Courtesy The West Australian website:

The Goodwood Sprint at Belmont Park will become a weight-for-age event, boosting the prospects of champion Northerly starting first-up in Perth before tackling the Melbourne spring carnival.

The $9.3 million stake earner, a winner of 19 Victorian and WA races for trainer Fred Kersley, will be allotted 58kg if nominated for the 1300m Goodwood on August 16.

WA Turf Club racing manager Greg Carpenter said yesterday the Goodwood, which Northerly has contested twice, would change from being a handicap.

Northerly had 61kg when he won the race first-up in 2001 and finished a close fifth in it last year, carrying 60kg. A 1300m race in mid-August has been an ideal launching pad for his Cox Plate campaigns.

"Not only will Northerly be suited by a weight-for-age race on August 16," Carpenter said, "it will also fit well into programs for top local sprinters aimed at the Hannans Handicap four weeks later."

Kersley said Northerly, who resumed training a fortnight ago, would again target the $3 million Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley in October. He has won the weight-for-age championship twice and is poised to match the great Kingston Town's Cox hat-trick scored 20 years ago.

Northerly is at his devastating best in Melbourne spring carnivals. He won the Feehan, Underwood and Yalumba stakes leading up to his 2001 Cox victory.

Last year, he scored Craiglee, Underwood and Turnbull stakes wins, then triumphed in the Caulfield Cup a week before his second straight Cox success.

Courtesy The West Australian website:

Leading Melbourne doubles bookmaker Michael Eskander has advised punters to get in early on Northerly to win his third Cox Plate with the WA superstar already the focus of strong support - four months before the big event.

Eskander said punters were backing Northerly at an astounding rate in doubles bets. "Every second bet we take is on Northerly," he said.

The support has forced Eskander to firm the horse from $7 to $6 for the Cox.

"Punters won't be getting anything like these odds by the time of the race," said Eskander assessor Ken Goodwill. "Northerly is the hottest horse in betting for the spring."

Goodwill said one punter had taken a Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup double coupling Lonhro and Pillage 'N' Plunder to win $250,000 this week.

Lonhro is second favourite at $7 in the Cox.

Connections of Kiwi stayer Pillage 'N' Plunder backed the gelding heavily in pre-post markets before his emphatic win in last month's Adelaide Cup (3200m).

Punters have also rallied behind Sydney filly Private Steer in Cox betting, backing her from $31 into $15, after her brilliant win in last Saturday week's $1 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm.

Meanwhile, trainer Fred Kersley said yesterday he was weighing up a first start for Northerly - either in the $201,000 Liston Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 23 or in the Goodwood Sprint (1300m) at Belmont Park a week earlier.

"Both races fit into the general time frame of when Northerly would be having his first start," he said. "The Liston carries bigger prize money and the extra 100m might be better for the horse. It all depends on how he is at that point."

Northerly has been back in work at Kersley's training establishment for the past three weeks.

He is hot favourite to take out the Australian Horse of the Year award, which will be announced in Melbourne on July 3. Placid Ark is the only WA horse to have won the award - in 1986-87.


_________________
May the luck of the Irish be with you!



[ This Message was edited by: Paddy on 2003-06-20 11:30 ]

Rumour around that Paul Harvey may ride Northerly in his next campaign in the east.

Might be more than a rumour Paddy.

In the last seven weeks Harvey has had 14 city rides for Kersley - for eight wins, one second and two thirds.

According to this morning's press Harvey, who is about to take a five week break, admitted yesterday that if Kersley asked him to ride Northerly, his answer would be an emphatic: "Yes."


