MY CALL - MAKING A CASE FOR A JANUARY FIXTURE RESHUFFLE. LET'S HAVE A SUMMER MONTH AT THE COAST
By David Fowler | Tuesday, July 2, 2013
David Fowler is the principal thoroughbred caller for Radio TAB. 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.
The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast race-clubs should have metropolitan control of Saturdays during January.
Radical? Anti-Brisbane Racing Club? Not at all.
Firstly, it's not such a dramatic shift as Gold Coast already has the metropolitan status for the first two Saturdays (Magic Millions carnival) and Sunshine Coast was afforded it for this year's Summer Cup on the Australia Day weekend.
It would simply mean granting the Sunshine Coast a metropolitan meeting on the third Saturday in January.
And to appease the city folk, BRC could run provincial status meetings on each Saturday.
Presently, our summer carnival is BRC dominant in December culminating in the Magic Millions race-day.
I'd like to see a two week extension that gives the Sunshine Coast a higher profile and make it the bookend of the Queensland summer carnival.
**************************************************************************************************
Now let's extend the argument a little further.
I believe the Caloundra Cup should be shifted from its present June-July date to the last Saturday in January.
Maybe that's getting into the radical range but winter generally seems to deal the Sunshine Coast a bad hand.
This year's two-day event was disadvantaged by a heavy track and nasty weather.
Plenty will say it rains in January as well but, let's face it, the odds are a little more in their favour in the summer.
And, significantly, our summer carnival is lacking a feature middle distance event.
The only one that comes close is the Magic Million Stayers Cup at 1800m and that's a restricted race.
The glut of "Cups" post Brisbane Cup is another considering factor.
***************************************************************************************************
Thousands of tourists holiday in both centres during January so there is clearly a potential market.
The Magic Millions Carnival already has its profile up in lights but the Sunshine Coast could be afforded an excellent opportunity to promote two big Saturdays in the second half of the month with some big races on the table.
Dates are already locked in for 2014 but I think this is worth a long and hard look at for 2015.
***************************************************************************************************
Clearly there are heavy tracks and heavy tracks.
So many who flopped at the Sunshine Coast over the weekend have been nifty in the wet at other tracks.
Lennies Choice and Tressles are two that readily come to mind.
Best advice is to treat the form over the weekend exclusively to that track.
***************************************************************************************************
I've written this before and I'll write it again.
The Sunshine Coast club should give up on running the Sunday meet on the back of their Saturday feature day.
They will never attract a crowd, more so when the first day hold all the big gun races.
Sunday should be given to BRC to run a meeting at Doomben or Eagle Farm.
Until next week.
More articles
|