10. The race record is still held by Kingston Rule at 3.16.3 in 1990
9. Makybe Diva in 2005 was the last horse to win the Melbourne Cup in a time under 3 minutes and 20 seconds when she won in 3.19.79.
8. Last year's race was on a good 3 track, and won in a time of 3.20.3 by Fiorente
7. Both 2011…
10. Bart Cummings is the most successful trainer with 12 wins in the great race. He has not trained the winner since 2008 and now trains in a partnership with his grandson, James.
9. Of current jockeys, Glen Boss and Damien Oliver share the honours with three wins. Glen Boss' successes all came …
Today's SPORTSMAN newspaper highlighted the first season stallions whose first 2yo's will reach the track later this year. I read this with a great deal of concern. Concern not just for the racing industry, or breeders who are both impacted significantly, but I had great concern for the future of …
Nicks can be an important tool, but in most cases, their usage is proactive rather than reactive. Let me explain. Recently there was some talk of the apparently exceptional Redoute’s Choice x Last Tycoon nick. According to figures published by RISA who I believe use the True Nicks system, thi…
The pedigrees of the Group 1 winners should be the bread and butter of pedigree students and analysts throughout Australia. How many will actually look at these pedigrees and try to understand how, or even if, the nature of the Australian thoroughbred is changing?
Some interesting facts:
1. Eleve…
The pinnacle of horse racing are the Group 1 races. With the thoroughbred horse racing season drawing to a close in the Southern Hemisphere, all of the Group 1 races have been run. The racing season finishes on 31 July so it isn't long before we get to do it all over again.
Here are some interesting …
Race 1 at Warwick Farm sees another appearance of Good Project to the track. He is a son of Not A Single Doubt out of a mare by
Here is a piece I wrote after the first win of Rothesay a few years ago know. He was by an emerging stallion in Fastnet Rock, so I guess I got it right. It is important to us that pedigree analysis has to be grounded in reality. You need to be able to accurately predict what a horse is likely to …
On The Track
Only a few days out from the 2014 Preakness Stakes, it seems an appropriate time to remember the 2007 winner of the middle leg of the US Triple Crown. Curlin ended his final year of racing with three wins from five starts, and took his total career prizemoney to a staggering US$10 mill…
It was a little difficult with the conclusion of Sydney's big carnival to reflect on the fact that there was no Mustard. The grand old warhorse retired in 2012, so this was the first year that we haven't seen him since he started racing way back in 2001. In the modern thoroughbred world which sees …
For years now we have heard of how well the Australian thoroughbred is going. Well, certainly we have Black Caviar, but she struggled to beat the best that England has to offer at Ascot. Sure there were excuses, but there will now always be that little question mark as to how superior she is to th…
There are plenty of people who claim to offer pedigree analysis. In fact, there are plenty of computer programs that will also help you find matings for mares, and a variety of other supposed functions. What do most mean by analysis? They will come up with pedigree ratings and nicks saying that a…
We all know stories of the old characters of the Australian turf. There were rogues that were always after an edge. Sometimes these plunges and scams came off, but other times they didn't. Plenty of the stories became folklore in Australian Racing, but then again so did Ned Kelly. No one today w…
During the Spring of 1984, one horse achieved feats that still send chills down my spine. Every now and again, someone will reply the old races and the mighty Red Anchor toys with his opposition. Just how good he was we will never know as he retired to a seemingly stellar stud career. And awaitin…
I wrote the following piece at the retirement of Elvstroem. In it, I examined some lines that I thought would be most likely to be a success with one of the more high profile retirements in Australia in the last decade. It is important to look back over past successes and failures to see if we are…
Frankel's wonderful career came to a close in the Champion Stakes at Ascot. For me, it was a disappointment to see the jockey on Bullet Train manipulate the race. He clearly disadvantaged the performance of the runner up in the race, as well as giving his own mount no chance in the race. Not only…
This piece was originally written for The Sportsman at a time before Black Caviar had won her first Group 1 race. Rather prophetically, we suggested that she was perhaps headed for greatness, but the comments regarding her pedigree and dosage remain valid.
The impressive filly, Black Caviar conti…
Federico Tesio proposed a concept that the English Derby was the race that influenced the breeding of the thoroughbred. In Australia, we need little speculation as just what race it could be that dominates our breeding industry. With the remarkable current success of Redoute’s Choice, the Golden S…