While Jameka was impressive on Saturday I'm doubting she can test Winx at 2000m but it could be tougher at 2400m while I'm really at a loss to understand how can stewards possibly quantify excessive whip use.
Photo: Steve Hart
WINX TOO GOOD AT 2000M BUT COULD JAMEKA TEST AT 2400M?
There's no doubt Jameka is a super mare and her win on Saturday showed just how good she is when out to her optimum distance but is she capable of coming back in distance and testing Winx in the Queen Elizabeth?
Obviously we'll know more come the big day on April 8 but the facts and figures point to a distinct advantage for Winx at the 2000m of the $4m race while it could be interesting if they ever clash over the Classic distance of 2400m.
Jameka has an impeccable record at 2400m winning the Caulfield Cup and BMW and also the 2500m Crown Oaks but at 2000m she's certainly more vulnerable, unlike the champ.
Her five starts at the shorter distance have seen Jameka record a couple of wins in the AAMI Vase as a three-year-old and the Naturalism Stakes enroute to the Caulfield Cup while she has been placed three times.
Winx has only raced beyond 2000m twice for a win in the 2200m Queensland Oaks and her last ever defat when second in the 2015 ATC Oaks.
HOW CAN YOU QUANTIFY EXCESSIVE WHIP USE?
In perusing the lengthy Stewards Report from Rosehill on Saturday one glaring thing struck me, how can stewards determine whether a specific number of excess whacks with the persuader makes a quantifiable difference?
Ben Melham was dragged before stewards for his overuse of the whip aboard Assign in the Neville Selwood Stakes with stewards reporting they were not satisfied 15 strikes with the whip by Melham before the 100m (10 more than allowed) had given the winner an advantage hence they, the stewards did not proceed with lodging a formal objection.
In the Golden Slipper Ben Melham struck She Will Reign 10 times prior to the 100m and copped a $1000 fine.
Stewards noted Melham's poor record with regard to whip offences and whacked him with a two weeks suspension and a $2000 fine for his gross indiscretion aboard Assign.
Later in the meeting Hugh Bowman copped a $1000 fine for 10 strikes before the 100m aboard another winner, Zanbagh in the Emancipation Stakes with the same explanation from stewards in they couldn't be satisfied the winner had gained an advantage.
Question I have is this; How can Stewards quantify any advantage gained through excess strikes of the whip? Does one strike equate to 1cm, or 5cm, or nothing? The extras may help some horses but not others, how does anybody know?
THE GOLDEN RUN COMES TO A SORRY END
It was a tragic end to Charlie Appleby's love affair with Australian racing when The Gold Trail broke down and had to be euthanised after his courageous fourth behind Tally in Saturday's Mornington Cup.
Prior to that race the Appleby camp had provided 10 runners to step out in Australia for five wins plus a Caulfield Cup second with Scottish, Geelong Cup third and Melbourne Cup fourth.
The weekend didn't get any better for the Appleby campe with three of his four runners at the Dubai World Cup meeting finishing out of the placings while Comicas was second in the Golden Shaheen.
HAPPY TO COP THE CRITICISM, BUT DON'T YOU GET IT?
I had to laugh at a few of the posts to my criticism of Sky Central on Slipper day and what I deemed to be a disgracefully amateur performance by the team delivering the product to punters.
There were some who said I had an axe to grind with Sky and others who suggested I was stuck in the dark ages as all I had to do was jump on an app to get the Slipper result. Even more ridiculous was the suggestion I should have been watching Sky Channel 1 and taken in every other race around the world just to get the Slipper result.
Sorry to those guys who reckon I was out of line but I don't think you get it.
Firstly I've got no axe to grind with Sky at all, what I'm agitating for is the best possible service for the punter who pays to put the show on. That's not too much to ask for is it? If any of you are satisfied with the mediocrity of coverage we endured on Slipper day then that's your choice.
But what about telling me I should have gone to an app to get the Slipper result, are you serious?
If you're watching the AFL Grand Final on Seven do you go to the AFL app to see the score or who booted a goal? Get real!
And by the way those who reckon I'm on my high horse regarding the Sky Central service to punters, I put the stop watch on again after Saturday's BMW, the feature race at Rosehill and guess what? It got worse!
Jameka crossed the line and the placings were cut and dried with Humidor and Exospheric filling the placings and well done to those pushing the buttons, it took just 17 seconds before the win and place dividends were posted.
Five minutes later we are off to Doomben but sorry to say no sign of the exotics.
After Doomben we get the usual contractually obligated interviews and blah blah blah and the full set of dividends are posted, including the exotics, then it's off to Newcastle and the talking heads. The race is run there and the full set of dividends displayed.
But still no Rosehill!
Eventually it's back to the Hill and time for the pre-race for the Group 1 Vinery.
In the end those who run the show didn't even think the Group 1 exotics were worthy of being shown on the Sky Central coverage at all so we stayed in the dark.
Just one suggestion, if you can't show the full set of dividends because of other interstate and intrastate obligations, why can't a pull-through be run across the bottom of the screen?
P.S – During all of this waiting for a full set of BMW divs Sky Central found it easy enough to run a countdown clock in the top right hand corner pointing to The Championships … in six days time.
P.P.S – I didn't even have a bet on the race so there was no need for, as some suggested I go elsewhere to get the dividends. I simply did the exercise for my fellow punters!
IS THERE ANY STOPPING MAGIC MAN MOREIRA?
