Horse Racing in OZ

[Charles49]

One thing about racing is that its unpredictable and probably no better example of that is to found in my Lay Bet results of late. You can sit there for hours doing mental simulations of how races will be won or lost but just when you think you have found the reason why a horse cant win, up it gets and makes you look stupid. So back to the drawing board with the lay bet selections and hopefully the winners will move away from this area and into their correct slot.
Australia like many other areas of the world is still struggling with Covid. Our death toll has now climbed to around 660 with Victoria being the major contributor. Victoria has for the first time ever, lost the hallowed AFL Grand Final to another State and as predicted here many moons ago good old Queensland and the Gabba oval have got the goodies. The Labor Government here are understandably delighted because there is a State Election here just one week later so no doubt they are hoping for the warm and fuzzy feelings to reflect well at the ballot box.
On a personal note the good times seem to be back with 11 bets this week to date for 6 winners, 3 thirds and two that couldn't greet the judge. I have also taken a Hail Mary bet on Betfair in the US Elections backing Kamala Harris to become the Next President at 140/1. Yes its an optimistic bet but you just never know!!
Some excellent group racing to be found at Randwick this Saturday so hopefully the selections below will help you find a winner or two.
First Race on Saturday at Doomben starts at 11.48.am Australian Eastern Standard Time which means
2.38am on Saturday morning London Time for those in the UK
Last Race On Saturday will be at Belmont at 7.00pm AEST,
or 10.00am London time.
Hope you find plenty of winners.


MOONEE VALLEY:
R1 no 3 How Womantic Won $3
R2 no 3 Thought of That.......currently 12/1.....each way chance.
R3 no 11 Hit The Shot
R4 no 4 Shot of Irish
R5 no 6 Showmanship Won $2.20
R6 no 7 Brooklyn Hustle 3rd
R7 no 8 Agreeable
R9 no 3 Dabiyr 3rd

RANDWICK:
R1 no 4 Athiri
R2 no 3 Feel The Knight
R4 no 1 Nature Strip 2nd
R5 no 13 Kinane
R6 no 1 Dame Giselle...Won $4....no 3 Hungry Heart 2nd is the late mail
R7 no 1 Avilius..4th (huge run!).frustrating horse to follow but today could be his day.


DOOMBEN:
R1 no 5 Golden Mean Won $6
R3 no 7 Maddi Rocks Won $2
R4 no 4 Run For Glory Won $2
R6 no 6 Malahide
R8 no 3 Mishani Miss Won $3
R9 no 2 Snowzone 2nd

BELMONT:
R4 no 2 Lonsdale Lady
R5 no 6 Montelena Won
R6 no 4 Money Matters Won $2.50
R7 no 6 Regal Counsel 2nd
R8 no 3 Eeyore Wayz 4th


LAY BETS:
SR4 no 2 Gytrash Won $5. Lay Bet Lost
MR8 no 4 Surprise Baby Ran 2nd. Lay Bet Won

Cheers'n' Beers


JOKE:

One day, Einstein has to speak at an important Science conference. On the way there, he tells his driver that looks very much like him: “I’m sick of all these conferences. I always say the same things over and over!” The driver agrees: “You’re right. As your driver, I attended all of them, and even though I don’t know anything about Science, I could give the conference in your place.” “That’s a great idea!” says Einstein. “Let’s switch places then!” So they switch clothes and as soon as they arrive, the driver dressed as Einstein goes on stage and starts giving the usual speech, while the real Einstein, dressed as the car driver, attends it. But in the crowd, there is one scientist who wants to impress everyone and thinks of a very difficult question to ask Einstein, hoping he won’t be able to respond. So this guy stands up and interrupts the conference by posing his very difficult question. The whole room goes silent, holding their breath, waiting for the response. The driver looks at him, dead in the eye, and says :
“Sir, your question is so easy to answer that I’m going to let my driver reply to it for me.”

