Roar Guru
Joined August 2013
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Australian freelance journalist, based in Melbourne. Twitter: @tmase04
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Fair play Scuba. You make some valid points.
Hopefully it is a success. I’m sure that’s what we all want.
Just out of curiosity what’s the benchmark carnival/festival in your opinion?
Berry, It's A Dundeel steal the show at The Championships
Good debate here. Reckon Cam is spot on – Australian racing is always better for a strong New Zealand racing scene.
At the end of the day we want deep, strong, competitive fields.
The locals will just about always dominate numbers wise.
Japan, UK, Singapore, USA, Maurtitius, Macau… if a horse strengthens a field, I don’t care where it’s from.
Weak Australians destroyed by Kiwis across The Championships
Thanks Cam.
Lankan Rupee is a star. However, he’s now won 9/16, 3 x G1’s and $2.8m, whereas IAD bows out having won 10/19, $5.3m and 6 x G1’s. I did say IAD was the best horse to grave the turf, not the bets or most impressive win and I would argue that he’s done more than LR to date. Although, I have a feel that may change in time.
It will be interesting to see whether The OFfer measures up at WFA. I suspect he’s a very good handicapper. Either way, he’s going to be a big spring player I feel.
Berry, It's A Dundeel steal the show at The Championships
Agree Alfred.
I highlighted that the Kiwis are back in my piece: Berry, It’s A Dundeel steal the show at The Championships.
Keep an eye out for Albany Reunion too. He’s a Fastnet Rock 4yo from Nigel Tiley’s yard and he’s a star!
Weak Australians destroyed by Kiwis across The Championships
Pete T – thank you for reading and for your comments.
Sorry to hear you have suffered a similar experience.
I hope your health is OK at the moment?
Mitch Clark is the real Captain Courageous
Thanks for taking the time to read Scuba.
RE Lankan Rupee – was his win more dominant than The Offer? That’s subjective. Both were incredibly impressive performances. The Offer won by 3.8L, Lankan Rupee by 2L.
I agree the crowd was a bit underwhelming and I was surprised when I heard the figures. However, I believe they’ve a solid platform in which to build upon. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.
The weather was pretty ordinary if my memory serves me correct? At least on day one.
Racing NSW should be afforded time to allow the carnival to grow and evolve.
Again, it’s subjective. I take it you weren’t impressed?
Berry, It's A Dundeel steal the show at The Championships
Drew – Thanks for reading.
The Aussie/Kiwi sporting rivalry is great. It doesn’t matter whether it’s cricket, league, union, football (soccer)… both very proud, passionate nations who love their sport.
Berry, It's A Dundeel steal the show at The Championships
Great piece Justin.
So delighted to see IAD bring his A-game in a big one.
You may recall I had him pegged as the best horse in Australasia ahead of last year’s Cox Plate? History shows he had a luckless run and never looked a winning chance.
I’ve dropped off him a bit – he hadn’t won for a while before the Queen Elizabeth – so to see him deliver on Saturday reminded me, and I daresay many others, just how talented this guy is.
Would love to see what he can on the world stage before he goes to the breeding barn.
I’d be shocked if he didn’t turn out to be a brilliant sire of 1600-2000m types.
It’s A Dundeel one of the greats after Queen Elizabeth success
Agree, the Trott one is an interesting one.
Indeed I have followed it closely.
I noticed a lot of negative comments condemning Clark – “Yeah, getting paid $750K to play footy must be hard” – that sort of thing.
Admittedly it was on facebook and Twitter, but that’s a forum for public opinion.
I was going to include this in my piece but wanted to steer away from the negatives and also I try not to judge people for having these opinions, even though I strongly disagree with them. It’s a very complex beast and I understand that some uninformed people don’t understand it. Hence the reason why I’m passionate about raising awareness.
Appreciate your comments TomC.
Mitch Clark is the real Captain Courageous
You’re right TomC – he has done well financially from his brief AFL career, despite countless injuries. But injuries are a part of football and he’s not the only one to be well compensated having not been on the park as much as everyone would like.
Players also leave clubs – again a part of football. The Dees lost Tom Scully (highly touted at the of leaving), but landed Clark. It usually evens out over time.