Is there any stopping the magic man Joao Moreira? Early Sunday morning (AEDT) he was winning the Dubai Turf aboard Vivlos then just over 12 hours later he was back riding at Shatin.
There was no time to celebrate the Dubai victory and it was straight from the Meydan track to the airport for a nine hour flight home to Hong Kong and off to the races.
His first ride at Shatin was a winner and he finished the day with a double, or is that a treble.
DUBAI WORLD CUP WINNER A FREAK
While Australian race followers are marvelling at the feats of champion mare Winx you couldn't help but look on in astonishment at the performance of American champion Arrogate in winning the Dubai Cup World Cup over the weekend.
The superstar was sluggish to begin in the 2000m event at Meydan and then copped the best short-back-and-sides you've ever seen when belted out of the early running by those drawn either side before settling last in the 14-horse field.
Even trainer Bob Baffett admitted he thought the horse couldn't win after his early misadventure but win he did in emphatic fashion, working his way around the outside before charging clear with 100m to go.
While Arrogate still has a long way to go before he catches Winx 16-straight wins the four-year-old chalked up his seventh straight on the weekend and in doing so took his prizemoney to an unbelievable $US17m ($AU23m).
The incredible part of the Arrogate story is that less than 12 months ago, on April 17, 2016 he opened his career in a lowly 1200m Los Alamitos maiden and was beaten a length into third place.
He then won his maiden at Santa Anita before winning a couple of moderate affairs at Santa Anita and Del Mar and then big time beckoned. His past four starts have resulted in Group 1 wins in the $US1m Travers Stakes, $US6m Breeders Cup, $US12m Pegasus World Cup and the $US10m Dubai World Cup. All you can say is wow!
Incredibly Arrogate hasn't actually turned four yet. He was foaled on April 11, 2013.
Click here to watch the win.
U.S TRAINER FILTHY AFTER GODOLPHIN MILE
I watched the Dubai coverage with interest and the opening event, the Godolphin Mile resulted in one of the bluntest interviews you'd ever hear from a trainer.
The top class US miler Sharp Azteca was behind the leaders when the field got going but jockey Edgard Zayas took a right hander to get up outside the speed and sat four deep for a good part of a frantically run race.
On straightening those to his inside collapsed and Sharp Azteca dashed clear and looked all over a winner before not surprisingly weakening over the last 100m.
To say trainer Jorge Navarro was ropeable would be an understatement and he didn't hide it; "The jockey cost me the race. The horse breaks bad, he moves up wide I knew I was in trouble, enough's enough".
He' a big bloke Navarro and you felt if he could have got his hands around Zayas the young Puerto Rican hoop would have been in deep trouble.
Check out the ride HERE
THREE CHEERS FOR BALLARAT TURF CLUB
Finally we've got a race club in Victoria who have found a way to deliver the jump outs along with riders so it's three cheers to the Ballarat Turf Club who are leading the way in front of their millionaire counterparts in the city.
Due to some real collaboration between trainers and the club we can now view the Ballarat jump outs with colours and also catch which hoop is riding which horse.
While there's still a way to go before they deliver the perfect product at least the team at Ballarat get it and are doing their best to provide a vital tool for those analysing the form.
When you consider the number of Darren Weir trained galloper working at Ballarat, and the fact we have little or no trial form from the stable this is a tremendous boon for punters.
As an example of what we can now view the Weir stable had no less than 55 horses jump out in the 12 heats at Ballarat on Thursday and those running around included the likes of Thermal Current, Sooboog and Newmarket runner-up Voodoo Lad.
You've just got to keep asking the question, why can't they do it in town?
I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WAS THE SAME MAGIC
West Aussie sprinter Rock Magic turned in a real eye-catcher in the William Reid on Friday night running the fastest sectionals of the race as he powered home for fourth behind Silent Edition but his performance had me turning to reflection.
I had to check again was this the same Rock Magic who three years earlier, when trained by Paul Messsara had finished his Sydney career with a fifth in a Canterbury midweeker and a third in a Bm75 at Scone. A few runs earlier he'd actually run last at Randwick in a Bm80.
Those Benchmark races weren't without some quality though as Terravista won the Randwick event and he's a Group 1 performer while Big Money, who beat Rock Magic at Scone has become a three times Group 3 winner.
Rock Magic's rejuvenation in Perth over the past three years has now seen the seven-year-old record eight wins and as many placings from 25 starts since joining Chris Gangemi and judging by his outstanding effort on Friday the gelding may well find another win back on the east coast.
FOLLOW ME
Odeon has resumed as a gelding and he's two-for-two after an impressive win in the Mornington Guineas on Saturday.
The Ellerton-Zahra trained three-year-old has always shown plenty of ability and Saturday showed he's now ready to deliver on a bigger stage.
Indications are he'll be heading to the South Australian Derby on May 13 and I'm happy to stick with the son of Zacinto all the way through after the way he charged through the line under Jamie Mott.
FORGET ME
Star Turn is a very smart horse but I've put the forget on him at 1200m. On Friday night he was brave when third behind Silent Sedition in the William Reid but it's that last 50m which seems to find him out.
The William Reid was his sixth start at 1200m and the sixth time he has been beaten. Sure there have been placings in the Coolmore, Newmarket and William Reid but he just doesn't savage the line at the distance.
At 1100m his record reads four starts for three wins and narrow second to Flying Artie in the Blue Diamond Prelude.
Something off the record? stephen.brassel@racenet.com.au