[Charles49]

COVID-19 Sad (but true) Story.
In the State of Victoria, which is a part of Australia, a young pregnant mother posted on Facebook that it would be good idea to have a peaceful protest about the draconian lockdown laws that exist in Victoria. Her idea was that people from Ballarat would meet in the township, whilst practicing social distancing and wearing masks so that the good folk of Ballarat, where there is just four active covid cases, could express their concerns about the lockdowns and the harsh conditions that accompany said lockdowns. In other words a low risk gathering adhering to the rules. I should point out here that it wasn't long ago, where we had 10,000 marching to protest BLM, and the local Ballarat police took a knee in support of the march.
So Zoe who posted her suggestion on Facebook had her home raided by several police who had a search warrant for her home and they seized items used to post her suggestion such as computers and mobile phones. Zoe is shown on footage, taken by her husband, being arrested and handcuffed, whilst in her pajamas and being charged with "incitement", which is a charge here that could result in 15 years jail. The footage has gone viral and you have probably even seen it by now in the UK.
By contrast a well known Victorian TV personality, by the name of Sam Newman, also suggested a protest somewhere in the middle of Melbourne, received a visit from the police where he was allegedly given a cease and desist warning , which he quickly agreed to do because the penalty not to do was so was a possible jail sentence. Sam, who is a self confessed golfing addict, simply couldn't bear the thought of not being able to stride down the fairway, and being denied the social aspect of the 19th, so he accepted the warning and that was that.
The question being asked here is the State of Victoria now a Police State? And of course there are comparisons being drawn here to actions that occurred with Nazi Germany.
All of this is rather sad and quite unnecessary, and I hope that the Victorian Police now realize that handcuffing a five foot nothing pregnant woman in her pajamas in her home, who was clearly scared shitless by the search warrant, and the charge given to her of "incitement", isn't going to win any popularity prizes.
FOOTNOTE: Victoria is the only State or Territory in Australia that has laws where the population is confined to their residences between 8pm and 5am. Residents can only leave their homes for shopping for food,exercise, to seek medical treatment or to attend permitted employment. These rules are referred to as Stage 4 restrictions. The concern among many is that the rate of suicides, domestic violence, mental heath cases have all increased as a result of what is seen by some as unneccessary draconian style laws. There will be an update this Sunday by the Victorian Premier, which is Father's Day here in Australia, and hopefully we may see some easing of Stage 4 restrictions. I for one certainly hope this happens.
And if you have seen the footage of Zoe's arrest I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[PDC]

Haven't seen the footage but will try to find it. We had similar restrictions in the UK several months ago but they weren't really enforced to any great degree as people followed them well in general. The one time the police tried to shame people into following the rules by using a drone to take pictures and then highlight those out walking and saying it wasn't essential travel, it was the police who got the criticism for over zealous enforcement. Seems they are a bit tougher/hardline in Victoria than the UK.

Good luck with today's punting and I liked the joke!

[Charles49]

News from the State of Victoria where the world's toughest lockdown's are in place is that Spring Racing here will continue without any crowds attending. Just the bare essential personnel allowed and that's it. So that means our premier races like the Cox Plate, the Caulfield Cup and the number one race in Australia, in the Melbourne Cup, will be run and won without the roar of an enthusiastic crowd. Bit like watching an old silent movie.!! Next week our mean spirited Government in Victoria is expected to advise that Santa Claus will be refused a travel permit because of the risk of spreading the Covid-19 virus.!!
I have a number of family members living in Victoria and they are at their wits end trying to cope with home schooling, kids in general,shopping, exercise rules and the strong handed approach being maintained by Victoria's Police Force. The increasing number of suicides is of major concern.
On to matters of financial importance (!!) I'm pleased to report that the rising temperatures here have bought about better results with horses favoured in the market. My personal results this week are 18 bets to date with 7 winners, 3 seconds, and 8 that ran unplaced.
This weekend I'm off to Darwin in the Northern Territory for a few days to catch up with some old friends and do a bit of the tourist thing, then down to Adelaide in South Australia to again catch up with old friends. So there wont be a post for next Saturdays racing however it will be business as usual the following Saturday, unless there is a sudden outbreak of the covid virus and borders are shut down. Fingers crossed this wont happen but we do live in strange times so anything can happen as our power hungry State Premiers seem to be exceedingly eager to exercise the big stick legislation on any hint of a possible covid outbreak.
Racing this weekend looks to be excellent so lets hope that results in positive returns.
May the punting gods be kind with your investments this weekend and reward your efforts with satisfactory results.
First race this Saturday will be at Doomben commencing at 11.48 am AEST, which is
2.48 am in London
Last Race will be at Belmont commencing at 7.10pm AEST, which is
10.10am Saturday morning London time.


FLEMINGTON:
R1 no 4 Schabau 3rd
R2 no 1 Immortal Love
R3 no 1 Arcardia Queen 2nd
R4 no 3 Zoutori Won $4.85
R6 no 14 Windstorm 2nd
R8 no 1 Prague
R9 no 15 Jenni's Rainbow...a roughie @20/1 currently for the exotics.

