MY CALL - FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING THE CHAMPIONSHIPS PROVIDE AN UNDERWHELMING RESULT
By David Fowler | Tuesday, April 14, 2015
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 second running of The Championships provided an underwhelming result.
The Victorians have nothing to fear. The Championships provided quality racing but its appeal is modest to say the least.
The spin was out of the barriers quickly when only 11,000 rolled in for the rescheduled Easter Monday meeting and most were prepared to allow them some slack.
But a figure of only 24,000 for last Saturday's card even had the spinmeisters scratching their heads. This couldn't be explained away.
Let's put that figure into perspective.
With a far smaller marketing budget and available resources, Stradbroke day usually reaches a benchmark figure of around 20,000.
And Brisbane doesn't have the population of Sydney.
I imagine there'll be some ordinary bottom lines on several fronts once the bean counters get to work this week.
Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club made a lot of promises to get the state government onside and the dollars thrown at this would have been an enormous spend.
They have delivered - for the second year running - a moderate result.
Imagine if the Victoria Racing Club had to return a 24,000 figure during any day of the November Spring Carnival.
Sydney has to stop thinking it can match Melbourne. Never has and never will.
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I couldn't believe Tony Gollan had never prepared a Saturday treble in his brief but impressive training career.
So his quartet of winners last Saturday catapults him to 63 city winners with three and a half months of the season remaining.
He will easily win his second metropolitan trainers' title and is just as good a thing to beat Bruce McLachlan's 78 win record set in the late eighties.
While Gollan is in the no betting zone, the jockeys title is starting to shape as a strong contest.
Luke Tarrant is holding a five win lead but is being doggedly pursued by Jim Byrne.
But trebles for Tim Bell (41) and Tegan Harrison (39) at the weekend now put them in realistic challenging positions.
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While I've been a critic of RQ's decision making processes in tracks and race dates, let's not beat ourselves up too much.
It's worth pointing out, they still can't get Kensington right in Sydney and Sandown in Melbourne is now a point of concern with meetings being shifted elsewhere.
Fingers crossed the return to the Toowoomba course proper works well this weekend and the sensible rest of Ipswich this month sees its problems solved.
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An old chestnut was raised when untrialled first stater La Dolce Vita won at the Gold Coast last Saturday.
Depending on what story you believe, La Dolce Vita landed some good bets for her connections. Good luck to them!
But up went the cry from some that all horses should trial publicly before racing.
What garbage!
Who do these people think they are, demanding what should be to suit their selfish needs?
There is no rule to say a punter has to bet on every race so their argument actually has no base.
And they are almost putting themselves in a "desperado" bracket by implying they do indeed bet on every race.
Let's leave some mystique in racing.
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