I've been going to the races and following the horses since before I can honestly remember. For example, my best recollection of being in the stands for Secretariat's amazing run in the Belmont was not the race, but the stands shaking so much beneath my feet. Quite an experience for a little guy who just turned 4! Two of my favorite fellow handicappers are my brother and my father. My one year old daughter is already showing signs of loving the horses :>) My favorites...how about Wajima, Spectacular Bid, Fancy Naskra, Five Star Flight, Christmas Past, Princess Rooney, Lady's Secret, With Approval, Paradise Creek, Sunday Silence, Unbridled, Skip Away, Free House. Musket Man and Rachel Alexandra, just to name a few.
149 times in the past the best of Australia and elsewhere have competed in The Race That Stops a Nation. Today, 24 horses will line up for the $6 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse. The 150th running of the two mile handicap on turf is expected to draw well more than 100,000 fans and to be viewed on television by a large percentage of the rest of the country. It is truly one of the biggest races in the world, and the biggest in the horse racing crazy nation of Australia. Winning the Melbourne Cup ensures star status for the winning horse, and their connections, but this year there is a horse looking to take things to an even higher level. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here
3,200 measly meters. That is all that stands in the way of So You Think from becoming a legend of the turf. He is already a superstar of Australian racing after yesterday’s convincing win in the $3 Million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley. The win in the Cox Plate, the second most prestigious race in all of Australia, was the second in a row for the son of High Chaparral, thus becoming the first horse in the history of the great race to win as both a three and a four-year-old.
So You Think now has the entire nation buzzing in admiration and anticipation. He has won each of his four races in 2010 with ease for his all-time great conditioner, 82-year-old Bart Cummings, and the best may be just around the corner. The repeat win in the Cox Plate was special, and proves that he is one of the best horses in the world, but there will be no time to rest on his laurels, for November 2 is looming.
The two miles I speak of, is of course, the demanding distance of the race that stops a nation. The $6 million Melbourne Cup is the biggest of the big down under, and it is only nine days away. So You Think will be aiming to create history by winning the Melbourne Cup. Only a handful of horses have won both the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, and for such an inexperienced horse to do it, would be legendary. While I have little doubt that he will be the best horse in the 24 horse field, major questions must be answered. The Melbourne Cup is after all a lot to ask for the young colt who has only raced ten times and has never run beyond 2040 meters. Can he do it? I think he can, and having 12-time Melbourne Cup winning trainer Bart Cummings in his corner can’t hurt his chances one little bit.