_________________
All the best from the West

Sandgroper :smile:

[ This Message was edited by: Sandgroper on 2003-06-23 15:59 ]

I would have thought that a Melbourne jockey who knows the tracks backwards would be a better option.What has one Greg Childs done wrong on the horse?Hasn't he got a perfect record on the horse?He just seems to me to have a "Sunline"type of affinity with this horse.Not casting any aspersions on the unquestionable talent of Paul Harvey,but I cannot remember him ever riding in Melbourne,thus he will be at a distinct disadvantage among the top jocks with "local"knowledge.My opinion only,but if he was mine I know who I would be legging up.Also(my opinion only)don't think $6 is any value 4 months out.A lot of things can and do go wrong,as we all know.

a p j harvey rode old comrade when he won the australian cup (beat a horse named northerly)

Well put topsy99. I also think the same P J Harvey had some success in Melbourne on a horse called Willoughby :wink:

Topsy99&Paddy,humble apologies for lack of memory of P.Harvey riding winners in Melbourne.You guys are obviously big fans of his,but as I stated in my post,I am not IN ANY WAY questioning his ability.I think he is a great rider,but I also think Greg Childs is too.Again,my memory may fail me,but hasn't G Childs won 4 out of 4 on Northerly?Has Harvey ever ridden Northerly before?If so,what was the result?My point is,would it not be more viable to put a jockey that knows the horse on board,as opposed to one who doesn't?Paddy Payne is a great rider too,but what is his win/loss ratio on the horse?I guess only time will tell.Again,sorry if I put any noses out of joint.

i recall the race specifically because i thought harvey outrode damien oliver who was on northerly.
he got a sit on northerly and finished over the top.

sorry didnt intend to be picking faults with comments on p j harvey riding in melbourne.
our forum mustn't get too jumpy with each other.

I agree angel childs should have been put back on straight after the cox plate. Payne
rode a teriffic race in the cox plate however he cost Northerly victory first up in the c.f orr stakes(won by yell NOrtherly settled last and ran the fastest last 600 of the race) and then again in the manion cup and then again in the bmw. i think he was beaten fair and square by republic lass in the ranvet. Childs had to ride sunline in the
cox then should have been put back on. Seems the connections have forgotten his perfect record of 7/7 on the champ.

Extract courtesy the West Australian website:

Trainer Fred Kersley praised Northerly's toughness after the six-year old gelding was named Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year on the back of his stellar Melbourne spring carnival.

Northerly becomes just the second WA horse to win the award after Placid Ark in 1987.

Northerly proved he was the best weight-for-age galloper in the land with his second Cox Plate victory, just seven days after becoming the first horse in 22 years to carry 58kg to victory in the Caulfield Cup.

He also claimed the $1.25 million Australian Cup for the second time in the qualifying period among a seasonal stakes tally of $5.54 million

Northerly polled 132 of a possible 159 votes from racing administrators and media to convincingly defeat his only rival for the title, Sydney horse Lonhro. Northerly was controversially beaten for the title last year, due mainly to the Sydney vote for Sunline, a horse he beat every time they met.

At the awards ceremony at the Crown Casino complex in Melbourne last night, Northerly also won the Champion Middle Distance horse and the Magic Millions Bloodstock Most Popular Racehorse award, which is decided by a public vote.

it's about ************ time northerly got horse of the year. the best horse i've seen. a champion. well done to fred kersley and connections.

northerly forever!

Belatedly, let me offer my heartiest congratulations to this mighty horse being crowned as Horse Of the Year as well as picking up "most popular" horse and best middle distance horse. No-one can deny his credentials, having won two of our blue riband events during the year.
The jury is still out as to how he has been handled but nothing should detract from the courage and strength displayed by this mighty horse during the last racing season.
As irrelevant as it is, debate is still raging as to whether he is a true "champion." Particularly, from connections of other pretenders to his crown. It is all subjective and he has earned his accolades. Hopefully he can emulate his feats in the upcoming season.

Cheers.

Wayne Hawkes made comments on radio to the effect that Northerly had not proved himself to be in the champion category. It is interesting though that he seemed to mainly list horses trained by John as having that mantle.

G'day croft,

He certainly has some good ones currently and any number of potential"stars" ready to make the step up to being top-liners.
I've got a lot of admiration for that old campaigner, Freemason. He has always raced against the best and has accumulated in excess of $2Million.
In any other era he would probably be in the equine Hall of Fame.

