1887 was the first edition of Railway Stakes in Ascot Western Australia. It is named after the railway line that went from Bayswater Station to Ascot Racecourse.
I would like to see one group of championship races for Australia that travels round state estate every year. It would give every racing club something to look forward to.
NZ "almost" won a Golden Slipper in '95 when Our Maizcay was only beaten about a length into 4th after drawing gate 16/16 by Flying Spur and Octagonal, while Strategic ran 5th, which was ironic because he then went on a sequence of 6 consecutive wins, when he resumed he beat STRATEGIC in the San Domenico, then beat FLYING SPUR in the Up And Coming, then beat OCTAGONAL in the Roman Consul Proving he probably should have won the Slipper, on his way to winning the Ascot Vale, The Vic Health Cup(Now the Rupert Clark) and the Caulfield Guineas,. not many better sprinters came out of NZED
You have it arse about, Handicaps should be the main attraction, Handicaps are like movies with with Stallone, Big Arnie, John Wayne etc, WFA is like movies with Laurence Olivier in them, which one puts more bums on seats? WFA is for the purists and I love WFA but it's like Shakespeare, only purists will pay for a seat and there are very few of them, WFA races but they are almost always won by the Wallers, the Mahers, the Godoplghins etc, you do not get fairy tale stories like Knight's choice coming out of WFA races, nothing personal but who cares if Waller wins another 10 Group Ones by Christmas? What they should do is reduce all prize money for WFA and set weight races and increase it exponentially for Handicaps....Phar Lap, Tulloch and all the champs ran in the Cox Plate but it wasn't even the biggest race ON THE DAY when they did, The Monee Valley Cup was the main attraction, Phar Lap won many WFA races including Cox Plates but what is he famous for? Carbine won many WFA races but what is he famous for? Tulloch won a Cox Plate but what is he famous for? Toibin Broinze won a couple of Cox Plates but who cares? he carried the Grandstand to win a Doncaster and a Caulfield Cup? most people don't even know he won a Cox Plate(2) not even his ardent fans, Handicaps give every one a chance (and a hope) of winning, WFA races only go to the MEGA rich, that is what is the problem, they have Killed Romance of the Turf Stone dead all Of the above champions and there were many more still ran in the WFA races but they also ran in the Handicaps, by increasing prize money in WFA races you do not increase the class, all you do is reduce the class in Handicaps, huge money should be hard to win, huge money should not just be handed to the best horses for track gallops, I have very little doubt that Winx could have done what Verry Eleegant did and win Caulfield Cups and Melbourne Cups but there was no temptation, if the Cox Plate was worth $500,000 and the Melbourne Cup worth $10mill maybe things would be different, the only horse that has got my respect as a hero in the last 40 years has been Makybe Diva, because she never ran away from a fight, Winx was a Champion but so what, that is like saying she was a good soldier, Makybe Diva was a HERO, that is the difference, WFA racer produce champions but Handicaps produce Heroes and heroes and Romance put racing on the front and back pages of all the major papers, people want to read stories about the Robbie Dolans and Knight's Choice because people OUTSIDE of racing want to read a good story, no one outside racing want to know that JMac has ridden his 100th Group One winner, they don't even relate to what a Group One is, Racing people live in a bubble and all decisions are made from inside a bubble, even the big races that they think attracts a "Younger crowd" they are NOT racing fans, they come for the party and most are drunks who chase racing lovers away I hate movies with Romance in them but I understand why it's there, if they took Romance out of movies they would not make money and if they didn't make money they wouldn't make movies and I would not have a movie to watch so just be careful what you wish for, We had the best racing with the biggest crowds and we followed England and America where racing is either dead or the Sport of Kings, don't kid yourself, the Melbourne Cup no longer stops the nation, no one outside racing cares anymore, it's just another race
You two blokes are genuinely funny.
