FROM MY PERSPECTIVE - UNDERFOOT CONDITIONS ALREADY A BIG PLAYER IN THE CARNIVAL

By Michael Cahill | Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Five-time Group 1 winning jockey Michael Cahill is the latest addition to the HRO blogging stable. Apart from Australia, Michael has ridden in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea and Mauritius. He brings thirty-three years of race riding experience to the game and with this greater all-around experience Michael is superbly qualified to give insightful commentary on the racing scene. Michael’s personal blog, ‘From my perspective’ will appear every Wednesday on HRO.

Well, we’re right into the Brisbane carnival now. Not the flashiest start at Eagle Farm with the conditions spoiling the party to a significant extent but we, as riders ,had to play the hand we were dealt … as hard as that was to do at times in those circumstances.

I was fortunate enough to kick off the Brisbane Carnival with a winner, Benny’s Buttons, in the first race on the card.

I hadn’t been on his back since I won the Vo Rogue on him just before I went to Mauritius. He won the Vo Rogue on Boxing Day 2010.

It was great to be reunited with the horse in winning circumstances.

Benny Buttons had been off for two years. He was tackling 1000m. I didn’t really know what to expect but, when I saw him in the enclosure, my confidence increased a bit. He looked very good for a horse coming back after two years.

Kelso Wood was reasonably up-beat about him. He said he thought it went particularly well in a jump-out and that’s pretty much how he raced.

It was obviously a great training feat, as it would be with any horse after two years off.

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Benny’s Buttons was my only success on the day.

I did have a ride in the Group 1 BTC Cup aboard the Tony Gollan trained Spirit Of Boom. You can just put a line through that form. You wouldn’t get any guide at all from that run. It was just too wet for him and, of course, some of the others.

From a rider’s point of view, if you raced midfield or worse, you had to have three sets of goggles for most of the day.

The track deteriorated rapidly as has been well documented and it is a major concern.

It wasn’t good racing conditions at all. Even horses that normally can get through the wet … some of those weren’t going through it at their best.

The problem though, in essence, is the rate of deterioration … the way that track deteriorates.

I haven’t seen a track deteriorate as quickly as Eagle Farm does. It just deteriorates so quickly when there is rain on the day.

Hopefully we won’t get another day like that … particularly through the carnival.

It would be a shame to see conditions adversely affect another big race-day.

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Looking forward to Saturday … it’s good to have a ride in the Doomben Cup, a race I haven't won as yet.

The closest I have finished is third twice, once on Natural Blitz and the other time on a NZ mare whose name escapes me.

Obviously this will be my first ride on Fibrillation.

She ran second in the JRA Trophy at her most recent appearance. It was run on a heavy track and it looks like any rain will increase her chances.

She is under the care of a top trainer in Tim Martin and I am looking forward to riding her.

With the visitors now here in force (the Doomben Cup field doesn’t have a local runner) rides, in general, are becoming a touch more difficult to secure.

I was originally going to ride Transporter in the Doomben Cup, but we missed the acceptances deadline with him which was unfortunate.

Transporter is now in the Lord Mayor’s Cup. He is going well. He seems to have come on since his run at the coast.

I rode him in work on Tuesday and he worked very well … although he needs firm ground. He can get through the soft or slow track but he is better on top of the ground.

He likes Doomben. He’ll give a good account of himself again.

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I was also due to ride Peron for the Patinack stable on Saturday … but she is the fourth emergency in the Fred Best Classic.

We thought she would get into the race.

She is probably the best horse I’ve been riding coming into the carnival … potentially the best. It’s hard to see her getting a run now.

If the track remains rain affected there might be scratchings, but I don’t think that will really help her.

She is not the best on rain affected tracks. The only time she has been defeated was on a rain affected track.

If it had to be a Heavy 10 … that it is probably the only way she would have a chance of making the final field and I would doubt she would even accept in those conditions.

Put it this way, if she was in last week she wouldn’t have run.

So I have to accept that she will probably be a non-starter.

Again that’s unfortunate, particularly as I was offered the ride on one of Peter Snowden’s runners who has got a good chance in it too.

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I do have a ride for another visiting trainer in the last race on the card this Saturday … that’s Hot Snitzel for Gerald Ryan in the BRC Sprint.

Hot Snitzel is obviously a classy horse when he is on song. You got to catch him on his day, I think.

He flopped at the Gold Coast in the Prime Minister’s Cup, but his run before that was very good.

It’s a matter if he is competitive on the day. He is certainly right in the race if he is at his best.

Catalonia is my ride in the Group 3 Roses.

She has been going well. Her run was ok at the Gold Coast in the Bracelet and the start before that was good when she was narrowly beaten by Fantisha.

I like her. I’ve ridden her twice for two wins. She likes to get back a bit and switch off.

She’s a chance.

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Can’t say I won’t be fresh on Saturday.

I had five rides at the Gold Coast today. Four of them were scratched so it was early closing for me.

Hopefully I’ll be right back in the middle of the action on Saturday.

Till next week,

Michael.

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