Macca

As for our dearth of stayers and middle distance perforners ... it comes down to the horse buying public. No good blaming the A-end of the problem (the actual horses) The buyers want sprinters only so that's what we breed. So it's entirely our own fault No good blaming the 'Invaders' either. We opened the door with our quest for instance results so again, we are to blame.

The Cup has about 5 main chances including Steel Prince with Oliver on Board (R7 No.11) And Oliver is on a good chance in Race 6 ... No.7 'O'tauto' (13-1) Good each-way odds for a horse that gets into the finish a lot. And it has raced at Group level. Good first up form as well. But each-way. Likes to get home late but has drawn wide to get back anyway. Up against 'Harbour Views' & 'Impi' but I rate O'tauto' as being as good as those 2.

Geelong Cup to be run on Wednesday (otherwise known as the battle between Ireland & the UK) 11 horses in the field with 6 from Ireland, 4 from the UK & 1 from France. No Aussie or NZ bred horses to be seen. But the $400k in prizemoney on offer would just about attain Group1 status in Eorope. The Geelong Cup!

I listened in to half time but the game was effectively over after the first 5 minutes. Costly errors allowed Dallas to score 2 x TD's without much trouble But you have those days ... you're at the Bills next and then 3 tough games at home (Bears, Pats, Seahawks) Need to win at least 2 and probably 3 of those 4 games.

Out for a month only by all reports. Which is great news for the League. But good news for my Packers ... we're at KC next week. Doesn't guarantee anything of course but Mahomes being out is a significant loss.

The distance allows horses like Sunlight & Graff to participate. Sprinter/Milers although I agree Wadda, 1400m would be a much better distance. Or maybe 1600m. The final field will be very good though. Classique Legend, Kolding & The Inevitable can run as well. Also Amphitrite & Ten Sovereigns. The design allows for the crack 3yo's like Merchant Navy & Autumn Guineas & maybe even Derby* winners to race on into their 4 year old year. Brutal is another that might have been retired to stud otherwise. It's a really good idea. *A Derby or Oaks winner in the Autumn/previous Spring might be able to drop back to the 1500m ... it could be why they decided on that distance. Horses can go up to the distance or drop back to the distance?

All the State bodies have to vote a race like the Everest into Group status and the word is that Racing Victoria won't agree. The individual States control most things horse racing. Which in turn only strengthens the resolve of Racing NSW and Peter V'landys. But things could change if RV want the All Star Mile to have Group status. The other big race without group status (that hasn't even been run yet) is the Golden Eagle ($7.5Million) The inaugural running of the Golden Eagle happens on Derby Day. But I believe it will be an immediate success. For those not in the know the Golden Eagle is for 4yo's only and is run over the distance of 1500m. Currently Arcadia Queen & Brutal are equal favourites (3-1) for the inaugural running of the race. And they run for $7.5Million. And I reckon Racing Victoria might create another couple of big races in the Autumn. They've already started to do so with the All Star Mile to be run the week after the Australian Cup/Newmarket Hcp. Not sure they'll extend into Autumn like NSW has done with the Spring but a bigger program within our Autumn.

Well the champ* (Beauty Generation) got beaten. It's no Winx! Had every chance (once it got out) but got run down. Rise High won from Waikuku, Beauty Generation and then Ka Ying Star & Southern Legend. They ran 01:32.82 for the mile. Very slick. Exotics paid quite well accordingly. More so the exacta & F4. *Another champion race horse in Stradivarius lost out as well last night at Champions Day (Royal Ascot) Track was a bog though so it had excuses.

Weekend Special (Monday 2.00am) France Ligue 1 Monaco vs Rennes Monaco (Win) & +2.5 Goals Match Score $2.60

And there's some good racing today with 2 feature events up at Sha Tin along with the Horsham Cup (R6) and Seymour Cup (R7) And Race 7 at Horsham & Race 8 at Seymour both carry prizemoney of $100k and that's good coin for Sunday country racing. They race for $200k in the Seymour Cup. But I'm watching those races only but will have a couple of bets at Sha Tin in the 2 feature events. In race 3 at Sha Tin (The Premier Bowl) Pakistan Star & Full Of Beauty should fight out the finish whilst in race 8 (Sha Tin Trophy) Beauty Generation should win from Waikuku & Rise High with Ka Ying Star & Southern Legend running on.

In the U.S.A "Mer De Glace' would have almost certainly been disqualified as it cut across runners in the straight before it was clear. But they have more stringent rules over there. The actual racing is far cleaner over there as a result. But over here the luck can often run your way when winning. As it stands Lane copped a suspension but the $150k winning percentage (plus sling) will sweeten things and more than cover the $20k fine. And the punters (including myself) collect. Beau Mertons & Michael Dee also copped suspensions from the race. But the same thing happens a lot in these big races (with crowded fields) It stands to reason that jockeys are going to take chances. You win some, you lose some. The jockey on 'Best Solution' last year (Patrick Cosgrove) copped a suspension despite the horse winning the race. The only real detterent for riders taking undue risks would be to bring in more stringent penalties (like in the U.S.A) ... but that won't be happening in a hurry DZ. So it will be more of the same where some of the winning punters will feel they've got some payback whilst others will feel aggrieved. That's racing.

Well done Wadda! Outstanding dividend all things considered. Hope you got a decent percentage (or more) I've watched both races a few times (Everest included) and I'm just blown away at how both winners won. Always one to appreciate excellence. 'Yes Yes Yes' is the story though. It's the sort of thing that happens in Europe for 3yo's. A Star is Born (but for how long?) Because the Everest is not an official Group1 race the connections may have to race it on to maximise it's value at stud. But that may not matter when considering how commanding a performance it was. To beat that field the way it did was something else. Amazing! Track record to boot. We witnessed a fantastic 3/4 Mile. The Everest is on the map, good and proper. And the doubt I had (even though I backed it) on 'Mer' in the Cup was the barrier. But it was a walk in the park. Money for old rope. Way too good. Will watch the race again for your take on Constantinople.