ROSEHILL:
R1 no 3 Cadre Du Noir 2nd
R2 no 8 Yulong Base
R3 no 6 She's Ideal 3rd
R4 no 5 Masked Crusader 3rd
R5 no 4 Overlord
R6 no 1`Farnan
R7 no 5 Funstar 2nd
R8 no 16 Subpoenaed..rough each way chance at 20/1


DOOMBEN:
R1 no 6 Trengganu 2nd
R2 no 7 Amiche
R3 no 10 Fisticuffs Won $3
R7 no 4 Toryjoy 3rd
R8 no 1 Alligator Blood 3rd
R9 no 15 Romakash is a roughie with an each way chance. Currently around $31


BELMONT:
R2 no 1 Surveillance 2nd
R3 no 6 Leading Girl Won
R4 no 2 Massimo Won
R6 no 5 Nerodio 2nd
R7 no 6 Tycoon Storm 3rd
R8 no 5 This'll Testya 3rd



LAY BETS:
MR7 no 4 Fierce Impact Won $4.10 Lay bet Lost
MR7 no 13 Russian Camelot Ran 2nd. Lay Bet Won

Cheers 'n' Beers

JOKE:
She was dying and her husband sat next to the bed holding her hand. “I have a confession to make”, she said, “I know I haven’t long to live so I have to get this off my chest.” “Shhh”, he said, “It’s not important.” “No”, she said, “I have to tell you before I go. You were always a good man and treated me and the eight children really well but I was unfaithful to you.” “No!”, he said. “Yes”, she replied, “I have to tell you about Johnny, the middle boy.” “He is kind of odd looking and sort of retarded. I always sort of wondered about him”, he said. “Well, that one’s yours”, she replied.

[PDC]

Enjoy your break away!

We have had new rules brought in in the UK this week, only 6 people allowed to meet up at any time inside or out from Monday.

Loving the new addition of a weekly joke!

[Charles49]

Nice to be back in Queensland where life is now almost pretty normal. Sorry to hear that the UK is going into lockdowns as that is quite unpleasant if the State of Victoria experiences here are anything to go by. I'll pen a few lines shortly about the situation here in Oz re Covid-19. In the meantime thought I'd share with you where I went for the past week or two.
Journey began when wife and I flew to Darwin where we spent four days catching up with old friends and enjoying life in the Top End. Pubs are great up there and the locals are a happy bunch. Spent an entire day touring around Litchfield National Park which is simply a beautiful place to experience with its huge termite mounds, waterfalls and swimming holes, which you share with freshwater crocs at your peril. Then onto Katherine where spectacular gorges are the norm, and its simply just a great place to experience. When its dry there the railway line is 300 feet above the Gorge, but when it really rains the railway line goes underwater. The Top End has only two seasons; wet or dry.! Next stop was Alice Springs home of the School of the Air and the Royal Flying Doctors Service and currently suffering badly economically because of lack of tourists. Around 50% of shops and business's are closed. Next stop was to be Cooper Pedy where around 80% of the worlds opal is mined however unseasonal rains flooded the track into CP so walked around the whistle stop, where the unseasonal weather had caused large numbers of flowers like desert hops and others to grow everywhere. This is a flat land area where the tallest tree anywhere is less than the height of a human, and the grasslands don't reach the height of your knees, so you can see the horizon anywhere on a 360deg view. Australia really is a land of contrasts.
Off to Adelaide where we caught up with old friends and enjoyed the nightlife that Adelaide has to offer. We had trouble finding a restaurant after the Adelaide Crows v Richmond Tigers game and eventually found one upstairs and out of the way. Even that was quite packed so social distancing rules were simply ignored. Still there was a an air of normality there which was was nice and refreshing. Then we travelled down to Tailem Bend which now hosts a world class racetrack called "The Bend" where V8's and other vehicles tear around this world class facility. We have several old friends in the small township of Tailem Bend so delighted they are now enjoying the benefits that are flowing to the township as a result of this facility.
Then it was back to Adelaide airport for an early morning flight to Brisbane and for the record the procedures for leaving Queensland, entering and leaving the Northern Territory and South Australia were a piece of cake.
I hope you enjoyed the geography lesson!!!