It’s my opinion that if your average ‘Joe Blow’, take me for example, comes out and does what Clark did, it’s generally considered brave and admirable, yet if a highly paid public figure, be it Clark, Jonathan Trott, etc, does it, they aren’t. It’s almost as if they shouldn’t have anything to complain about because they earn big bucks. I saw a lot of commentary on social media regards both Clark and Trott inferring this. Nobody is immune and having been there and done that, anyone who steps forward is courageous in my book.
But I guess we’ll just agree to disagree. Which is absolutely fine.
Mitch Clark is the real Captain Courageous
Hi Tom, thanks for taking the time to read.
As I said in the piece everyone is entitled to their opinion.
My rationale for referring to Clark as courageous is: (a) him taking the first step in admitting he has a problem, (b) stepping back an taking an indefinite break to assess his options and make an informed decision, and (c) walking away from footy to focus on himself, his health, despite earning so much money, etc.
Each to their own, though.
Mitch Clark is the real Captain Courageous
Haradasun – That’s a great memory, thanks for sharing.
Just a guess but I reckon you were pretty happy with the winner of the great race in 2007?
The Doncaster: a race that rarely disappoints
Jack – She was brave in 2002, wasn’t she? They were mowing her down and as I said, Shogun Lodge and Defier were incredibly good gallopers. Genuine champions have that will to win and hate seeing horses pass them. Northerly was the same, probably better in that regard, in fact.
The Doncaster: a race that rarely disappoints
Michael – I love the Slipper but I prefer The Doncaster, too.
I didn’t know that was the catalyst for Hawkes parting ways with LV Cassidy. They had so much success together. Not sure Crawl was up to that class to be honest.
As for D Gauci, a star over a sustained period. Arguably the best front-running rider in the business.
It was a peach of a ride on Over and the pull in the weights proved the difference in the end in my opinion.
Super was like a fine red wine – got better with age.
The Doncaster: a race that rarely disappoints
Good call Bondy. Pharaoh was so brave.
Waller’s runners are going to take some holding out. But then again, that’s very common these days.
The Doncaster: a race that rarely disappoints
Agree, kv joef. Hopefully we’ll see some developments that are for the good of the sport globally.
Championships boost requires working with, not against, Dubai
Thanks Bondy, glad you enjoyed it.
Sunline was as tough as old boots. It’s rare to see mares stay at the top for so long. That’s what makes her and Black Caviar bonafide champions.
Ian Craig was a favourite of mine, too.
Who are some of your favourite winners and who do you like in Saturday’s race?
The Doncaster: a race that rarely disappoints
Good piece Alfred and some healthy debate going on.
I was at the Dubai World Cup Carnival, including World Cup a couple of weeks ago so I’m interested to see how The Championships stack up. I think we should what unfolds then try and find a solution so both can coexist without having to give much ground.
I’ve got to say, the racing on WC Day was outstanding and the buzz around Meydan/Dubai during the week was sensational. Horses representing 13 countries – it really was top-quality international racing.
And they were accessible, too. Scheduled press conferences every day, access to trackwork, etc.
Championships boost requires working with, not against, Dubai
Absolutely spot on Margaret.
Thanks for reading.
It's time the racing industry put a leash on that black dog
Thanks for your comments Jack. Couldn’t agree more.
Mental health problems are unfortunately so common these days. Awareness raising and education is key.
Hopefully the industry gets its act into gear and works its way through this increasing issue.
Hope you’re fit and firing.
It's time the racing industry put a leash on that black dog
Terrific piece Justin.
I’ve been blown away by how much she’s come on this campaign.
I’m first to put my hand up and admit I always had her pegged as a a bit of an enigma who would always flash home or be desperately unlucky.
Before her Ranvet Stakes win I said on the radio show I work on in Dubai: “She’s very good but not an A-grader, probably a length behind the likes of Fiorente and It’s A Dundeel.” How wrong I was.
Rapt to she the improvement and consistency. I’ve always admired trainer, Roger James. His emotion after winning The BMW on Saturday is what it’s all about.
Reckon she’ll be a very good broodmare.
But more G1 wins in front of her, first.
Has Silent Achiever finally made a lie of her name?
You’re very confident Strummer Jones.
I’d love to see Veuvelicious win for Brent Stanley.
Good luck.
Saturday's Adelaide and Sydney Group 1 racing: preview and tips