MY CALL - ABSOLUTE BOLTERS CAN STILL GET UP

By David Fowler | Tuesday, October 4, 2011

David Fowler is the principal thoroughbred caller for Radio TAB, taking the position upon Wayne Wilson's retirement last August. David, who is a keen form student and punter, has enjoyed a lifetime involvement in the racing media. His personal blog, ‘My Call’, appears exclusively on HRO.

Picking a winner is not an easy task in our racing lives.

There is a broad spectrum that goes from the good thing to the hard to beat proposition … to the one you gave a chance to but "couldn't afford to put them all in" … to the one that couldn't possibly win.

Carn fell into the last category, but won!

When Carn beat your regular Class 6 type field on Saturday it prompted me to mention in the call he couldn't run a place at Ipswich last start.

That was eight days before in a Class 1.

Now whether that remark prompted his trainer Doug Johnson to say in a post race interview … trackside and in Sunday's press … that he gave the horse a good chance, backed it and those who thought otherwise weren't doing the form, I just had to go to the video file.

So a quick synopsis of the Ipswich run for those who didn't see it … settled eighth, one wide, slightly inconvenienced at the 500m, again at the home turn and again at the 100m, but no run on beaten 5.3 lengths in a Class 1.

Even Doug seemed to temper his enthusiasm in a subsequent stewards’ inquiry when he said he was disappointed with that Ipswich run, but was adamant that he had experienced little luck in runs before that.

Good luck to Doug I say. It's the glorious uncertainty of racing and those sort of results restores the faith in the hobby trainer that they can come to the big smoke and knock off the city slickers.

I'll stick fast to my belief that Carn landed in the last category in the pre-race analysis.

But Doug is the one laughing all the way to the bank and Davey boy is left to look at an Ipswich video!

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It was a mixed bag for Eagle Farm investors with Night Escort, Looped and Whispering Gap also causing levels of surprise while Strip Show, Prost and Falino were reasonably popular results.

The Strip Show / Prost double for Patinack gave us a clear indication the Queensland leg of the nationwide operation means business this season, aiming up to Rob Heathcote with fourteen wins apiece on the metropolitan trainers front.

This rivalry is a great sidebar to the weekly city action on Wednesdays and Saturdays and even though it's early days, the Brisbane Racing Club should run with it.

Punters will appreciate any marketing dash the BRC forwards to promote this duel because they love in-form stables simply because they provide plenty of winners.

We see TABS and corporate bookmakers betting regularly on jockeys challenges. Why can't we extend it to the trainers?

Their keen rivalry also puts Jim Byrne, and to a lesser degree Tim Bell, in a box seat position to challenge Chris Munce for riding honors this season.

Particularly Byrne who rides for both stables.

While the spotlight is firmly inter-state in the spring, it's good to see this type of
competitiveness spark up Brisbane racing.

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The D. Fowler stable wagon of spring stars has only one wheel left.

With Green Moon bypassing the Metropolitan, Moment Of Change going for a spell and Scarlett Lady out injured, we can only hope Atlantic Jewel can get the cash in the Thousand Guineas.

Hope you jumped on at around the $5.50 mark. I know there is no such thing as a certainty, but you're looking pretty sweet with eight days to go.

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In betting on a different front, Labor Governments, federally and state, are not looking as sweet.

I've discovered over the years polls and opinions are one thing, but go to the pre-post markets on election results and their strike rates in picking winners are dynamite.

It spells bad news for state Labor with an LNP victory priced at $1.20 and the Coalition are tipped to win on the Federal front at $1.28.

Labor politicians are generally not racing inclined, but if they are they should be told that Carn won at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Absolute bolters can still get up!

Until next week.

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