Look outside NSW for the horses that are looking to Everest summit
It’s been the best of turf seasons for New South Wales, with Winx, a masterpiece and The Everest standing tall, and the worst in Victoria, featuring the residue from cobalt and the full impact of race-day milkshaking.
Also jockeys south of the border are on the boil over the $200 riding fee looking for a better spread of the riding wealth, while the major hurdle here is getting the quirky grey Chautauqua out of the barrier.
It's outside NSW that insight into major spring sprints, including The Everest, will be seen today on the last major meetings of the 2017-2018 term.
Obviously Vega Magic is chasing a slot in the Bletchingly at Caulfield while two promising types Nature Strip and the Golden Slipper minor placegetter Sunlight clash in the Lightning Stakes at Morphettville in Adelaide.
A scintillating promotion more than a great race, The Everest at Royal Randwick in October currently promises a mix of topliners and highly promising up-and-comers but lacks character, the like of which Chautauqua, the once great world beater with a demoralising finish when he breaks clean, can supply.
No doubt Racing chief Peter V’Landys would only be too happy to use coin of the realm to entice Chautauqua to come out of the gates. Alas, the problem with the gelding is mental, not financial like the jockey’s situation.
No doubt chairman of the team responsible for Chautauqua John Hawkes has had advice from several oracles, with horse whisperers home and abroad shouting their approach, and it's unfortunate Jim "JD" Wilton is no longer available.
"Give me a reluctant horse and I’ll put him on your roof if you build a ramp up to it," Wilton chanted. I met him over 20 years ago when he was 81, broken down in both hips to the degree he needed crutches to walk but he had taught his pony to lie down so he could get into the saddle.
Wilton would have cured Chautauqua but now the horse sense of John Hawkes is the best option.
Meanwhile, Wayne Hawkes, son of John and the manager in Melbourne for the family operation, is against any rise in riding fees when considering the calibre of vehicle jockeys can mount.
A major point in the jockey’s case is lack of payment for jump outs, the conditioning phase between gallops and barrier trials that dominate the Victorian scene much more than Sydney. Jockeys get paid to ride in barrier trials but not jump outs.
Certainly David Hayes, managing director of the family training partnerships, will have tuned Vega Magic, from West Australia originally, for a bold first-up performance today and make a claim for a slot in The Everest.
Vega Magic was an unlucky second to Redzel in the corresponding event last year and champion jockey Damian Oliver, on board in the Bletchingly, has given him the seal of approval as “a big strong horse who can absorb pressure”.
Vega Magic has to overcome the Darren Weir pair, Black Heart Bart, another former West Aussie, and Voodoo Lad, prime and a last start winner. Rising eight, Black Heart Bart, accomplished at the highest level and Caulfield specialist, will shed bar plates today which is a plus.
The Lightning, too, at Morphettville is intriguing, weight against maturity. With 59kg, Nature Strip, a four-year-old next week, was on show for a slot in the Everest at Flemington last start when he scored but didn’t dazzle.
Maybe the 52kg carried by Sunlight is seen as a considerable advantage but the filly, winner of five out of seven, is still a baby and while she turns three officially next week she was foaled on October 9.
Sunlight tried hard in the Golden Slipper, going down by under two lengths, but may have come to the end of a torrid campaign.
South Australian riding sensation Jamie Kah, fourth on the National premiership behind Willie Pike, Brenton Avdulla, and Jeff Lloyd, will have her first race aboard Sunlight, but handled the filly in barrier trials last preparation. Kah has no doubt she is better now, with a mouth gear switch from a lugging bit to a standard bit and cheekers a big contributor.
“She will breathe better,” Kah told ABC News Radio’s “Hoof On The Till”.