Something's missing . . .
I used to have a rule that if I was at home watching the Lotto draw on a Saturday night, my social life had taken a turn for the worse. Well, I avoided the Lotto draw on Saturday, but I did stay at home, largely to watch the Interdominion heats beamed in from around Australia, and to have a small flutter on them, too.
. . . in the Interdoms . . .
Sadly, the racing was largely predictable. The four favourites rolled in, I got 148% of the bonus quaddie and received a massive $28 back. No need to take a wheelbarrow to the TAB last week. Terror To Love beat two injured pacers in the Auckland heat, Caribbean Blaster led and won, Mah Sish did the same, as did Excel Stride, and Im Themightyquinn benefited from a ridiculous battle up front in the Western Australian heat which led to one driver getting suspended for six weeks.
. . . or is it just me?
I like to think of myself as a progressive kind of guy - I am usually only a couple of years behind when it comes to buying the latest gizmos - but I went to bed pretty disappointed with the whole affair. Yes, I had aired my thoughts in the column last week, so there may have been some prejudice in play, but I'd love to hear from anyone who enjoyed the heats. One bouquet, though: the format worked reasonably well for TV with heats every 20 minutes, and we had some good banter and analysis from the Sky Australia studio between Greg Hayes, Adam Hamilton and Gareth Hall.
Bum note
Good to hear my opinion matters about as much as I expected. I received two texts from friends telling me the national anthem was played before the Invercargill Gold Cup on Saturday. Yes, the prestigious $25,000 2600m open handicap. Maybe I'll give up trying to change the world one racecourse at a time.
Harry can still ride
On a positive note, Handbrake Harry aka Noel Harris is simply a legend. His judgement to nab Fairway Wish right on the line in last Saturday's Taranaki Cup was as impeccable as ever. When he does hang up the silks in the next year or so, we'll lose one of racing's great - and gravelly voiced - characters.
Lazy Fiver
Amy's Invasion opened at $18 to win last week, but got punted right down, so the $2.20 place price for her second wasn't as juicy as I had hoped. Still, there was a small profit there. This week, I'm quite partial to Virginia Wade (the horse, not the tennis player) in race 6 at Matamata tomorrow. She failed in her last start, but she drops back to the rating 75 grade and goes well over the distance.matt.smith@odt.co.nz
