettori or a Damien Oliver, but he’s a very big man in my books and giving racing heart and soul and showing it’s not all about Fagin, the punt, the pimps and the petty politics.
The kid and what he’s doing is tremendous for the sport.
We need more of it and where Harry Coffey is a winner- win, lose or draw.
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FINDING HAPPY WEDNESDAY AND GETTING IN TOUCH WITH RACING TOUCH.
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EDWARD, BELLA AND TWILIGHT AT HAPPY VALLEY’S HAPPY WEDNESDAY???
IF as some say, they have met very handsome and beautiful vampires at the Beer Garden, well, they can suck our blood anytime.
Some even suggest that the beautiful Natalie from our Finding Happy Wednesday entourage could be one of “them.”
Hell, we hope and will rip our shirts apart when we see her tonight.
On the music side, the is a Latino band performing at Adrenaline which will only mean a whole heap of Salsa-ing going on.
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THE FAST TRACKER AND THIS HAPPY WEDNESDAY
A number of last start winners line up at Happy Valley and the question is whether it’s going to be second-time lucky or if the horses have run their races and will be under the odds.
In races 7 and 8, for instance, Douglas Whyte is back on Amazingly and Chater Dream, both of which won on the same night for the jockey and trainer David Ferraris.
Amazingly, below, especially, won with plenty of authority after trialling well and looked to have more rating points in hand- but strikes a very hot field tonight that includes Pleasant Gains, Bullish Boy be ridden by Keith Yeung whereas regular jockey Matty Chadwick rides Elegance Klammer, Supreme Essence with in-form Ollie Doleuze on it and Flying Elite.
Chater Dream, like most Chater horses, is not one I would keep following though striking, what on paper, looks like a pretty average field.
Sure, the last win was impressive and the galloper seems like one of the better Chater purchases, but can it beat Ashkiyr, below, owned by the Aga Khan before being sold to Hong Kong- John Moore could be looking at Shatin for this one- which Zac Purton seems to have preferred over Perfect Cheers, something of a Valley specialist and a horse that has been VERY good to me.
The latter will now be ridden by Weichong “Wayward” McMarwing, a somewhat rare ride for Caspar “Chutney” Fownes whereas also in the race are Mr Medici- it needs longer than the 1650 it tackles tonight- and the well-weighted King Of Reason.
Race 4 is one of those “headache” races where the jockey-go-round makes one have a brain freeze worse than anything Dr Freeze might suffer from.
For example, John Size’s King Haradasun will be ridden by Karis Teetan whereas Dougie Whyte jumps ship and onto Sean Woods- yikes!- not the trainer, mercifully, but his Royal Knight.
Vincent Ho is on Master Gunner, Olivier Doleuze is aboard Manfred Man’s do wah diddy diddy Golden Scalpel- the owner must be a doctor- and with the only form of any consistency being “Wayward McMarwing” retaining the ride on Flame Hero which started as a hot favorite at Shatin at its last start but ran into more traffic jams than Mr Bean which had race caller Darren Flindell scream out, “The favorite needs a CAN OPENER to get out from there!” It needed Moses.
It really should win this time unless charbroiled in the running. If it doesn’t, it’s not as good as we thought.
Without watching the first two races and seeing if the idiosyncratic Valley track plays fair or favors front runners or sweepers, here are my thoughts with a gut feeling that Mr Award and Well Done will both do well in race 2 and that the distance races will have the winners coming from off the pace.
R1: 6-3-11-12 R2:11-6-8-8 R3: 2-5-6-9 R4: 4-7-9-3 R5: 7-11-12-6-9 (tough race) R6:4-3-6-1 R7: 3-1-2-5 R8:1-3-7-10
BEST BET: FLAME HERO (R4,4) NEXT BEST: PROLIFIC CHAMPION (R6,4) OUTSIDER: PERFECT CHEERS (R8,1)
THE FAST TRACK ENTOURAGE SIX UP
R3: 2-5 R4: 4 R5: 1- 6-7-10-11-12 R6: 4 R7: 1-3 R8: 1-3-10
SARIKA AND HER QUADDIE FOR AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
She came through and tipped the Quaddie on Sunday- and with only two runners in the last two legs.
Tonight, she’s gone for some value and thrown in others instead of standing out what look like standouts. Looks can be deceiving. Always.
R5: 1-6-7-11-12 R6: 4-6 R7: 1-2-3-5 R8: 1-3-7-10
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SELECTIONS FROM THE BIG APPLE (@SW064351)
BEST BET Race 3, No. 6 Super Pistachio Very well rated now and can go all the way with a soft lead.
SECOND BEST Race 7, No. 1 Pleasure Gains Showed plenty of class when getting up to prevail over Supreme Essence last month despite altering course repeatedly. Barrier is a concern but will be flying home once again.
LONGSHOT Race 8, No. 5 Mr Medici Kept good company last few runs and meets weaker opposition here. Runs over the city circuit have been okay and gets in well at the weights. Keep safe.
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TONIGHT’S SELECTIONS FROM THE THIRD DIVIDEND
HAPPY VALLEY (HONG KONG) Wednesday, 9/10/13 Night Races @HKJC_Racing Turf (“A” Course) Weather: Mainly fine in the afternoon. Cloudy periods tonight. Moderate east to northeasterly winds.
Source: http://www.hko.gov.hk/contente.htm
Race 1: Aberdeen CL5 Hcp 1 – Young Supreme (10) 2 – Young Happy (5) 3 – Amazing Always (3) 4 – Shanghai Pioneer (11)
Race 2: High Island CL4 Hcp 1 – Red Courage (7) 2 – Golden Bauhinia (6) 3 – Dragimova (2) 4 – D Day Super (1)
Race 3: American Challenge Cup CL3 Hcp 1 – Red Dancer (2) 2 – King’s Folks (5) 3 – Ambassadorship (9) 4 – Hong Kong Dancer (8)
Race 4: Kam Shan CL4 Hcp 1 – Flame Hero (4) 2 – Good Looking Watch (5) 3 – Nicku (11) 4 – King Haradasun (6)
Race 5 (Q1): Plover Cove CL4 Hcp 1 – Hurry Hurry Up (7) 2 – Red Lucky Star (1) 3 – Naughty Baby (9) 4 – Ocean Roar (10)
Race 6 (Q2): Scaacpa Centenary Cup CL3 Hcp 1 – Prolific Champion (4) 2 – Highest Acclaim (6) 3 – Snitzel Kid (7) 4 – Sichuan Charm (5)
Race 7 (Q3): Tai Lam Chung CL3 Hcp 1 – Pleasure Gains (1) 2 – Flying Elite (7) 3 – Bullish Boy (2) 4 – Approve (9)
Race 8 (Q4): Tai Tam CL2 Hcp 1 – Chater Dream (7) 2 – Little Dreams (4) 3 – Mr Medici (5) 4 – Flying Unicorn (11)
Best Bet Race 7: Pleasure Gains (1)
Next Best Race 3: Red Dancer (2)
Value Bet Race 5: Hurry Hurry Up (7)
Long Shot Race 5: Ocean Roar (10)
Quaddie ($100 gets you 52%) 1.7.9.10 4.5.6.7 1.2.7 4.5.7.11
Six Up 2-5-9 4-5 1-7 4-6 1 7
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