Greetings to all, However, perhaps not such a joyous September after the tragic and untimely death of John McCarthy, a young life taken and a reminder of how precious our time is. But the footy machine continues to roll on with Carlton unveiling the worst kept secret in history. When will clubs stop putting up [Read more]
Crio’s racing
September 13, 2012 by 62 Comments
The John F. Feehan Stakes was always a chance to see how WFA middle distance horses handled the nuances of the Moonee Valley track and thus became a point of reference en route to the W. S. Cox Plate. Historically this timeline also fitted. “Feehan’s Farm”, on which the first race meetings were held in [Read more]
Crio’s racing
September 6, 2012 by 49 Comments
The marketing campaign may have changed but the quality of racing at Flemington in the spring remains the same. Crio gives his first tips of the season.
Crio’s racing: The 1st of September, 2012
August 31, 2012 by 24 Comments
“Wiser afterwards.” A stock answer to Monday’s Q: “How did you end up at the races?” I lacked conviction last week and failed to cash in on good hunches. It was nothing ventured, nothing gained. Also, I guess, no bet = no loss. We’ll be wiser again this Sunday after reviewing the Caulfield and Rosehill [Read more]
Crio’s Racing: The last Saturday of Winter
August 24, 2012 by 25 Comments
Crio’s excited. Spring is around the corner and he can’t wait to decipher the form. Plenty of tasty tips for this weekend’s racing too.
Crio’s racing
August 17, 2012 by 5 Comments
Monday’s reports of trials in Sydney by Spring hopefuls including More Joyous and Rain Affair whetted the appetite for good horses and racing. The curve seemed upwards – that afternoon, Commanding Jewel (sister of the champ..) swept to her maiden win and declared for a Classics campaign…..on Tuesday the much-loved Hissing Sid continued the feel-good [Read more]
Crio’s racing
August 9, 2012 by 6 Comments
Flemington’s been humdrum and bloody freezing these past few months. We’ve raced there at too many mediocre occasions with other courses unusable. And we front again this Saturday. Excitingly, the next visit down Racecourse Road will then be on September 8 when Spring taste buds will be whetted on the old Craiglee Stakes Day. It’s [Read more]
Crio’s racing
August 3, 2012 by 9 Comments
Mick Stumbles has a great Aussie name and is an NT icon. After coming to Darwin originally to train greyhounds, Stumbles found himself at the microphone at Fannie Bay and has been an integral part of the Racing Club and its Carnival since 1971. He announced recently that he will hang up the binoculars after [Read more]
Racing
July 26, 2012 by 18 Comments
There’s still room for sentiment in our multi-billion dollar “Industry” and sometimes it presents in the most humble of places – like at Pakenham on Tuesday , where the Grandson of Jim Moloney (Vain) rode his first winner and the Grand-daughter of Jim Houlihan achieved her maiden training success. The “new generation” will compete in [Read more]
Crio’s racing
July 20, 2012 by 5 Comments
After a surprisingly good meeting at The Heath last week – and a rare winning trip down Dandy Rd for bookies – it is back to HQ for a fairly typical winter card this Saturday, with competitive fields and hopefully an improving track. As has now been the case for several weeks, the Nolen/Newitt battle [Read more]
crio’s Racing
July 6, 2012 by 4 Comments
It’s Flemington Finals’ Day this weekend, seemingly a peculiar designation in the depths of winter, but the VRC hosts the culmination of a series of races which inject great prizemoney and opportunity in to the Victorian industry “off-season” – this Saturday alone, they race for $760,000 in stakes and $120k in bonuses! Naturally, then, the [Read more]
Royal Ascot Tour Diaries – Day 5 – Fifty Shades of Salmon and Black
July 5, 2012 by 17 Comments
It’s a description not generally afforded to my own derrière. “Magnificent black rump”. But Black Caviar and I do share other common ground. Caulfield is our home track. We reside on the Frankston line. Mordialloc beach hosts our water-based activities – where admittedly Nelly has me covered in mid-Winter (as does Tom Hafey, incidentally). Today, [Read more]
Crio’s racing
June 28, 2012 by 6 Comments
What an odd week! People at the coffee shop asking if you’d watched “The Race”. A remarkable level of interest in Black Caviar’s Ascot dramas. Luke Nolen returned to ride the first winner at a lowkey Caulfield on Wednesday and says he has moved on, but his ride last weekend has become the talking point. [Read more]
What sport does to us
June 27, 2012 by 1 Comment
I love sport for the emotions and reactions it evokes in us. Like many others, I watched Black Caviar’s heart-stopping win early Sunday morning from my lounge room. It was too cold for Fed Square. Television is best when you can actually feel the tension coming through the screen. This was definitely the case from [Read more]
Royal Ascot Tour Diaries – Day 1 – Frank, Joe and the Guv
June 22, 2012 by 31 Comments
London. 4am. The sun already streams. Australian trainers would love fart-of-sparrow track-work in such early brilliant light. My own body clock is either still rooted, or the excitement of Royal Ascot opening day, and particularly Frankel, has me doing form and absorbing video previews and tips at this ungodly hour. It’s like Christmas morning [Read more]
racing “Royally”
June 21, 2012 by 12 Comments
We’re back to being a Colonial outpost this week as, undeniably and rightly, all racing eyes are fixed on the “Royal Meeting” at Ascot. The first race of the week will take some beating. Frankel’s 11 length win on Tuesday was breathtaking. What acceleration! As emphatic a performance as has been seen on this big [Read more]
Crio’s racing: International success (without the nauseous Nationalism)
June 15, 2012 by 11 Comments
Before the media mayo drowns my positivism –Black Caviar will trigger hyperbolic headlines of a “British invasion” by “our swimmers/cyclists/brave Aussies” at the Olympics!-I’ll take this chance to give due acclaim to Australia’s proud place on racing’s International stage. No nauseous Nationalism required here. For all the historical rhetoric of our country growing on the [Read more]
Corowa races; Queens Birthday, Saturday
June 12, 2012 by 2 Comments
For the third time this year Maryanne and I headed up the Hume to attend the Corowa races. As we know this weekend coincides with a famous Queen’s birthday, so we were in a festive mood. How would we fare? On the January 28 meet I doubled my return, but on Cup day, during the [Read more]
Right Royal Racing
June 7, 2012 by 24 Comments
It’s been a Right Royal Week wherever you look – even in the racing columns! Appropriately, then, I’ll follow the theme and look at Triple Crowns, at our Queen of Turf heading to The Diamond Jubilee Stakes and finally at Queensland’s best race day of the year, the Straddy/Derby/Cup extravaganza. The fabled AmericanTriple Crown deserves [Read more]
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