It’s the day before The First Tuesday In November, so it’s time once again for an open thread where people can share with us their Cup tips, tipping systems, amusing anecdotes, withering critiques, fashion fascism, hangover remedies and anything else that pertains to The Big Race and anything reasonably incidental thereto.
Let me begin with some advice. If Bart Cummings quinellas the Cup with So You Think and Precedence, it won’t necessarily be in that order. We may well see a repeat of 1974 when Bart’s quotidian journeyhorse stayer Think Big had more in his tank at the end than his sexy, much hyped stablemate Leilani. FWIW, I’ll be backing Precedence and Maluckyday to repeat the formation finish of their big sisters Jezabeel and Champagne in 1998.
Strictly speaking Paul, Maluckyday and Precedence aren’t half-siblings to Jezabeel and Champagne, because being by the same sire doesn’t count. I backed the trifecta that day, btw.
I can’t have Precedence because (a) the Moonee Valley Cup was a really weak field, (b) he’s a Moonee Valley specialist (c) I don’t think he’ll stay the 3200m and I don’t care who he’s by (d)he’s a bit mad and doesn’t settle.
I’ll be boxing the following six horses; So You Think, Descarado, Zipping, Monaco Consul, Americain and Holberg.
I had a chat to So You Think’s strapper on Saturday. He was so confident and the horse has the same sort of aura as Makybe Diva. Just so relaxed and arrogant about himself. 56k is nothing to a big, strong stallion who’s won two Cox Plates – very different than Leilani was was very slight and lightly-framed, but all quality.
I’m sorry but High Chapparal will be taking over Zabeel’s mantle as the top staying sire.
The Cup always reminds me of the old jockeys I’ve known. Tough, battered and sentimental. Nursing their arthritis and smokers cough. Dead broke, having drank and gambled their money away. I used to help out one old bloke called Sammy who had a few very slow horses. His claim to fame was that he came second in the Cup on a 200/1 shot called Welkin Sun, in 1952. He still loved the tell the story. The memory never got old for him.
Fine – you don’t rate Maluckyday ?
No, I rate him with a lightweight. But six horses is my limit and he just didn’t sneak in. Might be a bit too soon for him.
I hope you’re right Fine. I’m going to use you tips. Mainly because I know nothing about the horses , but my next door neighbour and I make our annual visit to the TAB on Cup Day, and I’ll sound like I know what I’m talking about if I use your tips. Thanks.
Hope they do okay Jan. No promises. But, if it gets up I look like a genius.
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by boxing Fine, but you sure write like you know what you are talking about when it comes to horse racing. tonight we expect our usual trans Tasman call from Dr H’s family and a list of names that i am supposed to take to a TAB nice and early tomorrow and put $5 here and $10 there, i always feel like a right burke putting so many bets on at once. at least someone usually wins something, its usually her dad.
good luck tomorrow.
I reckon you picked the eyes out of it Fine..I remember Welkin Sun, ‘know why, I was only fourteen.I like Holberg.
Dylwah, boxing means means you take that group of horses and you bet on them to run the first three in any order. You can take as many as you want, but it gets expensive. To box six runners, it costs $120, but you can take just half of that if you want. There are many exotic bets and it can make the head spin. And it’s smart to pay attention to an Nzer when it comes to the Cup.
Yep, Holberg. He reminds me of the other Godolphin horses who have run well.
Dylwah & Fine, here in Queensland we can specify a maximum spend on the exotics (with a minimum spend of $3) and if one of our combinations wins we get a fraction of the standard dividend equivalent to the maximum spend expressed as a fraction of what we’d spend at the standard rate of $1 per unit. This means that if I boxed six horses for a trifecta with a maximum spend of three dollars, and one of those combinations won the trifecta, I would get 1/40th of the standard trifecta dividend.
I think it’s the same in Victoria, Paul. I don’t bet often these days, so I tend not to notice these new-fangled notions too much. As for people trading on Betfair – it’s just like the stock market.
thanks
@9 Just had that explained to me at the local when I checked my sweeps Paul, so yes it’s same for Victoria. Maluckyday in the 5$ and Tokai Trick in the 2$.
Very brave, Tokai Trick. I like the Japanese horses, but then I got concerned he wouldn’t handle the wet track. But now the track isn’t so wet. One nice thing – the centre of the track is like a lake and waterbirds have already started arriving.
Sorry, folks, but no-one who supports animal welfare has any place around horseracing. It’s a cruel gig. Betting on the Cup – or any race – is perpetuating the callous treatment and unnecessary deaths of many, many animals. Glamour and history doesn’t make it OK.
I was told many years ago to not bet on either 2yo races or handicaps. All runners in the Melbourne cup will be trying (ie they’re not just out for a run), most have never run the distance, and the best horses are made to carry a lot of lead (or something similar). Having said that, I like Americain.
Racecourses are more interesting to me than horse races.Why these sites are not used more thoroughly without effecting horse races,probably means, still, lateral thinking,could only show up as a horse name.I remember my dead Dad with the tranny in his ear[Transistor Radio] on the poor wages of a rail fettler.Then,as now, Gambling bores me completely.There maybe good people in the industry,but, if that is the case,even as jockeys,isn’t there something totally missing about the use of these properties!?
Apparently “Profound Beauty” doesn’t like the track too heavy or too hard!! So with water birds in the middle – will the track be wet or dry???
