2012

SPEED dominated much of the pre-race talk surrounding the $2 million Grade 1 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies,

In the end, the race still went to the swift. Beholder, whom Richard Mandella had originally considered for the six-furlong Juvenile Sprint, opted for the longer race and she rewarded his decision with a front-running score under Garrett Gomez.

The Juvenile Fillies marked a late season reversal in form amongst California’s best two-year-olds. Executiveprivelege had just gotten up to edge Beholder in the seven-furlong Del Mar Debutante, and it appeared then that she would only widen her advantage going two turns.

Bob Baffert’s filly indeed returned to win the Chandelier by over six lengths, while Beholder returned with an 11-length triumph in a six-furlong allowance race, Mandella decided Beholder was entitled to try and stretch out her speed amongst the division’s best, and the Hall of Fame trainer’s judgement was again proven right.

Beholder gained control of the lead early from the similarly quick Kauai Katie before Gomez was able to give his filly a breather following a swift first half-mile. Executiveprivelege and Dreaming Of Julia then emerged in contention, with the former coming on strongest.

Executiveprivelege appeared set to take the lead from Beholder in mid-stretch before drifting several paths right, allowing Beholder to maintain her winning margin of a length. Dreaming Of Julia ran an even race, finishing just over four lengths behind the runner-up.

[A daughter of Henny Hughes, Beholder was a four-time champion in the USA, at two, three, five and six, and a Breeders’ Cup winner three times. She won 18 races and her Grade 1 wins were in the Clement L Hirsch Stakes, Santa Anita Oaks, Vanity Mile Stakes, Las Virgenes Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, Breeders’ Cup Distaff twice, TVG Pacific Classic Stakes, and the Zenyatta Stakes three times.

Executiveprivelege did not win again, while Dreaming Of Julia, who had won the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes, is the dam of this year’s Breeders’ Cup heroine, Malathaat]

An Efficient winner of the Melbourne Cup

2007

THE only raceday instruction owner Lloyd Williams gave jockey Michael Rodd for the A$5 million Emirates Melbourne Cup was to go out and give Efficient the same ride he gave him in the VRC Derby last year at the same track.

That win made Efficient a standout chance for this year’s 3,200 metre Cup. His subsequent form, however, had made him a 17/1 chance. Ironically, this was the first time Rodd had ridden Efficient since his Derby win.

Last Tuesday’s success made the grey four-year-old the 147th winner of the Melbourne Cup, and the first VRC Derby winner to add the Cup the following year since Phar Lap in 1930.

The day began sensationally with the late withdrawals of Gallic, The Fuzz and Maybe Better, reducing the field to 21 as Master O’Reilly and Purple Moon continued to receive strong support in the betting ring. A near sell-out crowd gathered in brilliant sunshine.

The Amanda Perrett-trained Tungsten Strike took up the running with Aidan O’Brien’s Mahler sitting on his shoulder. Luca Cumani’s Purple Moon, with Damien Oliver on board, was further back as the field sorted itself out. At the 800 metre mark Mahler took over, while Tungsten Strike began to drop out.

Rounding the broad Flemington straight, Purple Moon got to Mahler as the field spread 10-wide. On straightening it was Purple Moon shaping as the winner, but Efficient was on song and got to Mahler swiftly. With superior speed, Efficient headed Purple Moon with 50 yards to go to ease away and win by three-parts of a length.

Mahler was game holding third, two and a half lengths away. Zipping was fourth, also representing the winning connections.

“It’s going to take a while to sink in,” said the 25-year-old one-time building apprentice Rodd. “I feel numb at the moment.” Trained by Graeme Rogerson, in whose name all the Williams horses race, it is really Lloyd Williams who has the final say. The winning owner watched from home. “I go better at home these days,” he said, while giving an insight into how six unplaced runs since the Derby were turned around. “I thought I needed to wake him up this week, so we put him over the hurdles on Monday, and I gave him a very hard gallop on Tuesday, and then we put him over the sticks again on Wednesday. We then gave him another gallop on Thursday.”

Williams won the Cup with Just A dash and What A Nuisance in 1981 and 1985 respectively. Stable foreman John Sadler said: “He pours millions of dollars in and to win this race would mean so much to him.”

Luca Cumani was delighted with Purple Moon’s second, while Aidan O’Brien also had plenty of praise for Mahler’s efforts. Asked if Mahler would return next year, O’Brien replied: “We’ll see how he is. Next year’s a long time away.”

What is clear, however, is that Ballydoyle has had their appetite whetted, as confirmed later by Tom Magnier. He said: “Aidan was seriously impressed by everything down here and he’ll come back. We’re looking at all the races now and we might come back with a team next year.”

[A New Zealand-bred son of Zabeel, Efficient went on two years after his Melbourne Cup win to score a third Group 1 success in the Turnbull Stakes, again back at Flemington. He was rated the champion stayer in Australia in 2007-08, and won six races in all and earned £1,739,939]

Sunday standoff

1982

NOT for the first time, the unions have totally turned their backs on Sunday racing.

Following a meeting of the unions concerned with racing within the ICTU, a terse statement was issued saying that they “had decided against the proposed introduction of Sunday racing by the racing authorities”.

To say the least, this puts a somewhat different complexion on the whole matter as, earlier in the week, we were informed by certain newspapers that Sunday racing was a virtual certainty next year, and only a few minor problems, such as pay, had to be resolved. Added to this, a mysterious Turf Club spokesman said it would take place.

However, the official mouthpiece of the Turf Club, Cahir O’Sullivan, the Keeper of the Match Book, had said nothing. Yesterday, when informed of the decision, he said: “Personally, I am very disappointed they wouldn’t agree to sit around the table next Friday. We have a long way to go, but we have to start somewhere.”

Death of a generous man

1932

WE regret to announce the death last Monday of Commander Julian C Gaisford-St Lawrence in his 71st year.

By none will be he be missed more than by the very poor, for he had established at Howth Castle a system of assistance on a very generous scale. So generous was the system administered that it was generally referred to as “a branch of the St Vincent de Paul”.

He took an academic interest in breeding and the Turf, and was a steward of the Baldoyle race meeting. That course is laid out on a part of the Howth estate, and the Baldoyle Company hold the land on long lease.