It’s 12.30am on Tuesday morning and finally I have returned back to Port Douglas after my marathon journey to Swan Hill f0r the 3-day carnival.
I was put through the trials of Job along the way, but gee it was worth it.
Swan Hill is a ripper.
A great track, great racing, a great club – congratulations to them for putting on a wonderful show – friendly people, lots of bookies, spirited betting, fair priced food and drink (beer only $8, spirits just $10, bottles of water for $2, soft drink a mere 3 bucks, and top quality food for under $20 with cheaper options available all round), affordable admission, race books just $5, and great entertainment on all 3 days, both during and after the races.
It was a fantastic experience all round, and I recommend every race lover put it on their bucket list.
Some observations.
Swab Hill is an amazing track and the course manager and his track do a wonderful job.
It played fair on all three days and held up superbly over three hard back to back days of racing.
That the Swan folk can do it from Friday to Sunday
Harry Coffey is the King 0f the Hill.
He rides the track superbly.
Jett Stanley is an absolute gun.
He showed at Swan Hill on Friday by riding a brilliant double, and then he did it again at Flemington with his winning ride on Moby Kid.
This kid in an enormous talent and has a huge future ahead of him.
Will Gordon is a damn good jockey too.
The 480m straight at Swan Hill is amazing, the longest I have seen outside 0f Callaghan Park, but without the downhill slalom run that the Rockhampton straight has, a whole lot fairer.
Standing on the fence at the winning post and looking back down it is an amazing sight, one that evokes thoughts of Royal Ascot.
Horses can win from anywhere here.
It was great to see RSN presenter Gareth Hall in and amongst each day.
Unlike some personalities Hall didn’t toff it up in the members, he was down there on the grass and in the ring with the ordinary punters, and he made time for all of them who wanted to have a chat.
He is a credit to his profession and to the sport.
Early in the day back leaders running the rail.
Later in the day try to find a finisher out wide.
Horses who lead and get headed can kick back hard and win.
It happened several times while I was there.
A full ring of bookies keen to take a bet still provides punters with much better odds than the corporates.
By shopping around the ring for the best price I got overs on every bet.
The VOP prices are wrong, well under the SP you could get at the jump.
Anyone who tells you that you can’t attract young people to the races is kidding themselves.
PVL proved it with The Everest, Swan Hill did it with this carnival.
It was great to see.
BET 365 did a great job by sponsoring the carnival and the club, and the caps and stubby coolers they gave away for nothing were cool.
But gee they missed a great opportunity by not having promo people on the ground.
The tote staff were brilliant.
I called complicated exotic bets to various operators and none of them missed a beat.
They were also extremely helpful, fast, thorough and efficient.
Congratulations to them all on a job extremely well done.
NZ import Cruiserweight, a 3YO trained by the Hayes Brothers, looks to be a very handy type.
Cruiserweight will win in town.
Put him in your black book.
The Taige Weir trained 3YO King’s Reflection is another one to put in your black book because he will win in the city too.
He was desperately unlucky in the final race of the carnival when the rail finally got chopped up and you had to the outside if you wanted to win.
By virtue of circumstances Will Gordon couldn’t get him there, and it cost him the win.
There will be plenty more to come.
I know there is a lot of cynicism about Taige Weir because of who her Dad is, but this young woman is a real talent in her own right, and will prove it in the years to come.
Irish bred former jumps jockey Shane Jackson is future star of the training ranks too.
Jackson doesn’t have a lot to work with at this nascent stage of his career, but he is achieving great results with a strike rate of 15%, and it appears he knows how to set a horse for a race too.
He will achieve great things, and I wouldn’t be afraid to send a horse to him that’s for sure.
Hayes incorporated won trainers of the carnival, but they had the most runners and the best quality bred steeds too.
Give Taige Weir or Shane Jackson what they’ve got and we would see a very different result.
Gee some jockeys work hard.
Harry Grace was riding at Swan Hill on Sunday, and then yesterday when we stopped off at the Kyneton Bowls Club the next day to have a bet on the way home there he was riding at Strathalbyn, south of Adelaide.
It’s a bloody long way between the two cities, and there is no direct or easy way to get between them.
Race riding is a tough game with long hours and a requirement for desire to win.
Harry has it in spades, and it’s paying rewards.
Other riders outside the elite echelon could learn a lot from him.
One time star apprentice Dylan Dunn’s career had been plagued by weight problems and injury, but he has always been a high class talent, both as a rider and a person.
Dunn hasn’t had many opportunities since returning to race riding, but showed on Sunday that he hasn’t lost any of his talent, or his drive.
I saw him out there walking the track in the morning when I was having my daily run, and it paid off with a win in the 2nd race when he took his mount Hopeless Romantic back to the inside and it kicked and won.
You would be very happy having D. Dunn on your horse any day of the week.
The ride of the carnival for mine was Craig Newitt on Cartoon Graveyard in the Cup.
It was a superb steer by a still hugely talented and now vastly under-rated topline jockey.
They should the replay below in apprentice school.
A perfect example of smarts, patience and timing.
Five stars.
The whole carnival was.
It was a cracker.
You wouldn’t have missed it for quids.