06/04/16
As advised on Monday my IT people have done a terrific job to get the websites back up and running after they were down for three days following hacking, so everything is back to normal – until next time – and in this caper, hackers are only potentially a heartbeat away. In any event, unless we got diagnosed with terminal cancer five minutes ago any other problem we encounter along the path of life can pretty much be overcome, so here’s the story that was supposed to go up last Thursday, which I thought website clients may like to reflect on as Doncaster and Derby day loomed. Too much work went into preparing it to just delete it. For starters that wouldn’t be fair on the wonderful elderly man who kept all these historical books and got in contact with me via a high profile thoroughbred racing person to see if I’d like them.
With the mare Winx installed as an odds-on favourite for the Group 1 Doncaster Handicap next Saturday at Randwick, I thought it would be a good idea today to go back and review the results of the female that won the Cox Plate and the Doncaster in her lifetime – Sunline.
In fact Sunline was so good that she won two Doncasters – firstly in 1999 and secondly three years later in 2002. Sunline also won two consecutive Cox Plates in 1999 and the Year 2000 then in 2001 when going for three Cox Plates in a row, she was second across the line behind Northerly before protesting unsuccessfully against him.
So as at today, it’s fair to say that Sunline’s racetrack achievements would play Winx off the break, but if Winx could win the Doncaster Saturday, then win another Cox Plate before her retirement, she wouldn’t be far off being able to be talked about in the same breath as the mighty Sunline.
So I went back to my Australian Race Results book for the 1999 Doncaster, which Sunline won as a 3YO filly and the results of the day are listed below. In the case of the two Group 1 features run on the day – the Doncaster and Australian Derby – I’ve also put the full run on list.
The track rating on Doncaster day 1999 was noted as being “slow for Races 1 to 3, then upgraded to dead for Races 4 to 8” which helps explain why some of the times look slow.
The results of Doncaster day 1999 read:
R
RACE NAME/TIME/MARGINS
HORSE/JOCKEY/TRAINER
WT
PLACE
SP
1
Listed Carbine Club
1600 metres
Le Zagaletta – D. Oliver –
Lee Freedman
54.5
1
5/2F
1.36.02- 1.25 lengths x ¾ length
Belquatro – S. Treweek
52.5
2
15/1
Prizemoney $60,000
Mithrandir – C. Brown
53.0
3
16/1
2
Gr 3 Fernhill H/cap
1600 metres
Whistler – L.Beasley –
Clarry Conners
53.5
1
3/1
1.39.01 – short head x 2 lengths
Vintage Morn – C. Brown
52.5
2
14/1
Prizemoney $100,000
Tributes – L. Cassidy
52.0
3
11/1
3
Listed P.J. Bell
1200 metres
Wynciti- D. Beasley -Ron Quinton
58.0
1
15/8F
1.11.20 – 1.75 lengths x short head
Express Odds – C. Carmody
52.0
2
33/1
Prizemoney $60,000
She Wishes – J. Cassidy
56.0
3
6/1
4
Flying Welter
1400 metres
Beauchamp – K. Moses –
Gai Waterhouse
54.0
1
5/2F
1.24.17 – short head x ¾ length
Bombast – L. Cassidy
54.5
2
12/1
Prizemoney $45,000
Joss Sticks – R.M. Quinn
61.0
3
8/1
5
Gr 1 Australian Derby
2400 metres
Sky Heights – G. Boss –
Colin Alderson
55.5
1
3/1
2.32.85 – 1 length x long neck
Arena – L. Cassidy
55.5
2
13/4
Prizemoney $1,200,000
Grand Archway – B. York
54.0
3
9/1
Dignity Dancer – J. Cassidy
55.5
4
11/8F
Able Master – G. Hall
55.5
5
160/1
Lawyer – R.S. Dye
55.5
6
15/2
El Duce – P. Taylor
55.5
7
60/1
6
Gr 3 Adrian Knox
2000 metres
Starry Way – B. York –
Jack Denham
54.5
1
2/1F
2.05.39 – 4 lengths x 1.5 lengths
Carmelina – L. Beasley
52.0
2
20/1
Prizemoney $100,000
La Moulin- C. Carmody
52.0
3
20/1
7
Group 1 Doncaster
1600 metres
Sunline – L. Cassidy –
Trevor McKee
52.0
1
10/9F
1.36.45 – 1.75 lengths x neck
Lease – D. McLellan
49.5
2
16/1
Prizemoney $1,000,000
Juggler – G. Boss
57.0
3
14/1
Adam – K. Moses
51.5
4
20/1
Iron Horse – J. Powell
55.5
5
50/1
Bonanova – E. Wilkinson
49.5
6
50/1
Rustic Dream – D. Nikolic
