Spring fever hits everything at once, but don't take your eye off the Cox Plate

It’s almost too much. Winx vs Hartnell in the Cox Plate. The Geelong Cup today. The Manikato on Friday. Tabcorp and Tatts talking about a merger. Racing Victoria in upheaval. John Messara steps down from Racing NSW.

That’s not to mention a typhoon hanging over Hong Kong which could rule out the Magic Man, among others, from making it to Moonee Valley for the Cox Plate, either.

It’s all happening at once, so let’s take a look at what’s happening on and off the track.

On the track

Cox Plate
This is pure joy for punters. Mouthwatering. Winx vs Hartnell. The mighty mare vs the might of Godolphin. (Click to Tweet)

She’s the mare with the amazing winning streak that includes – and goes back further than – this exact race last year. She towelled them up here in 2015. Yes, yes, the educated will say she found the lightning ground on the rail and that exaggerated the win, but she’s then gone and won everything else.

Hartnell is very different… Always a good horse, suddenly a horse possessed. This time last year he was sixth in the Turnbull, fifth behind Winx in the Cox Plate, and 15th in the Melbourne Cup. This year he’s favourite in the Melbourne Cup and more than a few think he can beat Australia’s best mare.

John O’Shea explains that he didn’t train him well enough last year after he started like a “Ferrari”, but didn’t go right in the autumn either. He now has got him on track.

There are eight other horses in the running too, so it’s not quite a match race. Yankee Rose will be coming late carrying no more than breeze on her back, Hauraki is no duffer and neither is Black Hart Bart, while French raider Vadamos will likely lead them up and they’ll have to get past the Andre Farbe-trained stallion with real x-factor.

Sumptuous. One for the ages.

The Cox Plate should be the race that stops the nation this weekend.

Tell your friends, tell your family, this is the race of the year!

Geelong Cup
A fair way off the Cox Plate when it comes to quality but it’s a Cup with a lot of interest.

Nine stayers are hoping to win the Geelong Cup to get into the Melbourne Cup field, four being overseas imports that will be seen for the first time in Australia. The track should be soft enough for the internationals to lap it up and most expect it to be won by one of them.

The whispers from Werribee say that Grey Lion is one of the best going around quarantine – he beat Exospheric in a track gallop and that horse was third in the Caulfield Cup. His odds are short.

Many are using the market as a guide for the race given all the unknowns. Tough race to win – it may just be easier to watch and take notes for Cup contenders.

The three-year-old Geelong Classic doesn’t look bad either, full of young local stayers on the rise. One to watch.

The Manikato
Always a strong race, given our sprinting stocks. With $1 million purse up for grabs, that’ll be the case again, with old hands like Buffering and Chautauqua against the rising hopes of English, Fell Swoop, and another of the phenomenal sprinting three-year-olds in Capitalist. The Quarterback won last start and the rest of the field are no duffers.

Holler’s back from his Royal Ascot attempt, too.

A top-quality sprint awaits. Aside from a few names, we’re really only missing the other three-year-olds including Astern, Russian Revolution, Divine Prophet, Star Turn… the list goes on. What a crop they are turning out to be.

Off the track

Tabcorp and Tatts: Together at last?
Could a national TAB be on the cards? Tabcorp and Tatts announced to the stock market on Tuesday a trading halt, as both parties discussed merger terms.

Merger talks were held last year but couldn’t thrash out an agreement. It’s hard to know what’s changed since then – others than Tatts’ share price, which has taken a beating from highs in January.

The potential is huge. Bigger pools, less duplication meaning less overheads, and a more consolidated approach to racing beyond the mire of state versus state turmoil. We’ll wait and see, but the business press mood seems positive on this happening.

Racing Victoria’s executive woes
Racing Victoria’s woes at the top stretch from chairman to CEO. David Moodie stepped down from chairman as an integrity inquiry opens up, while former chairman Rob Roulston was also forced to resign after integrity issues. Bernard Saundry said he’s leaving as CEO a few months back, but continues on until another is found as the search continues. The board has had two spots vacated – notably losing Andrew Twaits – and rumours swirl.

Victorian Racing Minister Martin Pakula appears to be fed up, with reports that he wants an independent board following meetings at Caulfield over the weekend.

Given assets are involved, that’s one for lawyers to figure out how to make happen.

What does it all mean? There’s been some flippant commentary to point out that Spain has been without a government for 300 days and the economy is booming. Maybe Spain is closer than it looks to Victorian racing – largely decentralised with the day-to-day work done by regional governments.

Racing Victoria needs strong leadership to help racing flourish beyond a few weeks in spring and autumn and the rich that can own what are prohibitively expensive animals, and hopefully, work towards better national outcomes.

John Messara leaves Racing NSW
Chairman of Racing NSW John Messara announced over the past week that he’d be resigning in December, noting that he’d accomplished everything he’d set out to do in his five-year term. Messara also stood down from Racing Australia.

Messara was chair during some significant changes to racing in the state, along with CEO Peter V’Landys. Racing NSW achieved wagering taxation parity and in doing so, boosted prizemoney levels from country racing to city racing in the state. Messara was also a key player in launching The Championships, which has elevated Sydney’s autumn carnival to world status in terms of prizemoney.

Still, there is work to do. The Championships aren’t yet attracting world-class international horses. In Sydney, small field sizes even for big events are cause for concern. Racing scheduling clashes with Melbourne racing rather than works in unison for better outcomes for all participants.

At the other end of the scale, the battlers of the world aren’t any closer to owning horses unless dozens pool into syndicates, which gives up control.

Still, racing is like rugby league, where a lot of time is spent criticising the sport, while the action takes place.

The Cox Plate will be a time to take a deep breath and enjoy special equine athletes at their peak.