BROWNIES'S BLOG: SPINE-TINGLING BIG RACE ACTION AND SOME CONTROVERSY MADE RIVETING VIEWING

By Damian Browne | Wednesday, March 4, 2020

In last week’s blog I highlighted the feast of racing that was about to be delivered by the southern states and boy did that prediction prove to be spot on.

Saturday’s racing, both in Melbourne and Sydney, was quite outstanding. It really was terrific … and if that’s what’s coming up over the coming months, again, we have plenty to look forward to.

Alligator Blood’s win in the Australian Guineas was an obvious highlight from a Queenslander’s point of view.

Again, you have got to wonder how could that not take something out of him. It was an effort and a half with that $200 chance taking him on early. I thought that might have softened him up but to kick at the furlong and put them away like that … that was pretty impressive.

It does seem that Alligator Blood has pulled up well. David Vandyke put out a release earlier this week confirming that Alligator Blood has, subsequent to his latest run, had X-rays of the feet, knees, and fetlocks. It was all good. David added that his coat is good. He is eating well and that he did some ridden work and his track rider said his action felt normal.

Some mild soreness was identified in the hind muscles but David considered that to normal coming off the back of such a hard run at the elite level. David concluded by saying, ‘We will treat him during this week with his regular practitioners (chiropractors, physios etc) and we are confident to have him in pristine condition for the All-Star Mile.'

Geez, imagine if I was looked after that well!

Joking aside, that is obviously great news for the ever-increasing number of Alligator Blood fans and it looks like another big day awaits on March 14.
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The events of the last couple of days just shows you how quickly things turnaround in racing.

Prior to the Australian Guineas, David Vandyke was putting Alligator Blood’s participation in the All-Star Mile on notice. It would depend on how he pulled up after the Australian Guineas.

At that stage that would have been music to the ears of the connections of Catalyst … yet now we Alligator Blood with a tentative ‘all-clear’ for the All-Star Mile while Catalyst is on his way home for a spell after pulling up sore after the Australian Guineas.

Sadly, Soul Patch, another runner who looked to have an exciting future in front of him after finishing third in the Australian Guineas, suffered a tendon injury in the running and he will now be retired.
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While the Queenslander struck gold, so too did the New Zealand brigade in the form of Te Akau Shark and Probabeel who gave Jamie Richards and Opie Bosson a Group 1 winning double at Randwick.

It just goes to show how good those two horses are. They were both probably in positions early on where they could have had excuses if they had been beaten … but both got out of it and won impressively.

I ride with Jamie’s father so I’ve known Jamie for a long time. It was good to see him doing so well. You know, if I closed my eyes and didn’t look at the screen when he was being interviewed, you could think it was Peter Snowden talking. He talks that well and has such a knowledge of his horses. That’s quite unbelievable for someone so young.

And Opie, well, Opie can ride anywhere in the world and be competitive. He’s that good.

I guess the Te Akau team of David Ellis and Jamie Richards are the Chris Waller’s of New Zealand racing, but still, to have the arsenal they have got there … and remember Melody Belle is there waiting in the wings … it’s pretty impressive!

Let’s not forget that a Western Australian horse, Fabergino, also scored Flemington, making it a really good day for the interstate raiders.
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The Glen Boss riding incident on Cascadian in the Liverpool City Cup in which he tried to force his way out wider on the track and, in so doing, turned James McDonald’s mount Imaging sideways in a very scary and dangerous fashion, has been a big talking point.

It’s about as bad as I’ve seen.

I watched it live and I thought to myself, did he just really do that? I had to go back and watch it again. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think anybody could.

What a lot of people haven’t really taken notice of is that Bossy was very, very lucky that he had probably one of the most balanced riders in the world outside of him in James McDonald. I’m not trying to put anybody else down, but, if an inferior rider was involved, it could well have knocked them straight off the horse.

Bossy has gone out there, purposely trying to get out when it was really a no-go zone. It’s not like the horse has shied away from something or anything like that.

Like I say, that is probably as dangerous I have seen. It brings to mind what happened that time Adelaide when a rider cut across the entire field on purpose. He admitted he did wrong and he got a big stretch … so the debate will remain about whether Boss faced the correct charge in careless riding, or whether it should have been reckless, and whether his initial period of suspension should have applied and not have been amended to his advantage by allowing him to ride on Golden Slipper day.

There are so many different degrees of interference and I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of how stewards make their decisions or under what rule a penalty period may be varied. It is what it is and racing enthusiasts out there will all have their own individual opinions on the matter.

By the way, the repercussions of such incidents often have a roll-on effect. For example, a post-race vet exam of Imaging, who lost all chance of victory when being pummelled by Cascadian, found the horse to be 2/5 lame in the near hindleg with the trainer being advised that a veterinary clearance would be required prior to Imaging barrier trialling or racing again
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That translates into a very costly exercise all around because I don’t think Bossy will be writing them a cheque for the vet bill!
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Finally, just a word on jockey Michael Walker who made it back to back Group 1 winning weekends with his win aboard Sherwood Forest in the New Zealand Derby for trainer Tony Pike on Saturday.

I did say to him after he won the Blue Diamond last week that he only needs to win one more and we could compare our two winners together … but, in all seriousness, it wasn’t that long ago that Michael was reassessing his position after some tough times.

He is just such a talented rider so it was so good to see him doing so well.

His ride in the New Zealand Derby was a peach and the next day he was on his way to Wangaratta so he didn’t have much time to celebrate.

That’s the nature of the game, from the successful to the battlers, and it underlines just how relentless this industry is and explains how it can sometimes take its toll on even the most battle-hardened of characters.

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