54.0
7
10/1
Al Mansour – B. York
54.0
8
66/1
Referral – C. Brown
52.5
9
11/2
Dracula – G. Childs
54.0
10
16/1
Mossman – R.S. Dye
53.0
11
12/1
Foxwood – V. Colgan
54.0
12
40/1
Catalan Opening – J. Cassidy
58.0
13
20/1
Zerpour – L. Currie
49.5
14
50/1
Dodge – G. Hall
55.5
15
80/1
Anthems – R. Quinn
53.0
16
60/1
Mr Innocent – L.Dittman
50.5
17
25/1
Morphy – L.Beasley
49.5
18
30/1
Jade Tights – C. Montague
48.0
19
250/1
Palia – N. Harris
51.5
20
125/1
8
Gr 3 Chairman’s
2600 metres
Steel Phoenix – B. York – John Size
52.5
1
7/2
2.48.21
Lahar – C. Brown
54.0
2
5/1
Prizemoney $100,000
For The Moment – L. Cassidy
53.0
3
9/2
Interestingly in this Doncaster of 1999 that Sunline won as a 3YO carrying 52 kilos, the limit weight was noted in Australian Race Results as being 47kgs.
On Doncaster day 1999 only eight races were run, whereas in 2016 there are 10 races programmed, one of which is what I’d call a silly Country Championships race worth $388,000. Why is it “silly”? Well in my opinion it’s an absolute disgrace that country jockeys can ride these horse to win in the bush then some big name jockey rides the horse when it comes to town. It is my considered opinion that if Racing New South Wales want to go out of their way to truly showcase country racing, then the only way that can happen is if the country and provincial horses and trainers all come to town and have a jockey on their horse who is not a regular rider every Saturday in Sydney metropolitan meetings. The jockey that rides the horse in the final at Randwick should be a jockey that either 1) rode the horse last start if he or she is not a normal metropolitan Saturday city jockey, or a jockey that has ridden the horse at some point in say its last five starts. By doing it that way the provincial or country jockeys also get a turn at winning some decent pay day once a year. Whilst I accept that a big name jockey didn’t win the race last year, that was probably more arse than class, and no other scenario except that would ever be allowed to unfold if my suggestion was invoked. How would 40-kilo bundle of joy, Betty Bloggs, from the backblocks of a bush town, feel after she’d ridden a horse to victory to get it into the Final, then some multi-millionaire jockey who rides for the biggest stables in the country suddenly climbs on and wins enough from his share of the prizemoney to go on a world trip with his or her family? And in any event, imagine how proud little Betty would feel walking Radish out on to the track on a huge day at Randwick in front of 20,000 or 30,000 people. Has anyone in authority actually thought that It would give her something to aspire to during the rest of her career? Do racing administrators actually think all these things through? Obviously not.
Another feature of the day is how prizemoney has grown in the 17 years between 1999 and 2016. The Doncaster has gone from being worth $1million back in 1999 to being worth $3million in 2016. The Australian Derby was worth $1.2million in 1999, which was in fact $200,000 more than the Doncaster in that particular year, but it has only grown to be $2million in 2016, whereas the Doncaster for some reason has become $3million. Both the Carbine Club and the P. J. Bell have gone from being worth $60,000 in 1999 to $200,000 in 2016. And the $100,000 Chairman’s Handicap in 1999 is now worth $300,000. So interestingly all those aforesaid five named races are worth at least three times as much today, as opposed to what they were worth in 1999, except for the Derby which hasn’t even doubled in value – so that’s strange – but I guess if “they” can’t conclude that country and provincial jockeys should ride “Country Championships Final” acceptors then anything is possible.
In other breaking racing industry news, Denis Smith who is the Secretary of the Marburg Pacing Association, has advised that the President, Steve Towns, has “announced his retirement citing personal and health problems”.