Greetings All
The AFL season is run and done with much consternation about the future of the Swans after another Grand Final shellacking. Not many, including me saw it coming but the concerns about their forwards in previous weeks came to fruition. They have a few more issues to deal with, however historically they are not a club that makes rash, knee jerk decisions. As for the Champs, they were decimated by injury through the season, but the replacements proved more than adequate. To think there is another Ashcroft on the way, however the retirement of Joe Daniher will be a big hole to plug.
On the Road Again,
It’s not Europe, but an event in Sydney on the weekend sees us taking the south coast route to get there. We kicked off with the long haul all the way to Eden with a brief lunch stop in Bairnsdale arriving in the late afternoon. There are not many dining options on a Monday Night (or Tuesday) so it was off to the pub. Hotel Australasia is a magnificent building completed in 1904. It fell into disrepair and plans for demolition and redevelopment were in place until the locals rebelled ultimately saving the building. It has been beautifully renovated back to its past glory and well worth a visit. The kitchen is still a work in progress, however the bucket of prawns we shared were so fresh with the briny tase of sea held in.
We were spending a couple of nights here so filling day two was a project. The long walk in the morning took us along Asling’s Beach and up to the point that splits Twofold Bay. We had forgotten some of the hills of Europe – a couple of the hills of Eden reminded us. A stop into the information centre had us booking a whale watching cruise in the afternoon. It even came with a “Whale Guarantee” where we got another cruise free if we didn’t see any. We boarded Bubbles at 2:45 and within 30 minutes the guarantee was delivered. We spent the next couple of hours chasing and watching these magnificent animals on their annual migration The town was built on the whaling industry and they do not shy away from that history. Nowadays whales still provide plenty of business for the town. This night we dined at the other pub The Great Southern Inn, more your typical beer barn with a “could be cleaner” front bar and large bistro out the back. After a couple of dinners and lunch we were fully aware of the cost of dining and drinking here compared to Europe.
It was off to Mollymook for the next couple of days with a couple of little detours on the way. The first was to North of Eden, which was true to the name and just north of Bega. Ruby greeted us on arrival at a farm that does gin! They are a small producer with a range of London Dry Gins, plus a vodka and limoncello for us to try. A distinctive feature of their gin is that all the ingredients are local including the Juniper, it is usually imported however someone has started growing around Cooma. Their signature gin is the Oyster Shell gin where the spirit vapour goes through a chamber of oyster shell in the process. Everything we tasted was very good, but choices had to be made so we only bought a couple.
We then had a lunch date at the Bermagui Beach Hotel. A magnificent setting, while all the tables on the front deck were full we must have been the only booking as they placed us inside. We moved to a bench on the veranda and view of the beach and enjoyed some beautiful Tuna dishes before heading to Mollymook. The drive down Golf Avenue opens up a view along Mollymook Beach. A long beach where at the time the waves were clean and perfect although not large. A quick walk along the beach had find that water temperature was not quite Mediterranean but more than comfortable.
Unable to get a booking at Bannisters by the Sea for a couple of weeks, so we got one at their other option the Rooftop at Bannister’s Pavillion. We chose to have a few share plates which were all beautifully presented the standout being the raw tuna and Europe has changed my view on anchovies! We were please to enjoy a bottle of Gala Estate Riesling – a vineyard we visited with the Great Sage and his bride on a previous visit to Tasmania. The splendid Macadamia Parfait topped off a great meal. Golf was booked for Day 2. Mollymook Golf Club has two course the original Beachfront course is a short nine hole course and their major clubhouse site. Hilltop is the 18 hole course not too far up the hill but aptly described. The course is magnificent, quite hilly, set in bushland with generous fairways and challenging greens. Would love to come back and do a bit better next time, and if you’re a golfer going through this area more than worth a stop. While all that was going on Susannah pounded out a 7.5km walk around the town finding a very handy coffee van (Little Swell) by the beach and found the Lagom bread that had been recommended to us by the team at Bannister’s. She then headed to Ulladulla for lunch supplies and found fresh prawns at the wharf.
