by Mark Makybe Freeman
Savage bashing. Pilloried on the punt. Barted, Barted, Barted again (thanks P. Flynn for the handy new verb).
Got the Plate completely wrong. The 3-year-olds I labelled ‘mediocre’ quinellaed the event. Whobe, Heart not good enough. Not even big El. Utter wipeout.
Sid also very poor, perhaps has had enough this campaign. Another complete debacle.
Looking forward to some analysis of the wreck Crio, Budge and lads, but I can’t quite look at it again yet.
What was the blackest day on the punt for many years was relieved a little with the win of Lady Lynette in the last. It got Gears’ Northcote syndicate a small slice of the quaddie (Onya Maureen).
With young William Geary’s late grandmother sharing the Lady’s name, she must have reached down to grab the tail of the second horse, ensuring her son and grandson, both card-carrying members of the Whobe fan club, didn’t finish the day with long faces.
Daff’s Cash: $100 in black, off to headquarters.
Makybe,
Sorry to hear about your punting woes.
At the very last minute before they jumped in the Plate, I remembered a piece of advice that emanated from a deep reflection while staring out to Bass Strait the previous Saturday.
Don’t get Barted.
Hence I saved on Bart after backing Whobe.
Really impressed with El Segundo and Zipping. Reliable perennials.
I had 5 out of the first 6 in a trifecta but was bloused by Gai.
Not a huge fan of the quality of middle distance wfa horses at the minute.
Very impressed with So You Think however.
Loved The Cat and looking forward to the Derby next week.
I think I will be on Rockferry.
Kidnapped should win the Carbine Club.
Makybe,
I too was Barted. All the facts pointed to the fact that no horse could win a Cox Plate at its 5th start. Bart overrides such obvious “facts” again.
No collects this week though was in large syndicate that got a few tris and the quaddy so didn’t leave the course completely bereft.
Can’t look back – onwards to Derby Day (with a detour to Bendigo mid-week).
The perennial Efficient leg injury rumours have started again.
Bart’s sage comment that he gave no ‘instructions’ to the pilot helped to alleviate scrutiny over the significant change of tactics. I thought that such changes of tactics needed to be forewarded to the Stipes. Note that I am a huge fan of the rule. Non-Bart trainers would have been put under the microscope.
My feeling is that on this count Bart has Barted us all again.
It flew the barrier like Rollick.
So You Think could start in a weak Mackinnon.
Correction to comment 3.
Note that I am not a huge fan of the rule.
Peter in terms of Barted-ness, So You Think’s win could be the greatest of them all. I thought Viewed’s Melb Cup win last year was unpickable (last in the Mackinnon on the Sat, best form rain-affected ground), but this one!
– No horse ever won Cox Plate at fifth start
– Had no jump-and-run form, had only ever taken a sit (eg Gloaming)
– Previous start had flopped out of the barriers when soundly beaten in Caulfield Guineas.
You woud’ve been considered mad pre-race if you’d said: “I reckon So You Think will run to the lead, take them along at a very good clip, kick away again on the turn to win by two while running nearly a race record.”
Only Bart could have pulled all that together. I’ll certainly be keeping him safe in the Melb Cup, but of course the horse has certainly already bolted.
Because I picked So You Think to win, does this mean that I have not been barted but that I have in fact barted the bookies?(where’s Benny Hill when you need him).
What would be the Latin for this? – bartum, bartus, barta.
Dips,
You have indeed Barted the bookies.
Congrats.
Bart can certainly be used as a weapon of financial destruction.
Flynnie – I also backed Viewed to win last year’s Melb Cup but I didn’t tell anyone lest they think I was gloating or something !!
(Plenty of losses in between too).
lol
Dips,
Does lol stand for ‘lots of losses’ in this case?
You seem to have a good relationship with Bart.
I refuse to be Barted in this year’s Cup.
Dips,
Clearly you have eschewed the use of a form guide in making these selections. Your successes may well point to the futility of following form, a futility that has been underscored by the results of the feature races so far this spring.
Re the state of the track last Saturday – given the reports from jockeys and trainers of sore horses, I think we can finally say that all the StrathAyr has now dissolved from the Moonee Valley surface, as has been hinted at by the little guys in recent months.
With the hot weather leading up to Derby Day, we could be in for a rock-hard road.
Makybe – one thing I learned on the pro running circuit some years back – never believe the “trial” form of any runner close to a big race.
Bart can’t help himself, he loves the odds.