Success in racing is measured by Group 1 victories. Close enough is not quite good enough. A horse is only as successful as its achievements, so every now and then we need to see stories which emanate successes of those most determined and deserved.
First there was Buffering, and now Spirit Of Boom. Grit, determination, tenacity and persistence. It all pays off eventually and when it does, a smile can be brought to the face of losing punters and connections.
Friday night saw a story unravel that should comfort all racehorse owners. Spirit Of Boom held on for grim life to claim his maiden Group 1 victory in the William Reid Stakes.
But even when they passed the post, trainer Tony Gollan and connections had to do it tough. Celebrations turned to despair seconds after the race when Gollan’s fists were left stranded mid-pump. The replay showed the finish tighter than first met the eye and once again, he thought his star sprinter had run second at Group 1 level.
A late burst by Fontelina on Spirit Of Boom’s inside left Gollan speechless – not the good kind of speechless either.
“That’s us? That’s got to be us,” quipped one of the owners, unconvincingly, as the replay flashed on the big screen.
No response from Gollan. He wasn’t convinced and could only shake his head in disbelief as the feeling of disappointment began creeping in. Walking away from the cameras and loosening his top button, bullets dripped down his neck as he prepared himself to face grim reality or another narrow defeat.
Finally, the still photo showed on the big screen and Spirit Of Boom had held on by the narrowest of margins.
Prior to his breakthrough win at the elite level, the six-year-old had run in 14 Group 1 races – most recently claiming back-to-back runner-ups behind Lankan Rupee in the Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap. He had accrued more than $1.4 million in prize money heading into the William Reid.
With Spirit Of Boom’s retirement already pencilled in for the end of the current season, time was running out, but the Sequalo stallion was flying better than ever before. While punters may have lost by backing more fancied runners like Samaready and Shamexpress, the gritty win of Spirit Of Boom and stellar performance by small-town trainer Tony Gollan were a win for all.
Friday nights at the Valley are building a reputation of delivering deserved victories at the highest level. In October last year, another Queenslander, Buffering, broke his Group 1 duck in the Manikato Stakes.
No one disputes the existence of luck in racing, but when a horse, trainer or jockey falls on the wrong side of luck one too many times, should there be a sense of entitlement in our sport? If so, what is the measure?
Dean Yendall does hard yards driving around Victoria’s country racing circuit day after day, and rarely goes a day without punching home a winner. He is one of the sport’s most honest professionals, but gets too few Group rides for a jockey of his consistency.
Perhaps the measure could be prize money, because very few horses can break the $1 million mark without claiming at least one Group 1 win. The issue with this is the uneven distribution of prize money where a Melbourne Cup or Golden Slipper place-getter can surpass the barrier with a rare effort.
It’s why Maluckyday ($1.3 million), Sweet Idea ($1.7 million) and Driefontein ($1.8 million) have all been great servants for connections, but it is difficult to argue that they deserve a Group 1 win.
And then there is Sea Moon, who has surpassed the $1million barrier, has scalps over Dunaden, Red Cadeux, Jakkalberry, Fiorente and Al Kazeem, but can’t quite make the final leap.
So if there is such a thing as ‘deserving a Group 1′, who is worthy?
Glenn Innes
Guest
Lets face the facts this is all about betting turnover - the industry realises punters bet more the higher the class of the race so group races have matastised to such an extent that you cant take the class system at group level seriously.
Big al
Guest
I'd rather have an Australian group 1 under my belt than a Hong Kong or USA or English any day
kv joef
Guest
It seems that 'condition' is being forced on our racing alfred. black-type (G1) racing is about gathering the best domestic and sometimes international stock in one place to sort out dominance. after-all who would be game to say any race that BC and Hay List went at each other was not international G1 standard. we all realise that every jurisdiction goes through waves of quality but bodging the figures helps no-one. i would hate to hear, "don't worry about that OTR it is only an "australasian domestic rating"! Carpenter worked diligently for a decade to get our racing international respect and it all could be lost in a twinkling. but what really annoys me is that my vent had typo's, fat-fingered keyboard errors, misspellings, confusing sentences, used 'gooses' instead of 'geese' and invented new uses for apostrophes and not a market to be seen anywhere. bloody corporates ... put up a 'get-on' market and then go missing when you show up with a roll. PS Buffering's 2013 international rating was 118 derived from his Flem Classic win so the winterbottom rating was probably not even submitted for consideration, which is damning in its own right, but the 122 is still in the RISA DB.
