The 2012 Spring Carnival came to close on Saturday with Stakes Day at Flemington ending the season in Melbourne. The Carnival missed the star power of Black Caviar and Atlantic Jewel but new stars looked to emerge.
Horse of the Carnival: Ocean Park
If someone told me in August that Ocean Park would go on to become the star of the Spring Carnival, I wouldn’t have believed them.
Ocean Park entered his four-year old season with a Group Three victory and second placing in the Rosehill Guineas under his belt. But after taking four Group Ones, including the Cox Plate, there’s little doubt that Gary Hennessy’s four-year old stallion was the horse of the spring.
Ocean Park showcased a wicked acceleration to win New Zealand’s Makfi Challenge (1400m) and Caulfield’s Underwood Stakes (1800m) but it was his toughness that won him this award.
He had to call on everything to beat Alcopop in the Caulfield Stakes (2000m) and was incredibly strong when nailing All Too Hard – carrying eight kilos more than the three-year old – in a close Cox Plate (2040m).
A proven traveller, Ocean Park will race at Meydan in Dubai’s Duty Free Stakes (1800m) on World Cup Night in March, before heading to England where he will open the Royal Ascot meeting against Europe’s best milers in the Queen Anne (1609m).
The Revelation: Puissance De Lune
‘Puissance De Lune’ is French for ‘Power Of Moon’. And after Purple Moon was second in the 2007 Melbourne Cup and Green Moon victorious in last Tuesday’s running, Puissance De Lune looks ready to continue the lunar trend in next year’s Cup.
Puissance De Lune set the alarm bells off when he won the Bendigo Cup by eight lengths in track record time two weeks ago.
And when the Darren Weir-trained four-year old repeated the dose in Saturday’s Melbourne Cup consolation – more formally known as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m, Group Three, handicap) – there were calls from some quarters suggesting the Europeans shouldn’t bother turning up next year for the 2013 Cup.
I’m not sure it’s that cut and dry, but French import Puissance De Lune is a star on the rise.
He showed enormous potential in the winter when coming from behind to pick-off restricted-grade handicaps at Warrnambool (during the May Carnival) and Sandown. But since he’s been ridden close to the lead, Puissance De Lune has been winning like Black Caviar.
Puissance De Lune wasn’t entered in the Melbourne Cup but if he ran last Tuesday – as he may’ve in previous years, when horses of his rating got into the field – he would’ve sat close to the lead and blown his rivals away with a ridiculous last 600m sectional that, no doubt, would’ve been carved out with little weight on his back.
I wrote a few weeks back that the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) needs to fix-up the Melbourne Cup by making the Queen Elizabeth winner an automatic starter in the following year’s Melbourne Cup.
On that occasion, I posed the hypothetical situation about a four-year old winning the Queen Elizabeth in exciting fashion. It’s pure coincidence that the exact scenario actually played out.
My research tells me that a horse like Puissance De Lune is no sure thing to make next year’s Melbourne Cup. Ironstein carried a similar weight to victory in last year’s Queen Elizabeth (he was pretty impressive in 2011, and he was runner up in 2012) and he didn’t make the 2012 Melbourne Cup.
Even the greatest Queen Elizabeth winner, Makybe Diva (2002), would’ve struggled to make the 2012 running of the Melbourne off her 2003 Cup handicap.
This is a good time for the VRC to make some changes. The conditions of the Melbourne Cup need to reflect the handicap’s current-day standing as one of the world’s strongest races.
The up-and-comers – including Puissance De Lune – need an easier path to the race.
The feel-good story: Alcopop
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought Alcopop was yesterday’s light.
Alcopop is one of racing’s rags to riches stories. He’s trained in the South Australian country town of Victor Harbour by the otherwise unknown Jake Stephens. Alcopop became a hit with fans in 2009, when he came from obscurity to start favourite for the 2009 Melbourne Cup. He finished sixth, beaten by Shocking.
In 2010, he ran second in the Caulfield Stakes but failed miserably when top pick in the Caulfield Cup.
Last season, Alcopop was a fading force. Persistent leg and knee injuries robbed Alcopop of his acceleration and his days in the spotlight were over. He still had his fans but his future looked limited to the country cups circuit.
Yet remarkably, Alcopop returned better than ever as an eight-year old this spring. His weary legs carried the old boy to new heights, at an age when many horses are retired.
The gelding was a gallant second in Ocean Park’s Caulfield Stakes and second again to Dunaden in a great Caulfield Cup.
Alcopop was still searching for his elusive Group One victory when he lined up in the Mackinnon Stakes on Derby Day. Connections controversially replaced regular rider Dominic Tourneur with premier hoop Craig Williams and it proved to be an inspired decision.
Alcopop enjoyed a perfect run and was too strong for Glass Harmonium and Ocean Park in close finish.
The eight-year old won’t be seen at the races in the autumn – he will dabble in some show-jumping – before returning to the track in time for the 2013 Spring Carnival.
And if Alcopop enjoys his show-jumping, it could be where he ends up after his racing career ends. Perhaps a stint at the 2016 Olympics isn’t out the equation for ‘the Popper’.
The rising star: Shamal Wind
It’s always exciting when a superstar emerges. And if you missed Oaks Day you would’ve missed the announcement of Australia’s most promising sprinter, Shamal Wind.
Shamal Wind only had her second start in the Icons of Heritage Stakes (1200m, Listed, three-year old fillies) but she produced a great sprint to beat to a very good field of fillies.
Shamal Wind is trained by Robert Smerdon – making her a stablemate to the injured four-time Group One winner Mosheen – and she’s shown immense potential in an undefeated start to her career.
She blew an average bunch of horses away in a Ballarat maiden before repeating the dose down the Flemington straight.
I love following horses with a blinding turn of foot because it’s an asset that can take any horse to the highest level. Shamal Wind boasts a brilliant acceleration – in two strides she put Thursday’s race to bed.
She beat Brave Soul by two lengths with the promising Isabella Snowflake in third. Meidung was beaten five lengths in fourth.
Brave Soul was only a small margin behind Better Than Ready and Jolie Bay at her last start, when the long-standing 1200m Randwick track-record fell.
And Meidung was less than two lengths away from Nechita in the Group Three Silver Shadow in August. And was that day Nechita really caught my eye.
Nechita and Jolie Bay fought out Derby Day’s Coolmore Stud (1200m, three-year olds) at Group One level. Shamal Wind fits into that grade but with more room for progress.
She has the potential to compete with the older sprinters in the autumn. She’s pretty exciting.
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