GALLOPERS VIEWS

8.10.11 The Punt, What An Extraordinary Ride

Caulfield Guineas day promised plenty, delivered even more.

Gallopers has tickets to Warwick Cup Day, our local race track's biggest day of the year. At 5am this morning a massive storm hit the area & dumped a multitude of rain on the track & for the second successive year, the Cup meeting was abandoned. Not to worry, Caulfield Guineas Day & a few winners will make up for that disappointment.

Along comes Black Caviar. We were almost in tears as she crossed the line to equal the mighty Phar Laps successive winning streak of 14 consecutive victories. What a champ, we can go to bed happy tonight.

Next in line was the Caulfield Stakes where saw a magnificent front running ride by Hash Rawiller to get last years Caulfield Cup winner Descarado first past the post. Gem of a ride, terrific run, makes us feel even better after Black Caviar even though we had no monetary interest in the race.

Then, we broke one of our steadfast, tired & tested rules & backed Toorak Toff in the Toorak. He was carrying 5.5kg over the limit weight & duly missed a place. How depressing, especially when Gallopers Lay Of The Day wins the race!

Nest is the Guineas, the big race of the day. We marked Helmet as the winner 2 weeks ago when he waltzed the Prelude in by leading all the way. The horse is wayward, does plenty wrong, so we can't declare him, didn't even back him. Helmet puts up a phenomenal; performance to win the Guineas without carrying one cents of ours. This after we tip him on the web site & to any one else who wanted to listen.

Next comes a living certainty, Lightinthenite at Rosehill. Alas, it rains for half an hour solidly before the race, he starts at ridiculous odds of $1.70, gets fired up out of the boxes by a lunatic going 100mph, gets past it in the straight only to be left a sitting shot for the run on horses to capitulate & finish well back. Bugger!

And then comes the GGT at Morphettville, looks better than a living certainty on paper. Petman gets the perfect run in transit as expected, cruises to the front at the 300m mark and bolts away from his rivals, home for out tea money. Then, for an inexplicable reason. he makes a B Line to the outside fence almost cannoning in to the runner up, before falling in after he seemed certain to win by panels. Petman is thumped in the markets to pay barely $1.80, $2 Top Fluc, a stupid price really. A winner is a winner we suppose.

So, 3 bets for the day, one paltry short priced winner & we didn't even get to go to the races.

Yet, we look at Black Caviar, see the joy she brings to the racing community & the attraction she has with most non racing people. What a champ.

Win, lose or draw, the punt is one extraordinary ride, day in & day out. And win, lose or draw, there is always something to put a big smile on a punters face. Today, despite having a losing day, Black Caviar has put a smile on our faces, and those smiles are still beaming.

Gallopers8.10.11