I still celebrate “Vintage Crop”‘s win with my wife. She gets sent flowers from that horse from time to time. We did quite well on that one with Mr Weld.
“I remember my dead Dad with the tranny in his ear[Transistor Radio]”
Thank you for explaining, Mr Travers. I was worried for a moment that the supposedly exclusive deal I have with the tipster ladyboy midget buggering my ear was busted.
Anything can happen! Mrs Z works with a lady whose dad was Ray Neville, a fifteen year old who got the ride on 80 to 1 shot Rimfire in 1948 after Billy Smith passed up the ride for a better fancy. Rimfire and Ray won making him the youngest ever jockey to win the big event.
1976. Canberra. Woke up just before the 7:45am news. Listened to it. Storms forecast for Melbourne.
Was at the nearest TAB at 9am, put $5 on Van Der Hum.
At some stage during the day sat my Succession Law exam.
Got home – felt quite happy about my winnings.
(pssst,the only only time I’ve ever backed the winner of the Cup for good reason)
Fine – have a wonderful (fine) day tomorrow.
Can you “box” the six to only come first and second, or second and third? What are those bets called?
My interest is purely numerological…
davidh
David, you can back a quinella to come 1st and 2nd.
I love old racing stories. Ray Neville, what a legend. Just a little apprentice. I think the Cup was maybe his first win in a race.
Thanks Fiona. I’ll have a good day, whatever happens.
This may go some way towards explaining that horrible bit of rap you posted on the Piano discussion.
Please tell me this has nothing to do with Tex.
Seeing some poor horse trying to run with its shattered leg flapping like a piece of cloth, a few cups ago made me want to vomit. Going to the gym during the race.
I heard on the radio this morning that some 15,000 oysters are going to be consumed by the Melbourne Cup crowd at Flemington. As an oyster has the same capacity for consciousness and personhood as a human foetus prior to the 24th week of pregnancy, can we expect to see the right-to-lifers out in force to protest this slaughter of the innocents?
Paul, given that every now and again some unlucky oyster-eater strikes a bad one, I wonder what the odds are out of 15,000 that some unlucky lady is going to end up with oyster in her fascinator.
PC, one of the positive aspects of today’s cool weather, and more generally of Melbourne’s climate in November, is that the chicken salads won’t go the way of the chicken salad which I was silly enough to consume at an open air food festival on a hot November day in Brisbane in 1996.
Back on the question of fools and their money being soon parted, I’ve got $10 on Maluckyday to win, $10 on Maluckyday and Precedence (Bart Cummings’ other horse) for the quinella, and a $10 maximum spend box First 4 with Maluckyday, Precedence, So You Think and Profound Beauty.
I was asked to do the sweeps draw at work this year. Didn’t manage to jag So You Think in any of the three sweeps, but my little family have between them Zipping, Buccellati, Profound Beauty (twice), Manighar, Precedence, Monaco Consul, Descarado and Harris Tweed.
I am reliably informed by the 21 year old that Monaco Consul is a “donkey”. So we shall see. And I got him to put some on So You Think at the TAB for me.
Americain, me thinks.
See, told ya.
joe2, very prescient of you.
And Zipping ran 4th again.
Had Americain, So You Think (and Zipping) – but agreed with Fine about Maluckyday.
Eh bien…
Much wailing and gnashing of teeth at my son’s pad where he had thought he had boxed the first three plus Descarado but went back to the TAB only to find that it had been processed as a straight bet. I guess that’s what happens when you only bet once a year
A ruling, please, from our resident stewards. Who came last for the purposes of an office sweepstakes?
The Age has reported Descarado as coming last by virtue of DNF, but the last finisher was Zavite. Settle it for us please: who receives $7.50 in my office, the last finisher or the non-finisher?
I didn’t get to watch the race as I was on desk duty, but escaped to the canteen in time to see Americain being led to get his rose-wreath by a woman dressed in red. The horse had been perfectly happy until she came up to him but once her ugly tea-cosy style hat was level with his left eye he kept tossing his head in disgust and pulling away!
My Mum buys Cup sweep tickets for all of us on the grounds that our children won’t be Normal if she doesn’t (I’d say the odds of our children achieving Normality are in the hundreds to one range anyway, but I digress). One of the boys got Americain. The question is whether the Nerf armoury or the Lego collection will be increased as a result.
Vive la France…Vive Americain.
Liam, Descarado officially ‘Did Not Finish’, so Zavite is last. Hence, the person who drew Zavite gets the cash.
Thanks Fine. I now have to go around my office and take people’s winnings away from them.
The moral of the story is never trust The Age or indeed any Fairfax paper.
It’s nice that Descarado was Abbott’s pick … DNF & DNR …
Sorry Liam. Perhaps you could just forget I told you.
I saw Abbott making a goose of himself by calling So You Think, What’s His Name. Bolshie reporter kept asking, ‘Yes, but what is his name?’
BTW, Descarado is okay. Apparently, he simply decided to stop running. Horses do have their own opinions.
Fine, sorry if i put the moz on you with my admiring words re your racing prose.
“BTW, Descarado is okay. Apparently, he simply decided to stop running. Horses do have their own opinions”
as we learn on those touristy trail rides as we turn for home and sullen nags perk up and want to show the true way of the light horse, Beersheba wells here we come.
Dylan, it’s hard to back a trifecta, but we try.
My old man got the quinella today.