[Charles49]

Very saddened to learn that the UK are facing major lockdowns as a result of the arrival of the so called second wave curve. This will be heartbreaking to many as these lockdowns are mentally draining and quite frustrating and the experience here is that the suicide rates tend to rise when lockdowns are implemented.
So why is the UK experiencing a very different scenario to Australia? Theory here is that we are fortunate to have a natural sea border which is easy to maintain in terms of arrivals and departures. The UK in contrast has had open borders so the virus has amplified opportunities to infect in comparison with say Australia and/or New Zealand. The total death rate from the virus here is just 859 of which 771 have come from the State of Victoria. So Australia, minus the State of Victoria, has recorded just 88 deaths. That's a very small number collectively, so why is Victoria the standout? Some would argue that the Government there have stuffed up big time. (Read previous posts on here about quarantine security and that will give you a good starting point.!!) Victoria is still in lockdown mode despite the only deaths being recorded are persons in Aged Care Centers. I for one think they are putting almost any aged care death down to Covid just to justify their tough lockdowns. In addition they are now putting legislation before the Upper House in Victoria which essentially allows the Government to give the same powers as police have, to any person of their choosing (such as public servants for example), and those powers include detention without cause for any time period that they see fit. For those of you with legal minds, think Habeas Corpus, and then consider the ramifications of having normal people detained or imprisoned without the recourse at law that Habeas Corpus allows.
Outside the State of Victoria the rest of Australia is somewhat slowly returning to normal. I say slowly because State borders are closed to us in Western Australia, Tasmania, parts of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory will remove their barriers on October 1st.
The biggest problem we have here is that many business's have closed and a large number wont return. This means unemployment will probably sit around 8% or higher and that's going to make it hard to refill the Government coffers which have been depleted substantially by subsidizing wages of those adversely affected.
Domestic air traffic is beginning to return to normalcy, but it still has a long way to go. International air traffic is minimal.
Covid-19 looks from this end of the world to be the front page news story in the UK. By comparison today's local rag, the Courier Mail, has no mention of Covid until you reach page 8, where there is an article announcing that frontline workers will be the first to be issued with the vaccine when and if it eventuates.
I guess that last paragraph succinctly sums up the Australian scene.

[Charles49]

We live in unusual times as is evidenced by the meeting at rural Toowoomba being the top Queensland race meeting for this Saturday. Still its a good program on the card and we wish them well with their nine race program which finishes very late in the day and hopefully before the sun sets.
Rosehill has a Group One race where the prizemoney is a generous AUD $1m. The local Brisbane representative is Rothfire which will start favourite and must be given a top chance. In Melbourne racing is at Caulfield where the highlight is the time honoured Underwood Stakes where runners are contesting a prize pool of AUD $750K.
On a personal note just 10 bets this week with 2 winners, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, and 4 unplaced.
Tomorrow the First race is at Rosehill at 12.25pm AEST, which is
03.25am Saturday, London time, and the
Last Race will be run at Belmont at 7.20pm AEST,
which is 10.20am Saturday, London Time.
Hope your day is a good one.


TOOWOOMBA:
R1 no 2 Kimpembe Won $3.30
R2 no 3 Supergiant
R4 no 6 The Acturary 2nd
R5 no 2 Mishani Operator 2nd
R8 no 4 The Odyssey...gave no 9 Mr Marbellouz a place chance at 12/1 or better
R9 no 4 Fasano

ROSEHILL:
R2 no 6 Exemplar
R3 no 14 She's Ideal
R4 no 3 Love Tap Won $2
R5 no 10 Forbidden Love 3rd
R6 no 5 I Am Superman.... Won $5.20...thought No 2 Nicconova had an each way chance at $20 or better
R7 no 1 Rothfire 4th
R8 no 2 Haut Brion Her....rough each way chance to no 9 Adelong @25/1 or better
R9 no 5 Masked Crusader

CAULFIELD:
R1 no 2 How Womantic 2nd
R3 no 3 Le Baol
R4 no 1 Order of Command 3rd
R5 no 7 Windstorm Won $2.90
R6 no 4 Flying Award
R7 no 4 Instant Celebrity... Won $3.20..chance to no 5 Night Raid
R8 no 10 Russian Camelot Won
R9 no 8 Nonconformist....get out bet could be no 12 Exasperate....3rd at 40/1 or better.


