The Melbourne Racing Club has provided another sensational Caulfield Cup carnival.
But before we head off to the Valley, let’s dissect the positives and negatives from the three days of racing.
Hits
The Japanese are back
After a four-year absence (seven years if you don’t include Tokai Trick’s average campaign), they claimed another major. Their stayers are proven around the world and the finishing burst of Admire Rakti was brilliant. The increase in Caulfield Cup prizemoney to $3 million will entice more internationals next year.
Top class jockeys
Did you see the list of jockeys in the cup? Even with the scratching of the Magic Man, there were 18 quality jockeys lining up for a shot at glory. When you include Jamie Spencer’s quick visit the week prior, expect the MRC to continue tempting the world’s best next year.
Race times
While I am not a fan of 10-race cards, the 35-minute gap between races did not make it an issue. Having the feature as the second last race was perfect and ensured there were twice as many punters present to witness Zac Purton return to the winner’s circle compared with Nicholas Hall on Fawkner last year.
DJ Havana Brown
Not only was it great for the public to party on the famed Caulfield turf, it was also the perfect opportunity for some of racing’s favourite personalities to show off their best dance moves (three votes – A Mithen).
Misses
Thousand Guineas
The field was lacking in quality this year with no fillies backing up from the Flight Stakes or Edward Manifold. In addition, it was essentially a re-run of the Thousand Guineas Prelude two weeks earlier and therefore a touch boring for punters.
Wednesday meeting
It was weak this year. The Blue Sapphire cannot carry the card and while the MRC are hoping to build it up as a Coolmore Stakes preview, there are too many other options for the three-year-olds, including the Schillaci Stakes and Brian Crowley at Randwick. Bring back the Thousand Guineas.
Bande
While not the fault of the club, it was a fiasco. Plain and simple, a vet inspection should have happened earlier and perhaps would have ensured better quality emergencies in the cup.
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