Here’s the follow-up from last weekend’s bush carnivals (see post What Petrol Crisis, below).
I’ll bet a more ‘valuable’ horse hasn’t won a feature race in far north Queensland than Pure Silence who won the Cairns Cup on Sunday.
The seven-year-old Japanese-conceived son of the late, exalted Sunday Silence and Engraver (USA) was a $900,000 yearling when sold by Arrowfield at the 2003 Magic Millions.
Trained these days at Atherton on the tablelands above Cairns, Pure Silence beat the Brisbane raider In Rehearsal to record his second win from 10 starts up in the tropics. Overall, he’s now eight wins and $181,225, a bit shy of the $900k. Pity he lost his nuts years ago, he could have started a sire dynasty in Cairns, though the cursed blood of his damsire Miner's Mark would probably have let him down (see my post Archipenko Is Doubly Special, July 13). Pure Silence's best previous win was as a four-year-old in the 2005 Moe Cup. Other starts (unsuccessful) on his CV include the VRC St Leger, South Australian Derby and VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
On the other side of the continent, in Broome (track pictured), the Perth visitor Great Destiny (5g Second Empire-Mars Lily) won the Cup by a head over the sometimes Perth competitor Tearinupthecountry (NZ) (8g Pentire-Gemscay). The latter has seen a darn sight more of the continent than I have; his previous racing life included stints in Victoria and Queensland. This pair finished in the reverse order in the lead-up, the Kimberley Cup at Broome on 26 July. Obviously the 1.5 kgs shift in the weights this time made the difference. Good to see weights mean something even in Broome. It's reported that about 8,000 attended the meeting with Broome Cup week pumping about $10 million into the local economy.
But form counted for nothing over at Roxby Downs in South Australia with their Cup going to the rank outsider from Strathalbyn, Venomous (5g Dangerous-Surprise Symphony) in front of about 2,000 fans. With a name like that he should have been the omen tip, considering Roxby Downs is uranium country. You had to go back 12 starts to find when Venomous last filled a place, a second at Broken Hill five months ago. Do they swab for plutonium? This fine beast has now won two of his 35 starts. I noted in my earlier post that there were two senior riders at this meeting and, lo and behold, they grabbed the quinella, Tamara Zanker beating Philip Crich. Ah, you can’t beat experience and doubtless readers of my blog took the tip and collected big-time at Roxby Downs.
Now to famous Louth. See David Houston’s comments attached to the post below. Sounds like a
good time was definitely had by all 7,000 people, or was someone seeing double? !! I wonder if there was a booze bus outside the track. I wonder if there was anything outside the track, or if the pilots had to blow into the bag before taking their planes back home? (some of the Louth crowd, right - the queue for the loo?).
Greg Ryan’s following in the bush ensured $3.00 favouritism for Intheway (6g Intergaze-Getting Ahead) and the bookies were done over once again when the pair strolled home a length and three-quarters to the good of my old mate Rocking On (NZ), a one-time promising stayer who succumbed to a wind problem. The formline was strong – Intheway was coming off a resolute ninth of 10, beaten 8.5 lengths, in a 1465m handicap at Wondai, Queensland. Just prior to that he had finished second of six in the Cup at the Wean picnics, carrying the steadier of 69.5 kgs. Wean is a speck on the road between Boggabri and Manilla, in the north-west hinterland behind Tamworth. It’s post code 2382 and, according to the census, 1,487 people inhabit the area covered by post code 2382 of which 96% are Australian born and only 8% profess to have ‘no religion’. Trainer and part-owner Gary Popp obviously doesn’t mind a trip. He trains Intheway at Warwick. Wean is just next door, 497 kms south of Warwick, but Louth is a proper drive, 870 kms south. But what the heck, Queensland fuel is cheaper. The horse obviously returned to the form which won him a $50,000 handicap at Doomben back in February. The drive home, all 870 kms of it, must seem a lot shorter when you’ve got the chocolates. Even if you've had to fill the tank with extortionate 'fuel watch' NSW gas.
Someone whispered to me that there are carnivals about to kick off in Melbourne and Sydney. I'll try and pay attention.
I’ll bet a more ‘valuable’ horse hasn’t won a feature race in far north Queensland than Pure Silence who won the Cairns Cup on Sunday.
The seven-year-old Japanese-conceived son of the late, exalted Sunday Silence and Engraver (USA) was a $900,000 yearling when sold by Arrowfield at the 2003 Magic Millions.