BELMONT PARK:
R1 no 4 Devil's Dust Won $7
R2 no 6 Friday Knight 4th
R4 no 5 Leading Girl Won $2
R5 no 2 Money Matters Won $2
R6 no 4 Come Right Back 3rd
R7 no 3 Long Beach
R8 no 1 Vital Silver


LAY BETS:
MR4 no 7 Alfa Oro Scr
TOW. R3 no 2 Rock Beat Won $4 Lay Bet Lost



Cheers'n'Beers


JOKE:
So the local news station was interviewing an amazing 80-year-old lady called Chloe because she had just gotten married for the fourth time. The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then about her new husband’s occupation.” He’s a funeral director,” she answered. “Interesting,” the newsman thought… He then asked her if she wouldn’t mind telling him a little about her first three husbands and what they did for a living. She paused for a few moments, needing time to reflect on all those years. After a short time, a smile came to her face and she answered proudly, explaining that she had first married a banker when she was in her 20’s, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40’s, and a preacher when in her 60’s, and now – in her 80’s – a funeral director.
The interviewer looked at her, quite astonished, and asked why she had married four men with such diverse careers. She smiled and explained, “I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.”

[PDC]

Good to see you back from your travels Charles. They made for interesting reading! I would love to spend some time travelling around Australia or maybe even moving there. One day......if Covid ever allows! For now and the way things are going we will be lucky to be allowed out of houses soon in the UK!

The coming months in the UK is going to be interesting as there seems to be increasing resistance to the measures that are being taken and with the end or reduction in a lot of the financial support packages starting to kick in next month I would expect those calls to increase as people are hit in their wallets and jobs.

On a brighter note though it is good to see the better racing returning in Australia!

[Charles49]

Last years Melbourne Cup winner Vow and Declare will be the toppie in the time honoured Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on Saturday. This is one of the lead up races to this years Melbourne Cup which is always run on the first Tuesday of November. There are several other runners in the Turnbull that are Cup hopefuls so it will be an interesting race and a must watch for Melbourne Cup punters who like to speck the generous all in markets.
I'm pleased to report that Australia is coming out of the Covid-19 bubble with restrictions being eased in most States. We look like having a transit bubble with New Zealand very shortly so expect our skies will see an increase in aircraft as travel starved Aussies jump at the opportunity to venture off shore. Our only real trouble spot continues to the State of Victoria where an judicial inquiry was held into the security guard fiasco and after spending some $6m on the enquiry no one has emerged as being responsible. To add salt to the wound it was reported this morning that another breakdown in quarantine has occurred at the Melbourne Novatel and there is some chance of another wave occurring as a result of this breakdown. We did see the Heath Minister fall on her sword or should I say she was allegedly pushed!!
We are not hearing much about what's happening Covid-19 wise in the UK so would welcome any update posts.
On a personal note I have had 27 bets this week for 8 winners, 3 seconds and 3 thirds, and the rest were unplaced.
Racing this Saturday in Australia commences at Eagle Farm at 11.58 am AEST, which coverts to
2.58am London Time.
Last race starts at Kalgoorlie at 7.25pm which converts to
10.25am London time.
May the punting gods be kind to you and ensure that your health are welfare are unaffected by the covid virus.


FLEMINGTON:
R1 no 1 General Beau 2nd
R2 no 8 September Run Won $2.80
R5 no 2 Thermosphere Won 3.90
R9 no 14 Young Werther 2nd

RANDWICK:
R1 no 2 Discharged 3rd
R2 no 4 Enthaar Won
R3 no 6 Kalashnikov
R4 no 1 Fierce Impact 3rd
R5 no 2 Hungry Heart.. 2nd...No 1 Dame Giselle is a danger
R6 no 2 Nature Strip 4th
R8 no 2 Mugatoo 2nd
R9 no 4 Hilo 3rd

EAGLE FARM:
R1 no 7 Princess Bojack Won $4.60
R2 no 2 Stardome 3rd
R3 no 4 Neutron 4th
R4 no 2 Prospectus Won $7.50
R5 no 1 Mishani Miss
R6 no 2 Usmanov 2nd


KALGOORLIE:
R1 no 2 Cuban Twist.. 2nd..No 4 Staaden 4th is the late mail
R2 no 3 Frosty Heart
R4 no 1 Mervyn Late Scr
R5 no 9 Indigo Blue
R6 no 3 Bogart 2nd
R7 no 3 Fiery Water 3rd
R8 no 2 Itsahymn.......Darwin Cup Winner.....obvious danger is No 1 Come Play With Me who won a Metropolitan.
R9 no 1 Manhattan Money

LAY BETS:
SR7 no 12 Funstar Ran 2nd. Lay Bet Won
SR8 no 18 Zebrowski Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won


Cheers n Beers

JOKE:
A blonde drops off her dress to the dry cleaners

The lady says, "Come Again!"

