Just thought I'd provide a little info on the Valley track for those who might take a look at, or take a small flyer on the Cox Plate on Saturday. It's one hell of a race track. The last thing that can be said about the course, is that it's a wide open place to race. For those brought up on UK racing where quite often a track is an expansive chunk of land, Mooney Valley can be a bit of a shock to those who first lay eyes on the place. The circumference is a mere 1805m and it possesses a straight of just 173m. This means that the starting gates of G1 $3,000,000 race are placed in front of the grandstand in the home straight. This has the effect of putting the cat among the pigeons, the moment they're let free. There is only a run of about 150m before they swing out of the straight. Those drawn wide will have to be stoked up early, dragged back, or run the risk of being punted wide early on. The track is essentially a box shape. Once out the straight, they only have another 400m before they hit the corner that takes them down the back straight. The back straight is only about 300m. Half way down this part of the course is the 1000m pole, a point at where those back in the field will start to feel the heat. As they begin to move forward, others in front will be flushed out. The thousand is where the Cox Plate really gets underway. They'll then swing down the side which will deliver them to the run for home. That side run is just under 400m. As they pelt down that part of the course, all hell will have broken loose. The leader group will probably have sorted themselves out by the time they reach the final bend. Probably before they reach that point, they'll be three and four deep, and all flat to the boards. One or two will probably turn for home looking to steal the race, if those chasing are any more than a couple of lengths away, they'll be in big trouble. A practiced eye will see that at about the 600, the race will race come down to no more than maybe four chance. Those reading the above could be forgiven for believing that the 2040m W.S. Cox Plate is a race that more than likely falls into the hands of a fast miler, but nothing could be further from the truth. Most winners turn out to have stamina on their side. A good number of winners do well over a mile and a half or longer. The nature of the way the race will be run, means that a long sustained run home will sort the wheat from the chaff. If I can get off my backside, I might be able to post a rough guide to the race.
Cheers Cyc- love reading about Australian racing, especially this time of year. With regards to the Melbourne Cup, do you know where I can see an up to date list in ballot order? I had a link the other day showing my outside fancy- STIPULATE- in 26th. However I cannot find the link now and any other lists I have seen list him down around 54 or worse Any help will be greatly appreciated
Toppy. As of yesterday. 1 ADMIRE RAKTI (JPN) Tomoyuki Umeda 58.5kg 0.5kg 2 SILENT ACHIEVER (NZ) Roger James 56.5kg 3 GREEN MOON (IRE) Robert Hickmott 57kg 4 FAWKNER Robert Hickmott 57kg 5 RED CADEAUX (GB) Ed Dunlop 57kg 6 CAVALRYMAN (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor 57kg 7 THE OFFER (IRE) Gai Waterhous 56.5kg 8 DANDINO (GB) Marco Bott 56.5kg 9 PROTECTIONIST (GER) Andreas Wohle 56.5kg 10 SEA MOON (GB) Robert Hickmott 56.5kg 11 MY AMBIVALENT (IRE) Roger Varian 54.5kg 12 LUCIA VALENTINA (NZ) Kris Lees 53kg 13 KIRRAMOSA (NZ) John Sargent 53kg 14 HAWKSPUR Chris Waller 56kg 15 SEISMOS (IRE) Marco Botti 56kg 16 ROYAL DIAMOND (IRE) Johnny Murtagh 55.5kg 17 JUNOOB (GB) Chris Waller 55.5kg 1.5kg 18 SERTORIUS Jamie Edwards & Bruce Elkington 55kg 19 WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (NZ) Chris Waller 55kg 0.5kg 20 ZANBAGH Patrick Payne 52kg 21 MUTUAL REGARD (IRE) Johnny Murtagh 55kg 22 GATEWOOD (GB) John Gosden 55kg 23 WILLING FOE (USA) Saeed Bin Suroor 55kg 24 PRECEDENCE (NZ) Bart & James Cummings 54.5kg 25 SANGSTER (NZ) Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young 54kg 26 BLACK TYCOON Darren Weir 54kg 27 BRAMBLES (NZ) Peter G Moody 54kg 28 MR O’CEIRIN (NZ) Ciaron Maher 54kg 29 OPINION (IRE) Chris Waller 53.5kg 30 LIDARI (FR) Peter G Moody 53.5kg 31 AU REVOIR (IRE) Andre Fabre 53.5kg 32 SLOW PACE (USA) Kris Lees 53.5kg 33 ARALDO (GB) Michael Moroney 53kg 34 UNCHAIN MY HEART David Hayes & Tom Dabernig 51.5kg 35 SHOREHAM Saab Hasan 35 53kg 36 PINSTRIPE LANE (NZ) Leon & Troy Corstens 51.5kg 37 LA AMISTAD Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes 51.5kg 38 BIG MEMORY (FR) Tony McEvoy 52.5kg 2.0kg 39 LORD VAN PERCY (GB) Andrew Balding 52.5kg 40 NOBLE PROTECTOR (GB) Robert Smerdon 51kg 41 MORE THAN SACRED Robert Smerdon 50.5kg 42 LET’S MAKE ADEAL Nigel Blackiston 50.5kg 43 BRIGANTIN (USA) Chris Waller 51.5kg 44 CELTIC PRINCE (NZ) Bjorn Baker 51kg 45 CARAVAN ROLLS ON (GB) Danny O’Brien 51kg 46 RENEW (IRE) Archie Alexander 50.5kg 47 MARKSMANSHIP (IRE) Ciaron Maher 50.5kg 48 WISH COME TRUE (IRE) Peter G Moody 50.5kg 49 LIKE A CAROUSEL Ken Keys 50kg 50 OMINOUS (GB) Nigel Blackiston 50kg 51 SIGNOFF (IRE) Darren Weir 50kg 52 WALTZING TO WIN David Huxtable 50kg 53 AMRALAH (IRE) Robert Hickmott 54.5kg 54 ETHIOPIA Pat Carey 54.5kg 55 STIPULATE (GB) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig 54kg 56 CONTRIBUTER (IRE) John O’Shea 53.5kg 57 BONFIRE (GB) Gai Waterhouse 53kg 58 LE ROI (GER) Tony McEvoy 52.5kg 59 MASKED MARVEL (GB) Robert Hickmott 52.5kg 60 GRIS CARO (GB) Jake Stephens 52kg 1.5kg 61 GALLATIN John O’Shea 50.5kg 62 AKAVOROUN Ciaron Maher 51kg 63 ANCIENT KING (IRE) Peter G Moody 50.5kg 64 PRINCE OF PENZANCE (NZ) Darren Weir 50.5kg 65 ALI VITAL (NZ) Robbie Laing 50kg 66 DON DOREMO (NZ) Robbie Laing 50kg 67 GOLDONI (IRE) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig 50kg 68 KHALID (GB) Paul Perry 50kg 69 PRETTY BLONDE Kym Healy 50kg 70 QUAYSIDE Peter G Moody 50kg 71 THUNDERBIRD ONE (NZ) Francis Finnegan 50kg
Not looking good at the moment mate. Am just about to hit the sheets, but will have a decent look tomorrow.
