The Championships and Royal Randwick, carrying a controversial grandstand and an equine theatre of suspect relevance, have a hard act to follow. After all, the quality of racing at the Golden Slipper carnival was tops, and Rosehill Gardens handled Saturday’s 20,000 with a degree of comfort.
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Under Sydney Turf Club management 32,666 saw Dance Hero in 2004 win the world’s richest two-year-old race, but the golden years of attendance have gone. Perhaps the program lacked the group one George Ryder which made it amongst the best if not superior to others in Australia, but still provided a memorable day. Now the Australian Turf Club must continue the trend at the venue once termed headquarters.
Regarding recent criticism Brett de Vine, the ATC answer’s man, maintained the current membership is more than the total of the two previous clubs, the Australian Jockey Club and STC combined. To date they haven’t added appreciably to race going but that could end at Randwick on Saturday when, surely, there can be no excuses for facilities and presentation.
‘‘After almost a year of assessing the impacts of the movement of the ring from its previous position in the betting pavilion into the ground floor of the new grandstand we are pleased to report the new location and related facilities are viewed as a significant success,’’ David Dwyer, chairman of the NSW Bookmakers Co-Operative Limited wrote the ATC.
Like so many aspects of Randwick, hopefully, the once nerve centre will handle the added pressure.
Savour the expertise
Sydney racing was gifted with great riding at Rosehill on Saturday. Maybe James McDonald, 22, stole the show with a epic navigation on Mossfun in the Golden Slipper. However it couldn’t be rated superior to the efforts on Nash Rawiller and Hugh Bowman, who both had superb winning trebles. Bowman trailed blazed closer to the rail on Lucia Valentina in the Vinery with many keen judges figuring rivals had over played the advantage of getting wide on the heavy Rosehill ground.
However surfaces do improve later in the program, particularly on a warm day when sections are neglected in earlier races. Chad Schofield, too, did well on Flamberge (Sebring) with a brilliant break from the gates and withstanding the power of Nash Rawiller (Hot Snitzel) over the latter stages.
Dale calls it a day
Billy Dale, a major influence at the barriers in Sydney racing since 1966, has started his last Golden Slipper. He is on long service leave from the Australian Turf Club and the button for the acclaimed two-year-old speed test was pressed on Saturday by his assistant Lionel Walsh. It was only the second time in 37 years Dale hasn’t officiated in the top job after earlier working as a barrier attendant but he will retire shortly. Dale missed 2008 due to a vertigo attack and under Walsh the favourite, Sebring, began slowly as did the strong fancy, Mossfun, on Saturday.
Still they both won. Dale, viewing the start from afar, commented about winning jockey James McDonald: ‘‘He’s a good kid’’. Obviously others haven’t been held in the same high esteem for their barrier manners.
Salway will be missed
An book plus an video would be required to do justice to the life and times of John Salway, punter, owner of both thoroughbred and standard breds, and raconteur, who opened his turf innings as a bookmaker’s clerk. Salway died last week but left tales aplenty, so memorable because he delivered by him with a signature chuckle. Like the time he left Dubbo with a butcher, also an SP bookmaker, in hot pursuit wielding a meat cleaver. Or when he fled the United States after a coup with a pacer that offended the Mafia. Salway had a better result in a court case, with Colin Love a member of his legal team, over a mining matter in London.
After a term at St. Josephs in Sydney, Salway attended finishing school at Enngonia where he was Dux for three years. While the opposition was questionable the education gave him a passion not only for Henry Lawson but Shakespeare, words and verse he delivered with professional fluency. And he sang Irish rebel songs like an angel, in a world of characters including Wall Street Wally, Hoppy Laurie, Dick the Croc, and The Phone Tapper.
Horse to follow
Bring Me The Maid did well when third, beaten only a length and three quarters, after striking trouble for which rival jockey Tim Clark was suspended. Being very much a learner the filly will improve considerably with the experience.
Disappointing
The colts in the Golden Slipper with the first seven placings taken by fillies. The best colt was Ghibellines, beaten 6.7 lengths.