NathanA
Guest
Also remember that Group 1 in the UK and Ireland are either weight for age or set weight aged classics. Handicaps aren't Group 1 races.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Interesting kv. Those Perth ratings do seem quite high. Something we could look into down the track would be following Hong Kong's lead and differentiating between a Group 1 and an International Group 1. We would have to cap it at no more than maybe 10 International Group 1s which are races genuinely capable of drawing an international field and are worth $1m+.
kv joef
Guest
i support the general thrust of the comments. if you are not an experienced handicapper, the best guide you can use to any group race is the official thoroughbred rating (OTR = a BM on steriods) and to be considered genuine G1 (internationally) you have to have a rating of 115+. Buffering has an OTR of 118 with a huge (official) question mark brought about by a stupid evaluation of the Winterbottom by the WA handicapper in which he rated Buffering 122 = ridiculously high. before that boneheaded propaganda, Buffering consistently returned in a 114 to 117 band. Spirit of Boom was another who who returned a 112 in the Winterbottom, yet previous to that he was a 106-109 band horse. in the williamR his initial is currently 111. most h'cpers would suggest he still is performing in his normal band which would still see him performing as he did last fri.night. it seems the NSW hcper is trying to correct these inaccuracies with subtle adjustments. i don't know who they are trying to fool with these 'dopey' ratings. there are at least 4 boxes horses that have to be ticked to earn a decent rating. i know we desperately want our horses to be up there with the best but this stupidity just embarrasses us. Australasian horses don't have to walk in anyone's shadow and that start officially with Might and Power ... international champion stayer. i have no doubt the OZ rep at the next meeting of the international hcp panel is going to get a fair dink'um ticking off (if it hasn't happened already). i mentioned last nov. where the carnival horses magically improved 2pts. that was ok as it brought our 'good horse' ratings inline with OS. currently we have a nice group of horses legitimately rating 115-122. that makes for high quality competitive racing. the OTR (official) rating is all that matters until someone tries to screw it up. do you know why we call Australian features are called 'Group' races and not 'Grade' races as they do overseas. When we introduced our 'group' race system we wanted to call them 'grade' but after after the international bodies picked themselves up after ROFLTAO, they in chorus said 'NO YOU DON'T'. then came the internationalization of the Mcup and benchmarks could be found and then MIGHT AND POWER astounded everybody and we got the nod. This progress is being placed in jeopardy by pressure being brought to bare on our off-h'cpers, it has to be as they are not that bad assessment judges. it needs to be corrected now and we have to bit-the-bullet and acknowledge that some of our prizemoney G1's are actually not up to international ratings standard Gracing. if our hcper's carry on like gooses we will bed back to square one with very little cred. whoever is responsible ... let the H'cpers do their job properly!!! sorry for the blurt. back to the analysis - look at the RISA BM and if the best horses (in NSW/Vic) are rated 115+ good chance the race is a G1 if the race is in NSW/VIC.
Luke Andrews
Guest
And there is a reason Australia and the US have more Group 1s: "On an international scale Australia has more racecourses than any other nation. It is second to the United States in the number of horses starting in races each year. Australia is third, after the U.S. and Japan for the amount of prize money that is distributed annually" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoroughbred_racing_in_Australia If you have the facilities, the horse numbers and the prize-money; why shouldn't you get more Group 1s? Also remember that the UK alone has 37 Grade 1 jumps races.
Luke Andrews
Guest
But he did also win a Hong Kong Vase, and to say a photo finish win in the cup is won with ease is a stretch.... The fact that some European horses are suited to the racing in new world racing jurisdictions shouldn't mean they are dismissed as mediocre horses winning average races. There have been many high ranked horses who have failed because they lacked the right assets. Just like not every Australian horse likes wet tracks, not every European horse is suited in the mud that dominates their racing scene. Good on the owners for being ballsy enough to take the punt on coming to the other side of the world because the conditions would suit their horse.
Justin Cinque
Expert
Spear Tackle, here's some footage from Chester... Lovely circuit http://youtu.be/1YLwDljPt7w
Victor Lu
Guest
There's a lot more who DON'T deserve one than those who do.
SpearTackle
Roar Rookie
Chester is the circle tack right? The WR might have been G2 quality but I think Fontelina will kick on. I read the owners are considering Royal Ascot with him and Villa Verde. Fontelina has always looked a better horse down a straight so Ascot could be right up his alley. His improvement has been consistent and now that he's hitting his straps, I think he's not far from a G1. As for the rest of the lot, Samaready's Moir run is the equivalent of Bel Sprinter's Galaxy run - one and done.
SpearTackle
Roar Rookie
This is what happens when we have more than anyone else in the world (except the US). Just look at Dunaden. Never even come close in a European G1 but wins the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups with ease.
Justin Cinque
Expert
Disagree Spear Tackle! I think it says more about the opposition than the track. SOB won a Group 1 that was Group 2 standard and Buffering's Manikato form has not stood up all that well since. I personally enjoy racing at the Valley... It brings a point of difference to top level Australian racing. It's our Chester!
SpearTackle
Roar Rookie
I was glad to see Buffering and SOB win G1s but that fact that both couldn't do it till they got to MV shows how bad of a track it is. The best horses don't win at MV. It's just about who handles it the best.
Ian Johnson
Guest
There's so many group 1 a that it's hard to keep track of who has and who hasn't won one.
danny
Guest
i dont know about sweet idea she was beaten a nose in a group1 only last sat