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Good evening everyone and welcome to The Roar’s coverage of the 2014 Melbourne Cup barrier draw. With today’s Derby day racing completed we have…
Group 1 racing returns to Sydney today with the running of the $1 million Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill, while Flemington hosts a cracking…
Last year's initiative to revamp the autumn through the Championships was a bold move that showed plenty of promise. The injection of prize money…
Group 1 racing returns today with the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield at 4:40pm (AEST). Join The Roar at 4:15pm (AEST) where we’ll keep you…
Recently relegated from the English Premier League, Fulham have confirmed signing Australia's 21-year-old striker Adam Taggart. Taggart is the first member of the Socceroos…
The 2014 Melbourne Spring Carnival will see the return of Mark Kavanagh's talented four-year-old Super Cool, but he will not be reunited with his…
Since the famed Northerly/Sunline rivalry, Australian racing has not seen a comparably competitive set of horses. The rivalries of Black Caviar/Hay List and Pierro/All…
Last year for Day 1 it was raining sideways and they still managed to get 25,000.
We can assume that had they held the races on Saturday they would’ve gotten a similar crowd. I think a barometer as to how the Championships are going will be the crowd on Saturday if the sun is out.
A few points.
In my opinion we won’t see the full potential of the Championships for at least another 5 years, maybe 10.
The reason is that the concept is still quite foreign to Sydneysiders who aren’t regular racegoers.
The wider public are aware of what the Derby and Doncaster are but don’t have a real idea of what the Championships mean.
There has been so much chopping and changing of the schedule in Sydney that there aren’t established “traditional” racedays as there are in Melbourne (i.e. Derby Day, Guineas Day, Cup Day). The exception is Slipper day.
Fot the Championships to become a success, the ATC need to make the event a familiar event for everyone, not just racegoers. This means having a consistent schedule (i.e. Derby + Donny on Day 1, Cup and QEII on Day 2).
For the ATC to be getting 35,000 for day 1 and at least 30,000 for day 2 (which they should be aiming for within a few years) they need to create a sense of occasion and a culture of attending the races. 100,000 don’t go to VRC Derby day to watch horses. It’s a social occasion.
This sort of culture isn’t created overnight. But the ATC need to be consistent with their scheduling in order for the wider public to recognise and, eventually, embrace the Championships.
Does Sydney deserve The Championships?
What did everyone think of the new race caller? I for one was disappointed Shean is gone but I can see myself getting used to Darren Flindell.
I was out there Saturday and was happy to see a return to 5 Group One’s. However I’m still terribly disappointed to see the BMW isn’t on the same day. I note a pretty average crowd of around 19,000.
If the ATC want to see improved crowds on Slipper day, they only have to look to the BMW. The field being assembled for next week is outstanding, and if that race was run on Saturday with the likes of Red Cadeaux, Protectionist etc, I have no doubt they’d be pushing 25,000, potentially 30,000.
Past the post: Golden Slipper Day wrap
Any genuine speed up front Brent? I had Sea Moon to lead so with that scratching I’m not sure.
If the race is slowly run (ala Green Moon in 2012) it really, really plays into the hands of LV and Fawkner. Any ideas?
Melbourne Cup 2014: Q and A with Brent Ford
Yep. Lost the faith- and paying for it 🙁
Who do you like for Tuesday KV?
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Protectionist fourth favourite! $7.50
Good draw and definitely a big chance.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Which one? I was on He’s Your Man in the Mackinnon. Heartbreaker.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
No real spanner in the works here. The top three favourites, Admire Rakti, Lucia Valentina and Signoff have all drawn well.
Araldo is a live chance in the eyes of many but he’ll have to contend with the widest barrier. He’s out to $31 after the draw.
Sea Moon has drawn the dreaded barrier 18 and judging from his Caulfield Cup run will be one of the pacemakers from that wide draw.
As expected Admire Rakti remains the favourite. The question is can Lucia Valentina stay the 3200m and mount a challenge? We’ll find out on Tuesday!
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
1 ADMIRE RAKTI (8) (JPN) Tomoyuki Umeda
2 SIGNOFF (16) (IRE) Darren Weir
3 FAWKNER (9) Robert Hickmott
4 RED CADEAUX (15) (GB) Ed Dunlop
5 CAVALRYMAN (3) (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor
6 PROTECTIONIST (11) (GER) Andreas Wohler
7 SEA MOON (18) (GB) Robert Hickmott
8 MY AMBIVALENT (4) (IRE) Roger Varian
9 LUCIA VALENTINA (2) (NZ) Kris Lees
10 SEISMOS (1) (IRE) Marco Botti
11 ROYAL DIAMOND (6) (IRE) Johnny Murtagh
12 JUNOOB (7) (GB) Chris Waller
13 WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (13) (NZ) Chris Waller
14 MUTUAL REGARD (12) (IRE) Johnny Murtagh
15 GATEWOOD (22) (GB) John Gosden
16 WILLING FOE (17) (USA) Saeed Bin Suroor
17 PRECEDENCE (20) (NZ) Bart & James Cummings
18 BRAMBLES (21) (NZ) Peter G Moody
19 MR O’CEIRIN (19) (NZ) Ciaron Maher
20 OPINION (14) (IRE) Chris Waller
21 AU REVOIR (23) (IRE) Andre Fabre
22 LIDARI (10) (FR) Peter G Moody
23 ARALDO (24) (GB) Michael Moroney
24 UNCHAIN MY HEART (5) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Lidari gets barrier 10 and that is the draw completed!
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Junoob winner of the Metropolitan, has drawn barrier 7.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
The Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti has drawn barrier 8.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
The Cummings warhorse Precedence will jump from barrier 20.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Lucia Valentina. This will be interesting.
Barrier 2! Very ideal.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Cavalryman gets barrier 3. That’s the two Godolphin horses drawn.
2014 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Live Blog
Racing wise, the track at Randwick needs to be dug up, There’s no point repeating whats been said here but the track is a disgrace.
I would say crowd numbers are still disappointing, and the ATC should be hoping for 30,000+ crowds in the near future for each of the 2 Championship days. Getting to Randwick is still a nightmare, so hopefully the new light rail will improve it in that regard soon.
The knockers are too harsh: the 2015 Sydney Carnival was a success