I need to buy into a waller horse🐎
1887 was the first edition of Railway Stakes in Ascot Western Australia. It is named after the railway line that went from Bayswater Station to Ascot Racecourse.
I would like to see one group of championship races for Australia that travels round state estate every year. It would give every racing club something to look forward to.
But Cheltenham jumps not flat total different
NZ "almost" won a Golden Slipper in '95 when Our Maizcay was only beaten about a length into 4th after drawing gate 16/16 by Flying Spur and Octagonal, while Strategic ran 5th, which was ironic because he then went on a sequence of 6 consecutive wins, when he resumed he beat STRATEGIC in the San Domenico, then beat FLYING SPUR in the Up And Coming, then beat OCTAGONAL in the Roman Consul Proving he probably should have won the Slipper, on his way to winning the Ascot Vale, The Vic Health Cup(Now the Rupert Clark) and the Caulfield Guineas,. not many better sprinters came out of NZED
You have it arse about, Handicaps should be the main attraction, Handicaps are like movies with with Stallone, Big Arnie, John Wayne etc, WFA is like movies with Laurence Olivier in them, which one puts more bums on seats? WFA is for the purists and I love WFA but it's like Shakespeare, only purists will pay for a seat and there are very few of them, WFA races but they are almost always won by the Wallers, the Mahers, the Godoplghins etc, you do not get fairy tale stories like Knight's choice coming out of WFA races, nothing personal but who cares if Waller wins another 10 Group Ones by Christmas?
What they should do is reduce all prize money for WFA and set weight races and increase it exponentially for Handicaps....Phar Lap, Tulloch and all the champs ran in the Cox Plate but it wasn't even the biggest race ON THE DAY when they did, The Monee Valley Cup was the main attraction, Phar Lap won many WFA races including Cox Plates but what is he famous for? Carbine won many WFA races but what is he famous for? Tulloch won a Cox Plate but what is he famous for? Toibin Broinze won a couple of Cox Plates but who cares? he carried the Grandstand to win a Doncaster and a Caulfield Cup? most people don't even know he won a Cox Plate(2) not even his ardent fans, Handicaps give every one a chance (and a hope) of winning, WFA races only go to the MEGA rich, that is what is the problem, they have Killed Romance of the Turf Stone dead
all Of the above champions and there were many more still ran in the WFA races but they also ran in the Handicaps, by increasing prize money in WFA races you do not increase the class, all you do is reduce the class in Handicaps, huge money should be hard to win, huge money should not just be handed to the best horses for track gallops, I have very little doubt that Winx could have done what Verry Eleegant did and win Caulfield Cups and Melbourne Cups but there was no temptation, if the Cox Plate was worth $500,000 and the Melbourne Cup worth $10mill maybe things would be different, the only horse that has got my respect as a hero in the last 40 years has been Makybe Diva, because she never ran away from a fight, Winx was a Champion but so what, that is like saying she was a good soldier, Makybe Diva was a HERO, that is the difference, WFA racer produce champions but Handicaps produce Heroes and heroes and Romance put racing on the front and back pages of all the major papers, people want to read stories about the Robbie Dolans and Knight's Choice because people OUTSIDE of racing want to read a good story, no one outside racing want to know that JMac has ridden his 100th Group One winner, they don't even relate to what a Group One is,
Racing people live in a bubble and all decisions are made from inside a bubble, even the big races that they think attracts a "Younger crowd" they are NOT racing fans, they come for the party and most are drunks who chase racing lovers away
I hate movies with Romance in them but I understand why it's there, if they took Romance out of movies they would not make money and if they didn't make money they wouldn't make movies and I would not have a movie to watch so just be careful what you wish for,
We had the best racing with the biggest crowds and we followed England and America where racing is either dead or the Sport of Kings, don't kid yourself, the Melbourne Cup no longer stops the nation, no one outside racing cares anymore, it's just another race
Ahuriri must be the bet of the weekend dropping from R94 to 70. Konasana not far behind particularly if any rain about.