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Joined June 2018
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Matt is a newspaper editor by trade but spends his time dwelling about his glory years as an average opening batsman and slow half-back flanker. If he's not flicking between all the sport he can find on TV, he's out trying to lower his handicap on the golf course. He loves writing about horse racing – one of the most intriguing industries in the world.
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Get excited punters. Taylor Swift is performing at the Melbourne Cup this year.
How bloody good is this September shaping up to be?
There was a cloud hanging over the Australian racing industry on Saturday as participants prepared for a day at the track.
There’s no better time than this if you are an Australian racing fan.
Group 1 racing returns to the calendar this Saturday with the running of the Winx Stakes (1400 metres) at Randwick.
Mystic Journey is going to be awfully hard to beat this preparation based on her first-up performance at Caulfield on Saturday, but I wouldn’t be rushing in to back her in any futures markets.
The best thing about spring racing is not only the quality of horses and top races, but also the journey you get to follow.
You wouldn’t know it with the weather, but there’s a hint of spring in the air if you are a racing fan.
A new racing season has begun and the countdown is on until Australia’s greatest race, The Everest, I mean the Melbourne Cup…
Australia is the only country in the world to have a public holiday for a horse race. We are known for loving a flutter.
Self-interest will be the death of horse racing in Australia.
Hay List would be rolling in his grave.
Things sure started to heat up at Warrnambool yesterday and if you followed the quaddie numbers you would have made a small profit – not a bad result considering the favourite won in three of the four legs.
Forget Melbourne Cup week, forget The Championships – the best racing carnival in the country is this week and it’s at Warrnambool.
Anzac Day punters were treated to a smorgasbord of decent racing yesterday, with Gai Waterhouse once again saluting in the VRC St Leger at Flemington.
How long will it take for Australian racing jurisdictions to bite the bullet and open their tracks on Good Friday?
It’s 3am on Monday and Tiger Woods is vying for the lead in The Masters.
While all eyes will turn to Winx at Randwick on Saturday, it’s quite obvious that betting on the great mare is hardly going to make you rich.
This weekend, Australian racing will lose one of its best thoroughbreds of all time to retirement.
Yes sorry I meant open age Group 1.
Plenty of exciting 3YOs in the mix and I wouldn’t mind seeing Avilius and Mystic Journey go toe-to-toe.
Be wary backing Mystic Journey too early
Complete agree. Alizee is high class. I’m not as convinced about Zoustyle but he’s definitely one to watch as well. Hopefully we see an emerging star 3YO in the sprinting ranks. It’s a bit bleak at the moment.
Ten horses to watch this spring
Sansom was good last time, Larry, but I felt Maozi probably wins with a clean run. Now gets weight relief and the Flemington 1400m should suit him perfectly with a good barrier.
Good luck at Rocky.
Five horses to back in Melbourne and Sydney this Saturday
Smoking actually kills you. And tobacco has been taxed unbelievably as a deterrent. All for more education on responsible gambling, but once again it’s largely the poorest and least educated people that are throwing their money away. Some regulation would help.
Australia must overhaul its position on gambling
Davico if you read this article and others written by me you’d see that I’m a huge fan of The Everest. Racing needed a huge grand final sprint and got one.
The racing industry is its own biggest enemy
I think they were strong from a competitive point of view, but no real stars.
Australia's sprinting ranks at their lowest ebb this century
Easy solution, Diablo. Do what most daily newspapers do. Have Thursday off and work Friday.
Time to bring in Good Friday racing, plus five Saturday tips
Nice debut. This definitely has potential. Needs more Nat Fyfe content.
Introducing The Roar's brand new podcast - Game of Codes: Australia's biggest sporting debate
A lot to process there, sheek.
I agree that breeding has crippled the progression of some outstanding horses, but in a way, Australia is just following the trend that had been set in the UK and the US beforehand.
I would have loved to see The Autumn Sun race on to see if he was the real deal. One of my favourite horses was All Too Hard. The issue for many entires is that they encounter problems as they get older – not many stallions can actually race into their ‘senior years’.
I don’t think racing is being killed by breeding, but it isn’t helping. Horse ownership is hard, but it doesn’t appear to be slowing down at an alarming right.
Jason is right, probably an article in it.
Who will be racing's next champion?
2000 to 2019 is 20 years, sorry! Loved Might and Power!
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Fair call, Barry. I didn’t have Starcraft quite as high as you, but you can easily make a case for him.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Grand Armee very stiff. If I’m being serious, he was 21.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Might and Power was a 90s horse.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Big fan of Gold Edition in the EI era, but didn’t quite make the shortlist. Probably ranked around 30-35.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Northerly a good horse, but didn’t go overseas and didn’t win in Sydney.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Gun horse who was probably ruined by McDonald, who wanted to make him into a Caulfield Cup horse.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Tie the Knot was hopeless in Melbourne and beat up on some weak Sydney horses. He was probably better in the late 90s than he was in the early 00s, hence why I left him out.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
I take your point Scout, but the times don’t lie. Winx simply smashes rivals because she’s just too fast. It wouldn’t matter who you rolled up against here.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
I think All Too Hard would have been a better horse than Pierro if they stayed racing, but that means nothing in the breeding barn. Starspangledbanner, Starcraft and Haradusun were all in my list of about 40 when I started this exercise. It’s been a golden period for Australian racing.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Thanks Geoff. We have been blessed to have lived in a golden era. My personal favourite was a horse called Hornets’ Nest, a real enigma who could do wonderful things on any given day. I have fond memories of the time he knocked off Puissance de Lune at The Bool. I think PDL was about $1.14 that day.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
There’s a lot of people arguing for Northerly to be above Sunline and they usually always point to the Fighting Tiger’s 3-0 record against the Kiwi mare.
However, I’m going to say it again, the two times Northerly beat Sunline in Cox Plates, the mare did all the work and Northerly ran her down. Sunline had already won two Cox Plates and been around the world, winning races abroad, before Northerly faced her. You could argue that Sunline had already peaked.
And in the one time they raced over a mile, Sunline was coming into the race on the back of a win on a heavy 10, which was probably closer to a heavy 12. She wasn’t 100 per cent that day.
It’s an opinion game and I’m not dismissive of Northerly supporters or the horse, but I think Sunline was the better of the two. She had more wins, won overseason, won more prizemoney and did it in an era where mares were simply not regarded as being as good as their male rivals.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Hard to knock Winx on any measure. You can say she hasn’t beaten much, but then you can just go to the clock and the times don’t lie. She’s a freak.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
How could you have Leica Falcon in among this list?
Leica Falcon won five races and no Group 1s. I’m assuming you are taking the mickey, but I just thought I’d clarify in case.
The 20 greatest Australian racehorses of the past 20 years
Correct Max. It was upgraded in 2013. It has always been a big-name horse race, however. Here’s a quick glance at some of the previous winners: Phar Lap, Ajax, Comic Court, Lord (four times), Rising Fast, Galilee, Manikato, Rubiton, Naturalism, Sunline, Artilleryman, Makybe Diva, So Yout Think, Eurythmic, Atlantic Jewel etc.
Veteran galloper can win again heading into spring