MY CALL - COASTAL VENUES SHOULD RULE IN SUMMER

By David Fowler | Tuesday, December 31, 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.

January should be a city-free zone for racing in this state.

And the sooner … read 2015 … the better.

If someone had suggested I would be writing this a couple of years ago I would have laughed them off the track. I've been a great stickler for "there must be a city meeting every Saturday" line.

But I've done a 360 degree turn with good evidence to back up the claim.

For starters, we are half way there with Gold Coast conducting two metropolitan meetings on the first and second Saturdays as their Magic Millions carnival.

It's acknowledged as a roaring success world-wide. Locked in and there to stay.

But it's worth remembering that MM day is for MM graduates so some city class runners are denied a day to race.

Why can't Sunshine Coast take the mantle as the metropolitan racing provider for Saturday's 3 and 4 in January.

Their Sunshine Coast Cup card already has metropolitan status so we are basically talking about a shift of one Saturday.

But clear the midweeks as well. Spread the four Wednesdays around. Use that brand spanking new track in Toowomba a workout. Try a Wednesday at Beaudesert or Kilcoy.

The Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are thriving holiday spots in January so there is a potential market for increased attendances.

And, let's face it, Brisbane Racing Club doesn't welcome the Janaury dates with open arms, basically scaling down the on-course operation to suit the tiny attendances. It's a sensible business decision.

A month's break could also be used valuably to address wear and tear issues at both the Eagle Farm and Doomben tracks.

So off with the suits and on with the boardies.

Over to you Neville Bell. Your thoughts?

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Some of our older readers will know the names of Les "Jungle" Green and "Micky" Dolan.

Racecourse regulars for years but at the top of their trade with "Jungle" as a track clocker and "Micky" as a price assessor after many years as a bookie.
Their expertise was used to advantage in the Courier Mail formguides for a long time at a modest cost.

Both have got the chop, joining a long line of contributors, I might add ,and not just in racing.

I have never run a business so I'm not going to wage a war with Newscorp only to say the racing coverage will be poorer without their input.

And that is the bottom line.

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Nathan Exelby is the lone ranger, so to speak, at the Courier Mail nowadays.

He might get lonely if the ghosts of the past racing rooms came to life.

How times have changed since four or five of us would head to Bundamba (read Ipswich kids) or even far flung joints like Gatton or Beaudesert for Wednesday racing.

One would write the story, one would type the race details, one would be the price assessor and one would compile the form sheets for future guides. This was pre-AAP services.

And that was only the Courier-Mail team. There'd be one or two from The Telegraph and the Daily Sun in the press box.

Racing staff also wrote their own comment and assessed the prices.

Hard work, yes. Lot more fun than today, no doubt!

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I was having trouble getting excited about the Magic Millions and the adrenalin isn't flowing any faster after Saturday.

Bruce McLaclan winner Unencumbered is a more than capable juvenile who will run the MM favourite, largely due to an opposition not boasting quality and now quantity.

I will give beaten favourite Oakleigh Girl a pass mark. She was "gassed" in a 34.3 first 600m so to be beaten only two lengths was creditable.

Her odds are longer but I'm not selling her out altogether.

And I'm disregarding the Invisble race in Sydney and the mail is Melbourne winner Chivalry is not coming.

So it might be Unencumbered by default.

A week's a long time in racing so who knows what the picture will be next week.

Until then.

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