With the easterly picking up plans for a lazy afternoon on the beach were in disarray, so a lazy afternoon not on the beach ensued before heading across the road to the Mollymook Golf Club for dinner. A typical big NSW club but with so much better views! The next day we did a big morning walk around Bannister Head before brunch at the Golf Club and on the road to Sydney.
Susannah was keen to go via the Sea Cliff Bridge which should have been a bit out of the way, however we took the Grand Pacific Drive route. There were certainly a few grand portions of the drive but some not so grand and extended our drive a bit more than desired. Did arrive in Sydney in time for G&T!
Track Time
One of the best days of racing across Melbourne and Sydney will see a number of contenders for the classics on show. The Turnbull Stakes highlights the card at headquarters however the undercard is full of quality, while at Randwick there are three group 1 races up for grabs.
Flemington
The opener is a beauty with Moby Dick (R1, #5) coming up pretty short, Wolfy (R1, #10) chased him home last start, meets him 3kg better and Zahra stays on. Reckon he presents as better value. It takes a keen Gambler (R2, #1) to bet on the babies in their first outing so better to have lunch break. The boys are on trial for The Derby in the Super impose, Lavalier (R3, #4) was well supported last start and could well be up to this. Declichy Boulevard(R4, #4) was terrific last start and should relish the extra 200m. The Danehill is a beauty for the 3YOs testing themselves out for the Coolmore, hard to go past the undefeated Reserve Bank (R5, #7) especially given the outside draw down the straight. With such an open race in the 6th happy to go with the unknown Royal Champion (R6, #1) in his first start in Australia, the others have known convictions.
Race 7 – The Bart Cummings (G3, 2500m, HCP)
The Bart kicks off the quaddie and gets G1 treatment with the winner getting a ticket into the Melbourne Cup. With that incentive we have a very good renewal of the race with a full field plus four emergencies, not many results would shock. Manzoice (13) has only won two races but one of them was the Derby over this trip he gets here 3rd up with the Magic Man on board. Berkshire Breeze (16) has been going well in races over this journey, gets in on the minimum weight and is well drawn. Probably would have rated St George (14) on top but for the horror draw while Point King (6) also rates highly but already has a ticket after winning The Archer so not sure how desperate the Freedman team will be here – especially with the potential for a penalty. Go as wide as possible in the Quaddie!
Selections – 13-16-14-6
Race 8 – Turnbull Stakes (G1, 2000m, SWP)
A D-Day race for plenty of these – do they continue their cups campaign or is the Cox Plate on the agenda? Always a great contest this year without a standout favourite. Going with the known performer over this journey in Atishu (7) loves Flemington, great 2000m record, not Waller’s top seed but how often do his 2nd or 3rd stringers pop up in big races. Place du Carrousel (12) didn’t run to expectations last start if we giver her a mulligan there then she must be a chance here. Can’t ignore the performance of Buckaroo (3) in the Underwood a repeat of that probably wins this and if we are giving out mulligans then Via Sistina (4) is deserving after chasing a couple of rippers in the Makybe Diva. An important race to watch and dissect for the classics over the next few weeks.
Selections – 7-12-3-4
The Gilgai down the straight is a ripping field despite the contention from the Premiere in Sydney, something we just need to get used to. Going with Johnny Rocker (R9, #12) who almost beat Imperatriz in the Autumn and gets the outside barrier here. We close out on Skybird (R10, #4) has to overcome a tough draw but has so much ability.
Quaddie
Leg 1 – 6, 8, 13, 14, 16
Leg 2 – 3, 4, 5, 7, 12
Leg 3 – 4, 10, 12, 14
Leg 4 – 4, 6, 8
300 Combinations, $30 investment returns 10% of the dividend.
Go The Man
Cheers, Sal
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