Cheers.

i'm a huge fan of wayne and john hawkes but wayne has let himself down terribly with his comments. he question's northerly's champion status. 2 cox plates, a caufield cup, 2 australian cups. enough said on Northerly. Hawkes says Northerly's inability to win over short trips makes him inferior. he has won from 1300 to 2400(with 58kg in caufield cup). Hawkes' so-called champs win first up. so what. lonhro couldn't get within 7 lengths of him in the cox plate. freemason an admirable tough war horse only beat him because of patrick payne's woeful ride. Hawkes' champ lonhro i doubt would run 2400. does this not make him a champion? horses can be champion's over their specialised trip. saintly wasn'tmuch of a sprinter but is still a champion. I put it to wayne hawkes and other doubters that if hawkes trained Northerly to 2 cox plates etc etc and 18 stakes wins of his 19 wins that he would be the first to say what a champion Northerly is. Wayne your comments are a disgrace! sour grapes wayno?

[ This Message was edited by: umrum on 2003-07-07 13:04 ]

Extract courtesy Racenet -

West Australian and Australian Champion Northerly suffered a tendon injury late yesterday and his racing career may be over.
Trainer Fred Kersley was understandably devastated at the news, and has been with the horse since the injury occurred.
West Australian reporter Ernie Manning said this morning:
"The injury happened late yesterday but the news was only heard today.
"Fred is still with Northerly, along with the vets, and his wife has been fielding the calls for him.
"They have given the horse anti-inflammatory's and they will do scans of the leg today.
"It'll be 48 hours before the extent of the injury is known.
"It certainly isn't life threatening but it could well be career threatening."

...

no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!NO!
spring racing without the champ will not be the same. damn it!

Commiserations fellas,

He was/is a great horse and deserves all accolades for his great career.
The horse is definitely one of the greats but how do you sandgropers feel about the way he was placed in unsuitable handicap events over here which detracted from his overall performance history.
Be honest, do you think his connections detracted from the potential of a truly great horse.
I still remember early this year when he began to race with his head turned to the side-normally this is an indication that the horse has had enough but this mighty horse kept giving his best every race.
A truly great horse and maybe a place in the equine hall of merit?
The jury is still out in respect of his credentials as being a "champion" -ask Fred about that.

Cheers.

I think Patrick Payne blemished his and Northerly's careers when riding the champ in sydney and in the C.F Orr stakes. Northerly only got a slight smudge but Payne has a big black mark next to his name. I think he had to run to get fit. Fred is the master dont worry about that. He knows Northerly back to front. If he doesnt run in the spring or ever again which are both likely it will be sad seeing inferior horses to him winning the races such as the underwood, yalumba, cox plate etc. holding back the tears. great great great horse. Greatest Caufield cup win ever with 58kg.(Might and Powers close second). his career still reads 19 wins(18 black typeand 9 G1's ) and 9 placings(all black type) from 34 starts. 28/ 34 yet his preffered distance was 1600m + beyond.

I agree umrum,

This horse is /was undeniably one of the greats. Let's not forget that we on the east coast acknowledged his credentials for being recognised as one of the "greats."
As far as "champion," well, I'm sorry, but the jury is still out.
I still think that he was a horse , if handled better, would have eclipsed some of the records of our more recent "champions."
What do you think?
Looking forward to your thoughts.

Cheers.

xanadu,
No doubt he is one of the greats. I also think he is a 'champion'. His record will probably show that in times to come. An interesting point to ponder is whether Sunline is/was a champion. I think she is and therefore Northerly must be defeating 4 from 4, two of them in her prime at her favourite course/distance...

I think he was trained magnificently by fred kersley. Highlighted by his caufield cup and cox plate victory's within 7 days. I think that there were races that he could have contested and won that would have made him eclipse certain records. Races such as the yalumba, mackinon and other G1's. Also the ranvet and Bmw two years ago. All of these would have given him more stakemoney and G1's to his name. Also when first up he was ridden quietly and perhaps was not fit enough however I believe he could have picked up some "easy" G1's like the Orr and Futurity. But perhaps if he was ridden harder or more trained up he may have hit a flat spot later on and not won the cox in successive years or the caufield. I think his record in the autumn shows that he was probably flat from his spring feats. But we will probably never know his full potential.

cheers
umrum

p.s watching him before he was a star is unbelievable. He was 3 wide in his first Australian cup and smashed the course record. Also his feehan stakes win over sunline makes the blood really pump. And his first cox plate he was off the bit 3 wide again(oliver loved racing him wide) and still won. Go the champ.

