Why all the fuss over Silvano ?

[Dave]

Silvano cannot win the Cox Plate, and his quote of 9/2 is ridiculous.

When are we going to learn that the Europeans aren't as good as they're hyped up to be ? It happens nearly every year in the Melbourne Cup.

The best example was Oscar Schindler. He was supposedly the greatest thing to ever set foot on Australian soil.... 50 lengths better than our horses simply because he was "placed in the Arc". He ran into a handy local named Saintly and finished 15th.

Double Trigger was another one. He started as a dominant favourite and did nothing. Vintage Crop is, of course, the exception.

And we are talking about the Melbourne Cup here, not the Cox Plate. The Melbourne Cup probably suits the European plodders a lot more than the 2040m of Mooney Valley ever would.

I believe the Melbourne Cup is a much easier race to win than the Cox Plate. Just look at some of the duds that have won the Cup in recent years. Brew was just a solid handicapper. Rogan Josh likewise. And Jezebeel was no champion.

Now look at the Cox Plate honour roll. Sunline. Sunline again. Might And Power. Saintly. Octagonal. Try and find a horse in that list that wasn't a champion. Dane Ripper, of course, won the race in '97 but she was pretty darn good too if you look at her record in Melbourne. She bolted in with an Australian Cup and also won a Stradbroke.

The point I'm trying to make here is that the Cox Plate produces only the highest class of winners, whereas the Melbourne Cup can be run and won by just about anything with a bit of stamina and a decent trainer. If the Europeans have been so unsuccessful in the Melbourne Cup then I say they aren't even close to good enough to win at Mooney Valley. And this is the best field of locals we've had in years.

If Silvano wins, or even runs second, then I'll eat humble pie for sure. But I'm not too worried at this stage.

[munchumba1]

Good point. I don't really think the the Australian public give enough credit to our top line horses. Horses like Sunline, Octagonal and Saintly not to mention past champions Tulloch and Phar Lap and the King were absolute World beaters. People forget the the European Horses are here on our turf, against our best who have been racing in tough, competitive races and are at their absolute peak

[brisvegas]

just to jog some memories an european horse has already won the cox plate. at its fourth ozz start almaraad won the plate from stylish century. i know i backed it ..... brisvegas

[Dave]

Good point, but keep in mind it was Almaraad's 4th start on our soil, it wasn't a one off raid from the other side of the world.

Perhaps if Silvano and other past Europeans decided to have a couple of lead up runs over here before the big races they would be a bit more successful.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Dave on 2001-10-27 10:45 ]</font>

[brisvegas]

i feel almaraad could have won the plate first up. 4 aust starts for a first up 2nd when unlucky and then 3 wins in a row, all in top company. i,m backing the prince because ive seen the runs but i would not be surprised to see silvano win. all i'm saying is don't write silvano off. the race will be the judge. by the way the cox plate is the best race in austrlia. only my opinion ....happy punting brisvegas

Hello,

OK, so you were right in "Silvano cannot win the Cox Plate." But not only as an avid fan of the horse _and_ European I have to add some thoughts to the discussion.

I think the jinx about European raisers to Australia - it's not about class. Don't belittle horses like Double Trigger or Oscar Schindler, they were no worse than your heroes. The other way round, one very ... uhmm... modest-class European called Taufan's Melody ran away with the Caulfield Cup. So it's definitely not about class.

The horses they just have to cope with some harsh difficulties, a completely different time zone and climate (hey it's rainy autumn here, horses are growing winter coats!) and "funny" circular courses to say the least (we have a 600 meter straight at the local racetrack...). Please, respect the European starters. Maybe your opinion was a little more moderate if more Australian horses tried their luck in Europe. Btw, I _saw_ Strawberry Road win here and thought it was extremely remarkable. I also cheered Nothin' Leica Dane but he didn't do any good here. He's nothing less better for that. Remember, it's not about class. If they could race on Mars, I'm sure Silvano would give Northerly a hell of a race :smile:

PS: A word on Caitano. I have seen this horse race since 2yo - and he's 8 now :smile: He didn't run so well today in the Cox Plate, but I want to add some thoughts on him too. His main target this season always has been the Melbourne Cup. He is one thorough stayer who won over 1900 meters at two, and has raced in Group I race company over 2400 from there on. He was surely not suited by the Cox Plates distance nor course, but I think there he was given a breeze-up preparation for the Cup, for acclimatising him and getting used to the Australian way of racing.

Caitano is one lazy sonofab* He is one of the fastest horses of recent time in Germany (don't laugh now, we take race times, too) and clearly one of the very best but he has grown into a sort of a character over the years so he decides if he wants to try or not. If yes, he has a blistering turn of foot, coming from behind like a fire engine.

Only problem I see about the Melbourne Cup is, he likes to fly in air planes before the races. They even thought of flying him from his local track Cologne to Dusseldorf race course (which is about 30 km away) to make him consider running fast. He recently completed his 30th air journey. More than I have flown :smile:

Caitano has been dubbed "the international consolation prize winner" for being placed so often. I'd say he's a great longshot in the Melbourne Cup. On ability he can easily place - only jinx is: will he want to?