Hugh Bowman took us all by surprise and killed chances of Your Song charging to the lead

PARRA had more hope of winning the NRL than Your Song had of winning the Doomben 10,000 on Saturday by charging for the lead.

Doomben Races

GREATER Western Sydney had more hope of winning the AFL or Parra more hope of winning the NRL than Your Song had of winning the Doomben 10,000 on Saturday by charging for the lead.

Hugh Bowman obviously thought he would surprise everyone with his tactics but all he did was dig a grave for punters. Sure, if it had come off Bowman would have caught his rivals by surprise, but the chances of it coming off with Buffering and Rain Affair in the race were zero.

As it turned out the $3.30 favourite was out of petrol and with no feathers to fly with by the time the home turn was reached. Not surprisingly Your Song wilted to sixth while Rain Affair ran last.

In perhaps the best run of the day Buffering fought on like one of Souths' Burgess brothers to run third to Epaulette. If you backed Your Song don't miss him in the Stradbroke.

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AS if today's More Joyous inquiry is not enough to have on her mind, Gai Waterhouse would have been cheering Queenstown home at Randwick on Saturday with more than her usual gusto.

It was the First Lady's first Saturday winner since Overreach and Pierro saluted at Rosehill on Golden Slipper day, April 6.

Two horses that will make sure Gai is not in the doldrums for long are the smart Northern Meteor youngsters Cosmic Endeavour and Romantic Touch, who are both very good and who are both heading to Brisbane after dashing midweek wins.

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THERE has been some controversy over the Queenslanders changing the name of the Group 1 two-year-old race at Eagle Farm from the TJ Smith Stakes to the JJ Atkins Stakes. I think it was the smart thing to do.

Once Randwick initiated a TJ Smith Stakes at the autumn carnival it was not necessary to have two races named after the great man and, with TJ being a Sydneysider, Jim Atkins, a great trainer and a gentleman, was a worthy replacement up north.

As far as calling the new Randwick grandstand the Tommy Smith Stand, I have not found one person who does not think it is a good idea

The SCG has the Don Bradman Stand, Parramatta has the Ken Thornett Stand and Leichhardt has the Keith Barnes Stand. Naming stands after our heroes provides great memories for fans and connects them with the champions of yesteryear.

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IT must have been tempting for Chris Waller to have one more run with Saturday's Doomben winner Zoustar in the JJ Atkins Stakes, but our top trainer knows the value of patience and how to look after his horses.

The Northern Meteor colt will now have a short break and come back as a frontline contender for the Golden Rose and the Caulfield Guineas.

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NOBODY at the ATC really understands bookmakers and gambling, which is amazing considering that is where all the money comes from.

If the club understood, veteran bookie Mo Conlon, the nicest bloke to walk through the racetrack turnstiles every week, would not have been treated so shabbily and demoted from his normal betting stand after 61 years as a bookie and almost 50 years as a fixture on the Randwick rails.

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HOW do you think the Slipper winner Overreach or Saturday's Sires Produce Stakes winner Zoustar would go if they ran in the Stradbroke?

When I first came into racing, trainers would consider the Stradbroke as an option for their two-year-olds with no weight on their back and, even though I was still at school, I remember the filly Wiggle winning the big Queensland sprint.

Even in later years horses like Time And Tide and Baguette won open sprints as two-year-olds before running in the Golden Slipper, but now all horses seem to stick in their own age groups.