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“Riders like Michelle and Jamie have shown a whole wave of young female riders what is possible with hard work and determination ... they’ll be greatly motivated today by Jamie’s success.”
While Morrison said Victoria was “so happy” to have Melham riding here, he also acknowledged her contributions off the track, “transitioning retired racehorses” into equestrian careers.
Yep, that’s the sort of marketing clout The Everest’s bottomless treasure chest simply cannot buy.
Emergency repairs for Cox Plate track
The heightened drama of spring racing took a scary twist last week when water damage was discovered on a section of the Cox Plate track, throwing Moonee Valley chiefs into a momentary tail spin.
Water jets from an underground boring machine had soaked a section of the turf at the 1500m mark of the circuit during work to install high voltage cables under the track.
Turf experts were immediately called in to replace a two-metre wide section of the track, cutting to a depth of 50cm, to ensure it was ready for the coming Cox Plate carnival, which will see 18 races run across two days.
Via Sistina returns to Moonee Valley on Saturday to defend her Cox Plate crown.Credit: Getty Images
Valley chairman Adam Lennen told The Age on Sunday the timing of the incident was not ideal so close to their showcase event, but said Racing Victoria stewards had given them the all clear and there were no concerns.
He said the track was ready to go 24 hours after it had been relaid.
“(Chief steward) Rob Montgomery was out there, and he said, ‘yep, looks great, looks fine’,” Lennen said.
“They were happy to gallop horses on it that afternoon if they wanted to, but we waited until Saturday.
“They’ll inspect again on Tuesday morning before Breakfast With The Best, but I suspect by Tuesday even with your closest eye if you went and looked at it, you probably won’t even be able to find the spot.”
Trainer Chris Waller took his three Cox Plate runners Via Sistina, Buckaroo and Amelia to Moonee Valley on Saturday morning for a light gallop around the tight-turning track.
Via Sistina is currently a short-priced favourite to defend her crown.
Are we there yet? And other questions
Here’s an early taste of what will become one of the most asked questions in coming days: Are they going to stuff up Moonee Valley?
The racing club is shutting the front gates to the venue after the Cox Plate meeting on Saturday night, and it will never be the same.
Declan Bates parades Pride of Jenni before the Moonee Valley crowd.Credit: Getty Images
The grandstands will be bulldozed and rebuilt, and the track ripped up and moved. At the heart of mega revamp will be a longer home straight that runs in a totally different direction.
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As a result, many fear the intimate, amphitheatre-like venue’s ability to stage unforgettable heavyweight title fights will be lost in time.
But Lennen rebuffed concerns, saying the club was “very confident the Valley roar that exists today will be back in 2027”.
He said when the venue re-opened in 21 months’ time, crowds would be even closer to the action.
He said the self-funded $220 million redevelopment was designed to future-proof racing at Mooney Valley for at least another 140 years.
“Our goal is simple at heart: It is to provide world-class races and racing facilities without any financial burden to the Victorian racing industry,” he said.
Still no word from Gai
Gai Waterhouse’s silence has been deafening.
The first lady of racing has remained unusually tight-lipped since her Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup favourite, Sir Delius, was ruled out of the Melbourne spring carnival by Racing Victoria’s hardcore safety protocols.
Gai Waterhouse lost her chance to win this year’s Cox Plate when Sir Delius was scratched.Credit: Simon Schluter
Waterhouse has not returned calls since Friday afternoon, and she declined to comment when approached at the Caulfield Cup meeting on Saturday.
The scratching of Sir Delius is undoubtedly a bitter blow for the Hall Of Fame trainer who looked to have her best-ever chance of winning her first Cox Plate crown with the imported stallion.
But an interesting twist in the sorry tale emerged on Saturday when Waterhouse’s co-trainer Adrian Bott told Channel 7 they would consider trucking Sir Delius to Sydney to compete in the Five Diamonds race at Rosehill on November 8.
“The horse seems in great order,” Bott told Seven, adding that Sir Delius had passed clinical soundness tests – which are traditional vet checks that don’t rely on scans.
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Sir Delius looked sound when winning two group 1s at his past two starts in Melbourne, but had to undergo scans as part of Melbourne Cup entry conditions.
Subsequent CT and PET scans showed he was at heightened risk of injury if he continued to compete, according to an independent review panel of vets.
It will be fascinating to watch if that Victorian ban holds any jurisdiction in NSW this spring because if the horse were to break down in Sydney, it would be a terrible look.
A heavenly rort
Hidden among the hype of the spring carnival are moments that remind us of racing’s true heart.
Trainer Robbie Griffiths was over the moon when his evergreen sprinter Rey Magnerio landed the group 2 Caulfield Sprint on Saturday.
But Griffiths took time out to pay tribute to mate and broadcaster Warren Huntly who died after a battle with lung cancer earlier this month.
“It really helps the mood (this win), when we lost our great mate Warren, he’d be up there cheering,” Griffiths said.
Rey Magnerio with Jye McNeil aboard wins at Caulfield on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
“There’s a bit of a rort happening up there, something going on with Deano and Warren and Pete, and big Michael, I reckon they’re setting something up.”
Griffiths was referring to some heavy-weight personalities who were lost to the industry in recent years - form analyst Deane Lester, Huntly, jockey Peter Mertens and trainer Michael Moroney. A celebration of Huntly’s life is being held in the Atrium at Flemington Racecourse on Monday at 2pm.
News Corp’s top racing man pulls pin
News Corp’s racing stable is about to lose its No.1 seed.
The company’s racing editor, Sydney Telegraph icon Ray Thomas, is calling time after this year’s spring carnival.
Thomas’s significant reach stretched beyond News Corp’s nationwide mastheads and websites. He was a regular on Sky Channel and became as recognisable in the industry as the trainers and jockeys themselves.
Thomas started with News Corp in February 1994, the year Danzero won the Golden Slipper, Jeune won the Melbourne Cup and any thoughts of creating The Everest were still two decades away.
He declined to comment when approached by The Age.
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