El Roca was so unlucky in the Caulfield Guineas. :( But, on the plus side, he's coming back to NZ for a shot at redemption in the 2000 Guineas next month! Can't wait.

:( :( :(

GrahamMotion ‏@GrahamMotion 51m
Hoofit lost his life today due to a leg infection. He survived an earthquake, hurricane & shipping across the world but this was too much.

Oh no. :( That's horrible news. I loved that guy.

Just such a nice horse who seemed to love racing and tried so hard every time.

Lovely picture.

I thought of you every time I saw he was entered. :(

On a happier note (and I don't want to seem disrespectful by so flippantly changing the subject but) gotta say this... it's a very nice field for the Lion Red Plate.

Guns at Five!!! :eek: :D :tro:

Wow that was really nice to see! I am still scratching my head (but in a good way)!

That finish in the Lion Red Plate would have given me a heart attack if I had been there. VERY nice runs from the top 4!

Yeah, both were great races! And a nice win on the undercard by Cosmic Cube, who's on track for the 2000 Guineas.

Archie has been given the racing name Brochaine - 'broche' is French for pin (his sire is Pins) and 'plaine' is French for lowland, which is his dam's name.

Cosmic Cube set for a clash with Bounding and Spellbinder (and probably others - Allez Eagle?) in what should be an AMAZING Sarten Memorial next weekend: http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...Memorial-rival

Wow that is gonna be a great race. :)

I love that!!!

Nice article about Percy, who's running in the Wellington Guineas this Saturday. http://www.nzracing.co.nz/News/10642...ith-Percy.aspx

Against a tough field - Lord Turbo, Sakhee's Soldier, Touche and King's Rock - but I really hope he does well.

Sarten field.


:eek:
Stunning. Can't wait.

Also makes me even more excited about my annual trips down to Christchurch for the two Guineas races! Been going since 2008. The winners so far: Daffodil, Tell A Tale, Katie Lee (x2 - only horse ever to win both), Jimmy Choux, King's Rose, Rock 'N' Pop, Planet Rock, Sacred Falls and Rollout The Carpet.

:eek: :tro:

How do you even make a pick with a field like that?

Incredible. Can't wait! Should be heart-stopping.

Hey speaking of which (not really but... :D ) any news on The Hombre? I never see his name but as far as I know he wasn't retired...

I have not looked at any results or replays yet.

My first stop was to look at The Informant and I was stunned and delighted to see this...

http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...ack-for-Bosson

Fantastic Honour scratched?

Fantastic Honour ran in the Wellington Guineas at Trentham on Saturday. She struggled in the wet track and was never really a factor.

Shuka was so great! I hadn't really planned to go to Ellerslie on Saturday, but decided to go when the weather was so beautiful. And then I got to see Shuka do that! Wonderful win under a massive weight.

About to drive down to Hamilton for Sarten day now. Can't wait!

Also, did you see Lucky Feather's run in the Wellington Guineas?

Had to log in on my phone from the track and post - Yin Yang Master! Brave Centaur! Amazing day so far.

:eek:

WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING?????

Hahahaha SOOOOO happy! :D

Lucky you... wish I were there!

No not yet!!!

Will get to that tonight (finally!)

I cannot figure who the favorite is in the Sarten S.

Good luck!

Wow. Bounding! That was so, so good.

Nice photo on the Informant site. So easy.

Wow I just watched a few replays that that one was just lovely! What a great win for her and whoa tough tough field.

VERY nice.

Lucky Feather! He looked done but then found another gear and I am so happy for his connections!

Love love love Brave Centaur (even if I do hope Joey wins one soon and you know how I love Villifye) and oh heart be still... that was so cool seeing Yin Yang Master get a win. Thank you MdP for that lovely ride!

That must have been fantastic being there! :)

Bounding is now the hottest 1000 Guineas favourite since Katie Lee. :)

The 2000 Guineas is still so even - none of the boys have really stood up above the rest yet.

Latest Guineas odds.

2000 GUINEAS, NOV 9
Atlante 3.50
Sacred Park 4.50
Cosmic Cube 5.00
Chambord 6.00
Spellbinder 12
Gobi Ranger 14
Burnt Orange 21
Costa Viva 21
Lucky Feather 21
We'regoingtogetcha 21
Charlestown 31
Puccini 31
Sakhee's Soldier 31
El Doute 51
Lukander 51
Deschabeel 81


1000 GUINEAS, NOV 16
Bounding 2.40
Miss Foxwood 4.50
Spellbinder 5.00
Costa Viva 7.00
Role Model 9.00
Stella's Honour 16
Whistling Dixie 21
Lady Le Fay 51
Miss Mossman 51
Orovela 51
Silhouette Noire 51
Choice Snitzel 81
Rachel Rafter 81
Fairy Cake 101
Harmonize 101

Silent Achiever out of the Melbourne Cup. :( Her Caulfield Cup leg injury's become infected. Hope she gets better soon.

Picked up a nice E/W bet with Hippie in the finale on Wednesday night (US time) from Wanganui. Been waiting on him since I saw him debut and recognized the silks. Enjoying having the NZ product going every day now.