The blonde says, "No, it's toothpaste this time."

[PDC]

We are seeing increased case numbers and new record numbers of cases but it is impossible to compare them to the previous highs seen in March as we just weren't testing then like we are now. We are currently seeing about 7,000 cases a day reported from the testing which isn't the full picture obviously but despite being a higher daily figure than in March it is thought cases are much lower as the real March figures were around 100,000 cases a day.

More regional tightening of rules are happening, I think I heard something like 25% of the England population is under tighter restrictions, the majority of Wales and Scotland are, not sure about Northern Ireland as we rarely hear on the news about NI.

There is increasing push back to the measures and especially the increasing of rules, especially given that deaths and hospitalisation rates remain relatively low, though compared to Australia they would be said to be very high.

The Government got a very strong telling off in Parliament yesterday for basically being to keen with using their emergency powers and rather than have a vote which the Government was sure to loose due to so many of the Government's own MP's rebelling against them they fudged a deal where they have said if they need to make significant changes again that it will go before MP's to debate and vote on unless it is urgent. So basically the same as before as who decides what is significant etc for example today we have had several million more people told they can't mix households anywhere but there was no vote on it.

The furlough schemes are winding down so job losses are increasing which is feeding into the pushback against the rules as before if you were still getting paid to not work all was good but now reality is hitting a lot of people they are waking up to what it really means.

Despite this house prices and sales are at all time highs with prices rising significantly but the FTSE100 is not. I gave up a long time ago trying to predict such things! More chance of me getting the 1, 2, 3 in the Melbourne Cup!

We have been graced again yesterday by a 10 Downing Street press conference after the previous weeks press conference just by the scientists didn't go down to well when they tried to scare everyone with a chart that said we would have 500,000 cases a day if we don't act before the end of October. So now we are supposedly going to be back to fairly regular press conferences so that they can keep reminding us all of the need to follow the rules etc.

Scotland I believe has never stopped having the Daily Press Conferences!

So overall, large parts of the country are now in increased restriction zones, many areas though have little if any Covid. People are pushing back and getting fed up. Everyone thinks they could have dealt with it better and knows best!

A useful link for you might be the Government stats page that they update each day and has a lot of information, charts etc:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

And a link to the Twitter Thread from 10 Downing Street of the charts that were used in yesterday's Number 10 press conference that show how things are changing with Covid in the UK:
https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/...36881192423425

If you like to listen to Podcasts, the week day podcast by the BBC NewsCast team gives a good summary/discussion most days of the current situation/changes etc along with other news happening in the UK in a 30 minute or so podcast. It is available for free on all podcast apps and via the website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05299nl

Good luck with the punting this weekend!

[Charles49]

Many thanks PDC for your comprehensive update re Covid-19 in the UK.
The increase in house prices and the slide in the stockmarket is also similarly reflected here in Oz. There seems to be no sensible reason why house prices are increasing here except that we do have strong interest from buyers domiciled in Victoria. The house next door sold a week ago for an above market price to a Victorian who bought it off the internet listing. Perhaps its a sign of what will happen in Victoria once the lockdowns and travel restrictions are removed!
There is a push back to Governments here that are trying to be super cautious with the relaxation of rules.....most just want to get back to normality and frankly don't see the necessity of having restrictions, particularly in Queensland where there are only 6 covid cases and none of those are serious.
The announcement that Donald Trump and Melania Trump have now both contracted covid is a potential game changer in some respects, but indications here is that life will continue on as normal as most seem to rationalise this to their campaigning activities and to the fact that they are in a vulnerable age group.
Stay safe and hope you find plenty of winners this weekend.

[Charles49]

Spring is here and with it comes our best racing events. Caulfield has the Toorak Stakes and the Herbert Power Stakes which have attracted quality of the highest standard. Randwick also has a quality program with the Spring Champion Stakes a highlight.
Of course the news that dominates here is covid related with signs that borders are slowly opening up. It will be a while before we get back to normal here and even longer if you factor in international travel however the signs are positive. On a personal note I have had 18 bets to date this week with 5 wins, 6 seconds, 2 thirds and the rest missed having their photos included in the camera finish.
We have now gone into that time zone known as daylight saving where the east coast of Australia has different time zones. Queensland don't change their time pieces however the rest of the eastern seaboard are advanced by one hour.
The first race on the program here starts at Caulfield on Saturday afternoon where they have a ten race card at 12.15 AEDT which
converts to 3.15am Saturday London Time.
The last race is at Ascot at 20.38, which is 11.38am London time on Saturday
Please stay safe, wear a mask where you cant social distance and stay healthy.