I agree BM and because of our prizemoney the imported horses will continue to come here and they might come over earlier and/or in the Autumn. Many horses are now being imported on a permanent basis. For instance ... Hartnell is a horse from the UK. With Winx off the scene any of our races further than 1600m are ripe for the plucking. If we want to win the middle distance races and staying races with home grown talent it's up to the Australian owners & Trainers to find a way to produce our own We need horses like 'Shadow Hero' & 'Thought Of That' x 20 or 30. At least. 'Shadow Hero' was sired by 'Pierro' and 'Thought Of That' by 'So You Think' but we need more quality stallions that can produce more quality stayers. But a lot of our feature races are run over 1000m up to 1600m so where's the incentive? I enjoy watching the distance races but I'd prefer it there were more home grown winners. I just back the imported horses these days because it's the only smart way to punt.

Did something similar but got 2 decent collects. Got the winner and exacta but didn't extend to the trifecta & F4. Shouda Couda Wouda. Ah well, can't complain. In front for the day now with a bit to come. But as Clint mentioned above, Lane rode Mer de Glace perfectly. Helps when you're on the best horse in the race. Did it easy really. A bit of a rough race but Mer De Glace just cruised at the back and then went whoosho. A class above at the weights. Looks a Group 1 horse to me but only carried 55.5kgs. Lane rode it like it was always going to win.

The good bit is that if you get a collect it will pay ok. Or really well for the right choices. Big fields, big pools, big payouts

And now the 9yo Happy Clapper wins the Craven Plate in a brave front-running effort. Gutsy move by Tommy Berry to take the horse to the front early too. Fought like a lion to the line. There's hope for Hartnell (9yo) yet! Caulfield Cup up in 10 minutes.

'Yes Yes Yes' wins the Everest. Glen Boss again on board. Wonder how Darren Weir is feeling right now! (he formerly trained the horse) At $9 starting price there was some money for the horse too (not mine of course) The 3yo prevails. Trecking backed up brilliantly so that Schillaci Stakes lead up was certainly no impediment. Beat a lot of good horses home. Track record too ... 01:07.32. That's fast! Plenty of horses disappointed but it was a crack field and they ran the time. Santa Ana Lane brave in defeat but all honours to the fastest horse in the land Yes Yes Yes! What a horse!

And if 'Thought Of That' wins the Derby it might be the last time we see the horse. Although the Colts that win the Derby sometimes continue on to at least the Autumn carnival in Sydney to contest the Derby's up there. Stud value wins out a lot of the time though. 'Shadow Hero' is a bit of a swooper so we may see a classic finish with both horses involved. And they just ran 2 seconds slower in the fillies 2000m race just completed. That's about 30 metres (12 lengths) And you've noted that Linda Meech stacked them up a bit on 'Thought Of That' It should be noted that 'Shadow Hero' ran a very slick time in winning the G1 Champion Stakes last week (2000m)

Just over 2 seconds off the track record BM. And that track record was probably run on a fast track ('07) ... 'Thought of That' was carrying 57kgs today too. Shades of 'Might and Power' Very impressive winner. It's already into $2.80 equal favourite with 'Shadow Hero' for the Derby. It's out of those 2 now you'd imagine.

Blinkers have done the trick apparently with 'Thought of That' but the horse may go from a maiden winner at Donald to a Victorian derby winner within the space of a 25 days. Prizemoney 23k to $2Million. Meteoric rise. Whooda thunk-it.

Nice early collect for you Gorg ... I tend to ignore the earlier races but I did have an exacta in that race but no good. Small outlay only though. James Jordan's Morphettville tips are up on www.racing.com. There's a few value rumners amongst his tips. And JJ is in very good form lately. Gator's Caulfield tips can be found on racing.com as well (under the Best bets banner)

I have found that exacta's are a better percentage play for me Wadda. I still do the odd 'Spec' trifecta or F4 but they're much harder to get (and I like winning) However, there is a projected $2Million F4 pool in the Caulfield Cup today and the pool for the Everest is probably along similar lines. A chance to win big. And I've decided from here on in to not make any comments on jockeys at all! You won't hear a whisper from me. Contrarily, you blokes can say whatever you like. I am officially out of those conversations ?

My best bet is Race 5 No.3 (Soothing) $3.10 So what do we all like in the Caulfield Cup & The Everest? I'm with Mer De Glace in the Cup but not with any confidence. Taken an exacta with a few involved. And I'm sticking with Sunlight (E/W) at very good odds in the Everest but again, the race is a good one for the exotics. 2 big races in each State? I like it. A point of difference is fine by me and there are enough good jockeys around to ride on the good horses (in each State) I look upon it as increasing the interest across the board. Competition is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The racing bodies in Melbourne will disagree but they'll get by. n.b. RSN (The Greater 3UZ) have got Peter Moody on for the next 2 hours live from Caulfield (from 10.00am)

Pats Rams Texans

The Caulfield Correspondant (Wadda) is probably going to collate our picks (all-up style) but we've still got the Morphettville Marauder (Binman) to come. Well over 1500-1 already though (boosted) for the 5 picks. Worth a coffee outlay! And I hereby dub the newest member of the team the 'Moonee Valley Maestro' (JV7) Here is the official list of nicknames Dee Zephyr - Flemington Forecaster Binman - Morphettville Marauder Wadda - Caulfield Correspondent Gorgoroth - Randwick Rampager JV7 - Moonee Valley Maestro ProperDee - Warwick Farm Whisperer Macca - Hong Kong Wizard