27th October 2003, 05:16 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Jan 1970
Posts: 578
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Quote:
On 2003-10-27 16:17, TESTAROSSA wrote:
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Just because Lonhro moved up to challenge at the turn does not mean he handled the track.
La Mar: Lonhro's defeat had little to do with either the track or the conditions. Horses that have an adversity to a certain track simply do not run the sectionals that Lonhro ran in the Cox Plate, while his previous dead track form was six wins from six starts.
The answer for his defeat is elsewhere such as an inablity to sustain his run.
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Notice how both races were run just after rain had fell and that Lonhro was 3 wide in the Doncaster and still finished 5th or 6th and that day at Randwick was totally bias towards leaders.
I wouldn't call the last 600m of those 2 races as sprints home, both were one of the slowest 600m's in both races previous history.
La Mer: You need to check your facts, the last 600m sectional in this year's Doncater was more than comparable with other in years gone past, i.e. this year's on a slow track it was 35.63s, while in 2002 on a good track it was 35.41s, in 2001 also on a good track it was 35.52s, while again on a good track in 2000 it was 36.06s.
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Correct me if i'm wrong but i thought every Group 1 race in Australia was a major race regardless of the amount of prizemoney on offer.
La Mer: If you honestly believe that then you are sadly misguided. There are approximately 65 Group 1 races run in Australia during the season and they are not all majors by any stretch, i.e. The Goodwood Handicap is at best about group 3 level, while the Sydney Cup and the Metropolitan are about group 2 level at best, but there are many others.
Leaving aside the Golden Slipper, it is generally accepted that the four open-age majors in Australia are the Doncaster Handicap, the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and the Cox Plate. It is arguable one or two others could be included, but the fact remains that Lonhro has failed to win any of the 'big four', the best being his third placing last Saturday.
It is also considered by many that besides being able to win one or more of the majors at WFA, a champion horse should have also won a group 1 handicap, preferably one of the big four majors, carrying weight. Only two horses in the last decade have really met that criteria, Sunline and Northerly, while it is arguable that perhaps Might and Power also fits that criteria in winning the Melbourne Cup, but he only carried 56kgs, unlike Sunline's 58kgs in winning the Doncaster or Northerly's 58kgs in winning the Caulfield Cup.
If my memory serves me correctly, I can think of only one horse in the last decade or thereabouts who has truly worn the champion tag and didn't win a major handicap race and that was Better Loosen Up, but I guess his Japen Cup win makes up for that. Regards.
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[ This Message was edited by: La Mer on 2003-10-27 18:21 ]
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