[ This Message was edited by: umrum on 2003-07-25 12:37 ]

just heard news from reliable source close to
connections of Northerly. Sad news was;
Northerlys racing days are over :sad:

umrum,

Northerly was a great horse but settle down a bit on his CC win being the greatest ever.

Eleven horses have carried his weight or more and won the Cup before and all of them at a time of less compressed weight scales.

It was a good win but not mind blowing. Sunline's weight carrying feats in handicaps were superior to Northerly's.

Hammers.

I can't help but wonder just what Northerly's career stats would be if he had been in the care of one J.Hawkes?IMO Fred Kersley is a "good"trainer.J.Hawkes is a great one.Putting Fremason in the same boat with Northerly is like comparing Dame Edna with Nicole Kidman.Take P.Payne's butt out of the pigskin and he wins in a canter.A champion horse needs a champion trainer and a champion jockey.Look at the late great T.J.Smith's record of making great horses out of good horses that were going nowhere with ordinary trainers.Gunsynd springs to mind.My condolances to all you guys that obviously idolised this fantastic racehorse.The memories of his deeds will last forever.I hope they put him in a lush paddock with a beautiful mare to keep him company for the rest of his days,God knows he's earned it.

I do get carried away with him because he is the champ. Just remember before the race. On weights he should never have won. He gave Fields of Omagh what 4.5 kgs. He gave fremason 4.5kgs. he gave republic lass 5 or 6
kgs. These horses have all proven to be quality group one performers. To carry that weight over 2400 is phenomenal and to give other runners 4 kg and win is even greater. He also did it from the front, fields of omagh was within 2 lengths at the turn and couldnt run him down. I think it rates right up there with the best and dont get me started when he beat the best field ever assembled in the cox plate.

G'day angel,

I tend to agree with your comments but nothing should detract from the performances of this mighty horse. He gave his best each and every start and deserves a peaceful retirement. Although, an opinion expressed by one of our media personalities suggests that, being a gelding he will still enjoy the atmosphere around the stables because his competitive spirit will not have diminished-I agree with those sentiments.
By the way old son-we did you in the State Of Origin series but your mob came back well in the third game and spanked our posteriors.
Also, I noticed in another post that you felt your comments were not being acknowledged by some posters-don't worry, I find your opinions worthwhile and constructive so keep 'em coming!

Cheers and good luck to you.

g'day guys,

i know the general consensus is that Northerly should have been placed better but
Fred Kersley is an absolute genius horseman dont worry about that. AS I have stated previously P. Payne slaughtered him and cost him but I think Fred has done a sterling job. Not many horses have backed up to win the cox plate after shouldering 58kg's to victory in the caufield cup just 7 days earlier. Anyway sorry about the repetitive nature of this post. well done fred

I certainly classify Northerly as a champion - he had a tremendous determination to win and could overcome setbacks in a race to win.

I think New Zealand's Trevor McKee, trainer and part-owner of Northerly's arch-rival Sunline has summed it up best - "He was one helluva champion galloper, He probably had the most unorthodox style I have seen in a racehorse. I was in awe of him. I never thought I would see a horse who could meet Sunline four times and beat her four times."

Enjoy your retirement CHAMP :sad:

Today on Racing Retro Fred was interviewed and the general consensus was that Northerly will be retired to a quiet paddock somewhere in the west.
It is not unusual for such well performed thoroughbreds to be inducted into the police force. Horses of this calibre are usually very intelligent and brave and thrive on the constant attention they receive as well as performing a public service. I'm sure his connections will make the right decision which is in the horse's best interests.

Cheers.