That's great to hear! :) It's an exciting time of year here, with our best racing just around the corner.

Hope you get the chance to see Bounding in the 1000 Guineas in two weeks' time. She's exceptional.

Such a great card down the road at Ellerslie today, but I'm stuck at work. :( I could almost walk there from there. Aw.

At least I have the trips down to Christchurch for the Guineas to look forward to on the next two Saturdays!

That is one hell of a G3 with Annie, Ransomed, Zennista and Postman's Daughter!

I would leave work if I were you.

Of course the most important horse running today is PINZAARA!

Good luck to your girl, ed. :)

(Oooh MDP up? NIce!).

Was surprised to see Final Touch at... great I just forgot the name of the track but she's running today?

Yeah, hoping Pinzaara does well. Hard field, but she's tough!

Wow, I hadn't even looked at the Wingatui fields, so didn't know FT was running! She should beat that field easily if she's anywhere near 100%.

Beautiful run from your girl in a very tough field... you should be so proud!

What's next for her and how is Archie?

Very proud of her! I did make it to the track in time for that race, and she did so well. Fantastic. :)

Here's what Jason Bridgman had to say about Archie in his first trial last week:

Brochaine ('Archie') (2 c Pins – Lowland) – Matt Cameron; jumped slowly and ran on, finding the sprint trip far too short in his first trial.

Although finishing near the rear in a small field, he was there for education and it was difficult to make any ground. He was quite field shy and will take good experience. Being a big colt that will take time to mature, he will benefit a brief spell before returning to training. I will keep you updated.

2000 Guineas field:

The Guineas favourites:

ATLANTE



SACRED PARK



CHAMBORD

Odds

Sacred Park 3
Atlante 3.20
Chambord 5.50
Gobi Ranger 10
Burnt Orange 14
We'regoingtogetcha 14
Lucky Feather 21
Puccini 21
Charlestown 21
El Doute 41
Lukander 50
Deschabeel 50

Glad you made it to watch your girl run and thanks for the Archie update! Exciting!

Odd on Lucky Feather surprised me... figured he'd be the longest shot on the board but I guess maybe with that last run of his (?)...

Happy to see Darryl Bradley has the mount again. That seemed like a nice fit last time.

I couldn't recall seeing Chambord before so went back and watched his win... very nice! Didn't seem like a strong field or anything but still... nice horse. (Either both he and Swinging are very large or there were a couple of very small horses in that one cause they looked gigantic! :D ).

Who is your pick, ed?

I'm still trying to figure it out! Atlante was the most visually impressive in his last race, but I don't think the field he beat was very strong (apart from All Decked Out, who didn't fire at all that day).

Sacred Park is so brave. If he's in a two-horse war down the stretch, he'll win that.

But I'm starting to think Chambord could come flying down the outside like he did when he came 2nd to Costa Viva in the Ray Coupland Stakes. And maybe he'll go straight past these guys. He seems to be improving a whole lot with every race.

I think the fillies are a stronger group this year. The 1000 Guineas next week is going to be Bounding, Costa Viva, Spellbinder, Miss Foxwood... Can't wait for that one.

That damn Atlante is a fighter. Looked drowned at the top of the stretch and kept plugging along like a freight train. Just wore everyone down it looked like in the studio. I was commenting to co-worker that he was done and obviously Atlante didn't get the quit memo. Exciting race to watch.

I'm assuming you had this and oh, what a nice win and very nice run from Chambord as well.

Ummm Sacred Park... is he okay? Didn't quite look himself there at the end but what do I know.

I was SO disappointed re Lucky Feather! What happened, ed? All they said was "a late scratch" and wow sucks for his people and of course I really do hope he's okay (?).

Can't wait for the fillies. :)

Any word on my Mr. The Hombre? Still no barrier trials or anything. :confused:

Yeah, exactly. Such a tough win. I thought some weak opposition had made him look better than he was in the Canterbury Stakes, but clearly I was wrong. He beat them fair and square. Really impressive.

It'll be interesting to see whether they push on to the NZ Derby now. I get the impression a mile and a half is a bit of a stretch for Fastnet Rock 3yos. But this guy doesn't look like he'll shrink away from a challenge.

You were absolutely right. I found this in the stewards' report:

"When questioned regarding the performance of SACRED PARK, rider L Innes reported that the gelding had travelled comfortably in the running, but failed to respond when pressured and was disappointing. Innes added that SACRED PARK felt indifferent in its action over the final stages. Stewards ordered a post-race veterinary inspection of SACRED PARK, which did not reveal any obvious abnormalities."

A bit of a mystery.

Lucky Feather had a meltdown in the starting gates. :( He ended up turning himself around and facing the wrong way, and he got himself stuck. They finally got him out, and then the vet scratched him - just minor cuts and bruises, but enough to take him out of the race. So disappointing for Lucky Feather and his team, in one of the biggest races of the year.

Good question about The Hombre! I can't find anything either. Weird. I'll do some further investigation!

It was a really fun trip down to Christchurch yesterday. Loved it. A kind of cold day, but awesome racing action all the way through. And I managed to get up close to the man of the moment after his life-changing win.


I can't wait to do it all again next week!