Trained these days at Atherton on the tablelands above Cairns, Pure Silence beat the Brisbane raider In Rehearsal to record his second win from 10 starts up in the tropics. Overall, he’s now eight wins and $181,225, a bit shy of the $900k. Pity he lost his nuts years ago, he could have started a sire dynasty in Cairns, though the cursed blood of his damsire Miner's Mark would probably have let him down (see my post Archipenko Is Doubly Special, July 13). Pure Silence's best previous win was as a four-year-old in the 2005 Moe Cup. Other starts (unsuccessful) on his CV include the VRC St Leger, South Australian Derby and VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
On the other side of the continent, in Broome (track pictured), the Perth visitor Great Destiny (5g Second Empire-Mars Lily) won the Cup by a head over the sometimes Perth competitor Tearinupthecountry (NZ) (8g Pentire-Gemscay). The latter has seen a darn sight more of the continent than I have; his previous racing life included stints in Victoria and Queensland. This pair finished in the reverse order in the lead-up, the Kimberley Cup at Broome on 26 July. Obviously the 1.5 kgs shift in the weights this time made the difference. Good to see weights mean something even in Broome. It's reported that about 8,000 attended the meeting with Broome Cup week pumping about $10 million into the local economy.But form counted for nothing over at Roxby Downs in South Australia with their Cup going to the rank outsider from Strathalbyn, Venomous (5g Dangerous-Surprise Symphony) in front of about 2,000 fans. With a name like that he should have been the omen tip, considering Roxby Downs is uranium country. You had to go back 12 starts to find when Venomous last filled a place, a second at Broken Hill five months ago. Do they swab for plutonium? This fine beast has now won two of his 35 starts. I noted in my earlier post that there were two senior riders at this meeting and, lo and behold, they grabbed the quinella, Tamara Zanker beating Philip Crich. Ah, you can’t beat experience and doubtless readers of my blog took the tip and collected big-time at Roxby Downs.
Now to famous Louth. See David Houston’s comments attached to the post below. Sounds like a
good time was definitely had by all 7,000 people, or was someone seeing double? !! I wonder if there was a booze bus outside the track. I wonder if there was anything outside the track, or if the pilots had to blow into the bag before taking their planes back home? (some of the Louth crowd, right - the queue for the loo?).Greg Ryan’s following in the bush ensured $3.00 favouritism for Intheway (6g Intergaze-Getting Ahead) and the bookies were done over once again when the pair strolled home a length and three-quarters to the good of my old mate Rocking On (NZ), a one-time promising stayer who succumbed to a wind problem. The formline was strong – Intheway was coming off a resolute ninth of 10, beaten 8.5 lengths, in a 1465m handicap at Wondai, Queensland. Just prior to that he had finished second of six in the Cup at the Wean picnics, carrying the steadier of 69.5 kgs. Wean is a speck on the road between Boggabri and Manilla, in the north-west hinterland behind Tamworth. It’s post code 2382 and, according to the census, 1,487 people inhabit the area covered by post code 2382 of which 96% are Australian born and only 8% profess to have ‘no religion’. Trainer and part-owner Gary Popp obviously doesn’t mind a trip. He trains Intheway at Warwick. Wean is just next door, 497 kms south of Warwick, but Louth is a proper drive, 870 kms south. But what the heck, Queensland fuel is cheaper. The horse obviously returned to the form which won him a $50,000 handicap at Doomben back in February. The drive home, all 870 kms of it, must seem a lot shorter when you’ve got the chocolates. Even if you've had to fill the tank with extortionate 'fuel watch' NSW gas.
Someone whispered to me that there are carnivals about to kick off in Melbourne and Sydney. I'll try and pay attention.
1 comment:
Steve
They weren't seeing double, however l reckon the crowd was closer to ten thousand! That's not including the wild goats on the back straight. I dropped mouse robinson at the Louth international airport on Sunday morning and counted 22 planes, later to be advised on the Saturday it was double that. The atomsphere was amazing ...i have done the Manangatangs, Wycheproofs and Hanging Rocks, but the special thing about Louth is that when we strolled in via Royal Hillston racetrack over 1,000 people had already made them selfs at home. On Friday another 2,000 turned up and the celebrations had already begun. After Merry Spinister got pipped on the line in the track record breaking second race it was up to Armani Black to greet the judge and doing that saw that it's previous two lasts be completely ignored. Nails Neylon had to find a security guard to attend to the 44 strong bookmakers ring and later could sit on one side of his buttocks due to the disproportinate amount of cash collected (lets hope his wife doesn't read this blog!) In summary this committee needs a medal they did a terrific job with very little help from the industry bodies....And if you think you've done it all in racing you haven't until you go to LOUTH!
Post a Comment