Jet Away revives memories of 1992

JET Away’s run in Saturday’s Cauflield Cup was the best run by a loser in the race since Veandercross was beaten by Manerism 21 years ago.

Boban

JET Away’s run in Saturday’s Cauflield Cup was the best run by a loser in the race since Veandercross was beaten by Manerism 21 years ago.

Shane Dye was criticised by the media, the punters and almost everybody on track except the hot dog seller for his Veandercross ride and Damien Oliver’s effort on Jet Away was no better.

To be fair to Ollie he said that his horse totally overraced and he could not hold him, but to take off three deep from the 800 metres and race clear before the home turn is not a way to win a Caulfield Cup.

I could not get onto the TAB quickly enough after the race to take the $19 on Jet Away in the Melbourne Cup even though the owners have said they are not guaranteeing a start in the big one, but will wait until after the Mackinnon Stakes before making a decision. I am willing to take the risk.

My inside tip is you might see David Hayes’ gun apprentice Chad Schofield on top when next Jet Away races.

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To those who have never met him or seen him on track Lloyd Williams might seem a Howard Hughes type recluse.

Far from it. The 73-year-old is a gentleman, who is good company and who is the best student of racing in my time.

Lloyd is living the dream by having his horses trained under his supervision on his own property and he has the necessary capital to buy the right horseflesh to target Australia’s (particularly Melbourne’s ) best races.

This Spring Seville has won The Metropolitan and Fawkner the Caulfield Cup, bait which will only make Lloyd keener to win both the Cox Plate and his fifth Melbourne Cup.

Unlike a lot of wealthy racing people, Lloyd does not just splash money on the most expensive thoroughbreds, but buys astutely and develops his horses with patience and a wizard’s knack.

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With Nash Rawiller, Damien Oliver, Glen Boss and Nick Hall all due to sit on the sidelines on Cox Plate day, suggestions to have jockey suspensions replaced by fines so we can have racing’s top players in action for racing’s big events are doing the rounds again.

Such suggestions are ridiculous and are only bowing to the boys with the most money. Everybody has to compete on a level playing field and remember jockeys get suspended because they break the rules, they ride without proper care for their fellow riders. First and foremost it is a safety issue.

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Gai Waterhouse’s continual legal fight to try and clear her name over the More Joyous affair is having the exact opposite effect and keeping her name and the whole sorry mess dragging through the mud.
Good luck to Racing’s First Lady, it is a free country and she is entitled to do as she wishes, but the legal bills must be horrendous.

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Congratulations to the ATC for attracting 16,062 to Randwick on Saturday. It was a great day’s racing and the track raced superbly.
Anthony Cummings produced the highlight with a training treble and with the win of Strike The Stars particularly impressive. The lowlight of the day was the crack three-year-old Barbed stumbling at the start of the Brian Crowley Stakes. Why does this seem to always happen to $1.60 chances and not 100/l shots?

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RUN OF THE DAY

Apart from Jet Away it was Boban. This fellow is flying.

RIDE OF THE DAY

Nick Hall on Fawkner. He was on the rails before the field left the straight and never put a foot wrong.

FORGET IT RAN

Chiaramonte is probably still in a pocket in the Caulfield Sprint. He never looked like getting out.