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Gareth Hall’s top 5 stories and moments from the Flemington Carnival
SENTrack • November 12th, 2024 10:25 am
Flemington’s Melbourne Cup Carnival is done and dusted for another year and with that comes reflection.
SENTrack’s Gareth Hall has taken a close look at the four-day racing festival and come up with his top 5 stories and moments.
Read his thoughts below:
1 - Knight’s Choice winning the Melbourne Cup
“The storyline regarding Sheila Laxon, John Symons and Robbie Dolan,” he said on SENTrack’s Giddy Up.
“The jockey that was on The Voice that went back to riding. That was his third ride at Flemington and he wins in his first ride in a Melbourne Cup.
“Sheila was the first female to win the Melbourne Cup 23 years ago with Ethereal. She hadn’t had a Cup runner since and she wins with Knight’s Choice at 100-1.
“He was bred to be a 1000m horse and wins a Melbourne Cup.
“Then owners knocked back $2.3 million to sell to Hong Kong and they basically wanted to keep the horse because it was a family horse and they wanted to race it.”
2 - James McDonald’s record-breaking 11 wins
“Breaking his own record with 11 wins and winning four Group 1s.
“He’s now in front of Ryan Moore in the world’s best jockey championship which is based on certain races nominated throughout the year around the globe.
“There’s only two more races left in Japan which Moore will compete in but J-Mac can’t. So he could win that award.
“He’ll become the greatest ever jockey from Sydney’s premiership point of view, then he’ll probably knock over Damien Oliver’s record of 129 Group 1s and then he’ll go to Hong Kong.”
3 - Mr Brightside’s Champions Mile triumph
“I love this horse.
“He needs it go to his way, he can’t have Pride Of Jenni breaking up the field like she’s done in previous races. But if they go the tempo that he enjoys, he’s just bombproof.
“It’s a great training performance by Lindsay Park. He’s won eight Group 1s and over $16 million in prize money.
“I think that’s his greatest victory, Mr Brightside. To do what he did against that field was amazing.
“He’s a champion in my eyes.”
4 - Pride Of Jenni’s retirement
“Obviously there’s been a lot of debate and controversy surrounding her and owner Tony Ottobre.
“I’ll just say this - Pride Of Jenni was the horse that got me so excited about racing again. I’ve always loved racing but she was the horse that gave this sport the inspiration that it needed at the time.
“She got everybody up and about with the way that she was able to go about her business, she ignited the sport once again.
“She was dominant during the Flemington Carnival last year, her All-Star Mile victory was so exciting when she led, the Australian Cup thrill that she gave everybody and then what she did in the Queen Elizabeth was breathtaking.
“Even this spring with the Feehan Stakes, and the Makybe Diva was a great race.
“She gave us a thrill and enabled us to watch racing in a different light. The storylines surrounding her were inspiring.
“Ciaron Maher did a great job with her and Declan Bates had a wonderful association with her.
“I love her story and she goes down as one of my all-time favourites. She’s been great for the game and I’ll remember her forever on the race track.”
5 - The rise of Yulong
“Via Sistina winning the Champions Stakes, Treasurethe Moment winning the Wakeful and the Oaks.
“I think Yulong, if they haven’t already, might take over from Godolphin as the powerhouse of racing from an organisational-farm point of view.
“They are on fire.”