CAULFIELD:
R1 no 12 Fake Love Won $5.50
R2 no 3 Swat's That Won $3
R3 no 6 Windstorm Won
R4 no 4 Felicia 2nd
R5 no 10 Diamond Effort 2nd
R6 no 6 Russian Camelot 2nd
R7 no 1 Hungry Heart
R8 no 1 Tagaloa
R9 no 15 Buffalo River 2nd is the late mail
R10 no 3 Orderofthegarter

RANDWICK:
R2 no 2 Doubtland.. 3rd..No 1 Wild Ruler Won is the late mail
R4 no 13 Archania 2nd
R5 no 2 Peltzer Won $3
R6 no 1 Alligator Blood 2nd
R7 no 13 Montefilia....Won $3...no 3 Love Tap 4th is the late mail
R9 no 11 Plaquette 2nd


DOOMBEN:
R1 no 1 Magic Conqueror 2nd
R2 no 3 Shaluna 4th
R3 no 1 Mishani Operator
R7 no 2 Le Palmier 4th
R8 no 1 The Odyssey 2nd

ASCOT:
R4 no 10 Truly Great Won
R5 no 4 Inspirational Girl Won $3
R9 no 6 This'll Testya


Cheers 'n' Beers


JOKE:
An elderly Sydney lady in her early 80’s from the Eastern Suburbs did her weekly shopping trip and upon returning to her car found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, “I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!”. The four men didn’t wait for a second threat. They jumped out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver’s seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then she realized why. It was for the same reason she had wondered why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat. A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake. The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn’t stop laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a carjacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed. The moral of the story is this:
If you’re going to have a senior moment… make sure it is memorable.

[Charles49]

Saturday's racing in Oz this week includes one of our best time honoured races on the calendar in the running of the Caulfield Cup. This is a race with a long history as it was first run in 1879 over a mile and a half and tomorrow it be slightly shorter at 2400m in keeping with the modern day metric system which Australia adopted in 1979. Favourite is the well performed local horse Verry Elleegant which has edged out the English invader Anthony Van Dyck as the latter drew the visitors barrier in 21. The race will be the highlight of the days program.
There are two subjects that have been well aired on here apart from Horse Racing and they are matters to do with Covid-19 and Betfairs so called "delay".
Here are updates on both subjects:
COVID-19. The Sorry saga of Hotel Quarantine Security in Victoria.
Australia's death rate from Covid is just 904 of which 816 are from the State of Victoria. Of these 816 deaths in Victoria the average age of those that died was 85. So it doesn't take Einstein to work out here that there are many cases where it was simply assumed that Covid was the cause when the reality was that it was a multitude of other factors at play here which are common when you are dealing with folk in aged care environments.
There has been a Judicial Enquiry in Victoria into why the bulk of the deaths in Victoria appear to have been caused by the virus that escaped from those who were in Quarantined in two Victorian Hotels in the heart of Melbourne. The Enquiry to date has cost $6m and has failed to answer the simple question of who approved the issuance of a Security Contract to a firm called Unified Security for three months at a cost of $30m. The firm incidentally was not on Victoria's list of approved clients. Now think about this. Here we have a decision made on the run to give a mammoth contract to an unknown firm. The firm on hearing of their windfall immediately emailed all of their employees and prospective employees that they must undertake a 10 minute induction program (tick and flick) exercise and once they had done that they could then turn up for work.
We now know through contact tracing that the resultant debacle in terms of security was the major reason for Victoria's covid failure and why Victoria's death figures are sky high in comparision to other States.
Of course the sad story here is that Victoria is still in serious lockdown and the economy has been devastated...all apparently because of a dodgy security contract.

