Jumps carnival at Warrnambool (or might we call it ‘Clearview Bay?)
Here we go again, the ‘big jumps carnival at Warrnambool’ as the announcer introduced it on the television news last night. Their carnival has 29 races of which 23 will be flat races. Jumps races will comprise 20% of the racing – that’s not exactly a jumps carnival, is it?
Here’s Tuesday’s results:
Betting Investment: Warrnambool Carnival Day 1 30th April 2013
(Win/Place/Quinella/First 4/Exacta/Trifecta) Source: Vic TAB
The Quadrella attracted $473,930 on races 7-10 (conveniently, all flat races).
Aggregate betting on 3 jumps races $473,842 Average $157,949
Aggregate betting investment on 7 flat races $1,961,432 Average $280,204 (that’s 77% more!)
Here’s a comparative-worth evaluation:
Flat Racing subsidises Jumps Racing. If the Quadrella was added to flat-racing investments the situation would be even worse.
Anyway…… We hate to flog a good thing, but our mate Ratty (Reckless Rat) was poised for glory over the next few days but has now been denied his place in history. When we last looked, this survivor of a total of four jumps races was in nearly every jumps event during the carnival: the Brierly on Tuesday, the Galleywood on Wednesday, and the hurdle and Grand Annual on the Thursday. Now we find that he was an unwanted emergency in the Brierly Steeplechase (he’d have flogged Cats Fun!), has been scratched from the Galleywood, where he would have taken on the best hurdlers and probably flogged ‘em. But alas, he’s still nominated for the 0-120 Hurdle on Thursday. What, didn’t they think he could win the Grand Annual? Pessimists! That’s what they are. The horse was poised to make a clean sweep of the jumps events and now he’s been robbed of that opportunity. Poor form, chaps.
Hissing Sid. Well, where is he?
One of the horses we take great interest in is Hissing Sid. His name isn’t as silly as that of Reckless Rat, Rusky Ya Ya, or Roll on Bert, but it’s not far removed. May they never line up in the same race!
However we have reason to be curious regarding Sidney’s absence at Warrni this year. Read on and you’ll see what we mean:
Hissing Sid a hurdle winner
Hissing Sid made an overdue return to the winner’s stall with which is so familiar when he scored an emphatic win in today’s $20,000 Callaghan Motors Maiden Hurdle at Warrnambool.
(14th August 2012)
The Bill and Symon Wilde-trained gelding careered to his first win since completing back-to-back Warrnambool Cups in May 2010 when he strolled to an effortless win in the 3218-metre event.
“He might have one more run and then we’ll probably put him away and then focus on May next year.”
Nice. One more run then focus on May next year. OK, so after the ‘one-more-run’ we read
Wilde star Hissing Sid eyes Galleywood Hurdle after another win
Adrian Dunn – Herald Sun 30th August 2012
BILL and Symon Wilde have won more races than they care to remember on their home Warrnambool track. Numbered among those wins are two Warrnambool Cups with Hissing Sid, who may provide the father-son team with a piece of history in next May’s three-day carnival.
Hissing Sid, a comfortable winner of yesterday’s 3300m Carnival Tickets Hurdle at Sandown, will be aimed towards the Galleywood Hurdle.
And, as Symon Wilde said, if Hissing Sid wins the Galleywood, he would have won races at four Warrnambool carnivals. The horse won on debut in a maiden in 2008, then won the Warrnambool Cup in 2009 and 2010.
The eight-year-old has relished the switch from the flat to hurdles, with yesterday’s success his second from three starts.
Note that he’s ‘relished the switched from flat to hurdles’. Well, they do, don’t they? They just love it. We can think of a whole range of horses that said that. So then we read the following on the trainer’s site:
Now for Warrnambool carnival after Sid’s city win
Local hero Hissing Sid showed he would be a force at the 2013 Warrnambool carnival with his dominant win on unsuitable ground at Sandown. (29th August 2012)
Hissing Sid captured the Warrnambool Cup in 2009 and 2010 but will tackle the Galleywood Hurdle next May after taking his jumps record to two wins from three attempts in the Carnival Early Bird Tickets On Sale Hurdle (3300m).
OK, so the 2013 Warrnambool carnival is now, isn’t it? So where is he?
The horse loves it yet he hasn’t been seen for nearly nine months? Not fair.
On the way to Warrni?
Titch has won $841,344, and we think that makes him a pretty good horse. That amount includes $119,788 he’s won from six jumps starts – including the $100,000 Houlahan Hurdle in 2010 – and $456,135 he collected when he won the Auckland Cup in March 2011.
He’s been to the track on seven occasions so far in 2013. Six visits were for flat races, and include the prestigious Terang Cup which he won on February 3rd from the eloquently named Lordoftheparrots and Hurdy Gurdy Man (Future rivals for Reckless Rat and Roll on Bert for the stupid names contest).
Seventeen days after his breathtaking win at Terang he fronted for a hurdle trial at Warrnambool where he finished four lengths in front of Gotta Take Care and the future champions, Paddywax, Flakey Dove (there’s another stupid name) and Pedinbe. We suspected he might have been aiming to be part of the forthcoming Warrnambool carnival. It wasn’t to be.
Titch had a date in Adelaide: First he contested a 2600m Group 3 event at Morphettville on March 3rd, and finished third, a pretty good effort when you learn that the vet reported him to be lame in the off-hind after the event.
No Matter. Eight days later he was sent out for the Adelaide Cup of 3200m, and this time he really distinguished himself by finishing twelfth of twenty starters….(hell, he must have been going slower than RVL’s website!) …..but hey, listen to this from the Stewards’ Report:
L. Meech, the rider of TITCH (NZ), explained the gelding was disappointing and may have come to the end of its preparation. TITCH (NZ) was examined by the Club’s Veterinary Surgeon who reported the gelding to be lame in the near foreleg and off hind leg and a higher than expected heart rate. First Aid was administered. Mr. K. Myers, the Trainer of TITCH (NZ), was advised a Veterinary Certificate of Fitness would be required prior to presenting for a future trial or race.
“Come to the end of its preparation”? We have a different suggestion. Maybe the horse was lame? It was lame eight days before the Adelaide Cup, and lame immediately afterwards. Still, what would we know?
We love jumps racing, and the horses love it almost as much as we do!
And load up on Ratty on Thursday.
thrillsnspills 