Racehorse TALK

Here's a question:

Will we see Shoot Out, Rock Classic, and Faint Perfume clash at all in the spring? Or will their programs be such that they keep missing each other for different distances or, in FP's case, mares races.

Or different states?

Surely that puts a line through the Melbourne Cup, But it brings the Cox Plate right into calculations provided they do not burn him out before hand.

When Kingston Town won his sprint races on resumption did he beat anybetter fields than what Shoot Out just beat ?

Crikey, is he a jockey or a Governor-General?

 

For mine there is only one race to aim for, the Big one on the first Tuesday in November, he will only get one chance at it, next year he can come back for a crack at the Cox Plate if he wants to ala Might and Power, you can't do it the other way around,
No Doubt M&P could have won the Cox Plate as a 4 year old and won it again as a 5 year old but ask Nick Moraitis  if he would rather have the Melbourne Cup or 2 Cox Plates! Might and Power is a lot more famous for winning at Flemington than he is for winning the Cox Plate! I would bet David Haines would have swapped all 3 Cox Plates won by Kingston Town if he could have that 1982 Melbourne Cup on his mantlepiece!

Why does he need to aim at anything in particular. He gets options of multiple G1s in the spring.

Its called dreaming and most owners and trainers would be dreaming of a Melbourne Cup.

Can't win a Melbourne Cup as an afterthought, you have to train them for it, you may be able to pickup plenty along the way but if you do not aim to peak for the 2 miles you may as well stay home! you can win a Cox Plate on Class being 95% fit, not a Melbourne Cup if you are too far over the top when you get there!

On what basis do you say this as fact, of the 149 Melbourne Cups has their never been a horse win it as an after thought ?

And JWH might be able to confirm this but I believe Light Fingers was less than 95% fit ?

Authorised saying Light Fingers was 95% fit (and by the way she was an outstanding champion probably one of the greatest if niot the greatest mare of all time) makes a great story, they had problems leading into the Cup but she came good and was ready for it o the day, as for your question it is very hard to prove the negative, like if I say I have Fairies at the bottom of my garden, how can you prove I haven't?
It is a much harder race to win than a Cox Plate, horses Like Tulloch, Tobin Bronze, Phar Lap etc could win a Cox Plate 50% fit probably straight out of a Paddock! obviously I am using a bit of Poetic Licence there but you get my drift at equal weights if you are a Champion you can because your Class will win it for you, in a Melbourne Cup over 2 miles at Handicap Conditions you have to be able to stay, if you are not at your Top even Class will not help you, tell me a horse that has won a Cup on Class alone? can't remember a winner that wasn't set for the race! even Mayke Diva's last attempt she was trained for it and run in the Cox Plate on a Cup prep, she was right at her top for the Cox Plate, if that had have taken a toll she would not have started in the Cup, she took no harm and was trained for the Cup there was no reason not to run