BETFAIR DELAY: This subject has been well covered by recent contributions by PDC and Temujin so if you want the history here just scroll back to pages 39 and 40 and read their thoughts and contributions to this "story".
I note that the so called Betfair delay has been raised once more by the Twitter twitterers with suggestions that here in Australia the delay in certain areas is as much as 7 to 8 seconds. The concern of course is that this opens a window of opportunity for unscrupulous folk to place a bet. Think what tennis attendees were doing during critical match points until the authorities woke up to what was happening and banned them. Also we know that scouts/observers/opportunists were posted at race meetings here with laptops or mobile devices that could post a bet just as the race began or in running. If a horse missed the start, or a leader dropped off the pace up the home straight then one could take advantage of such if you were quick. Betfair have once again confirmed that all races are closed off within one second of the jump and the issue is not at their end. Jump on Twitter if you want to know more.

[Charles49]

Highlight this Saturday is the Caulfield Cup run over 2400m for prizemoney of AUD $5m.
Its one of a handful of major races in Australia and attracts visitors (sometimes referred to as raiders!) from around the globe. Of course this year is an exception as Covid-19 has halted plans for many, however my first pick in the race is an English raider named Anthony Van Dyck, who is a classy racehorse and is expected to give this a big shake despite drawing the visitors barrier in 21.
I'm sure racing enthusiasts domiciled in the UK are familiar with his accomplishments.
Of course there are other races around on Saturday besides the Caulfield Cup with the most important being the running of the Everest at Randwick. Prizemoney is a mere $15m AUD....Yes thats right, fifteen million Australian dollars is up for grabs for a race that will be run and won in just over one minute. Incredible purse for a sprinting race!! And also at Randwick is the Kosciuszko, also over 1200m, and this time they race for AUD$1.3m.
On a personal note this week I have had 21 bets resulting in 9 winners, 5 seconds, 2 thirds, and 5 unplaced.
First race on Saturday will be at Caulfield at 11.15am Brisbane time.
This converts to 2.15am London time.
The last race will be run at Ascot at 7.05pm Brisbane time which converts to
10.05am London time.
Here are the selections for Saturday's racing which will be updated once the scratchings are known and the late mail is discovered.
Hope your day is a winning one and you are staying safe from the unfriendly virus that seems to permeate our lives daily.

CAULFIELD:
R2 no 1 Yes Baby Yes.. 2nd...No 2 Rainbel 3rd is the late mail
R3 no 2 Osamu 2nd
R4 no 2 Albarado.. Won $5.25..no 10 Lets Kracka Deal 2nd is a good chance here
R5 no 3 Starelle
R6 no 3 Fituese. 2nd..No 2 California Zimbol Won $4 is the late mail
R7 no 6 Alfa Oro
R8 no 9 Windstorm
R9 no 1 Anthony Van Dyck..2nd..thought no 9 Finche was value each way at $12. Put in no 14 Dalasan for the trifecta
R10 no 4 Felicia 3rd


DOOMBEN:
R1 no 1 Sugar Boom Won $2.20
R2 no 1 Mass Destruction Won $3.50
R4 no 1 Fastnet Cyclone 3rd
R5 no 4 Oh Five Glory 2nd
R7 no 1 Glenall
R8 no 6 Royal Hale Won $4.80
R9 no 10 Plenty is an each way chance @ $16 Scr



RANDWICK:
R1 no 6 Kalashikov
R4 no 2 Joviality....No 1 Forbidden Love Won $8 is a definite chance here
R5 no 3 Redouble 2nd is a rough hope at $31 or better
R6 no 1 Deprive 4th
R7 no 1 Nature Strip
R8 no 2 Star of the Seas
R9 no 7 Paths of Glory


ASCOT:
R3 no 1 Sassy Trader 3rd
R4 no 8 Notorious One
R8 no 6 Massimo 3rd

LAY BETS:
R9 no 7 Verry Eleegant Won $5.50, Lay bet Lost


Cheers n Beers

JOKE:
A woman, cranky because her husband was late coming home again, decided to leave a note, saying, “I’ve had enough and have left you. Don’t bother coming after me.” Then she hid under the bed to see his reaction. After a short while, the husband comes home and she could hear him in the kitchen before he comes into the bedroom. She could see him walk towards the dresser and pick up the note. After a few minutes, he wrote something on it before picking up the phone and calling someone. “She’s finally gone. Yeah I know, it is about time. I’m coming to see you. Put on that sexy French nightie. I love you. Can’t wait to see you. We’ll do all the naughty things you like.” He hung up, grabbed his keys, and left. She heard the car drive off as she came out from under the bed, seething with rage and with tears in her eyes. She grabbed the note to see what he wrote….
“I can see your feet. We’re out of bread and milk, be back in five minutes.”