You'd be lucky if 26% of the press DO KNOW what they are talking about! :smile:

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"Computers can do that????" - Homer Simpson

Becareful,

I think he got the figures around the wrong way. It should read "74% of the media don't know what they're talking about."

When Northerly beats Sunline for the 3rd time in the spring will he get the recognition he deserves? Or will one-eyed fans continue to make excuses for Sunline's defeats to him?

Better get the excuses ready for the spring.

Here's a few to get you started:

Too old
She's a mare
Not fully fit
The stewards got it wrong
She's won more bucks so it doesn't matter
She's won more races (against plodders)




[ This Message was edited by: manikato on 2002-07-31 21:12 ]

Manikato,
Here's just a list of the so called "plodders" Sunline beat home last season. I have only put horses with at least one G1 win, but a lot of them have won two or more. Tie the not, Sky heights, Ha Ha, Universal Prince, Crawl, Falvelon, El Mirada, Inaflury, Shogun Lodge, Defier, Old Comrade, Sports, Dash for Cash, Cent home, Desert Sky, Freemason, Sports. not a bad group of "plodders" i reckon. Granted, there is no Northerly on that list, but how can you knock the list of most of the ones i have named? Sunline was beaten twice by Northerly and once to Piavonic. Northerly was beaten twice by Old Comrade and once to Corprate Bruce. While nobody is doubting the credentials of Northerly, Sunline took the honours, because not only the media who voted for her, but most of Australia in general, think she is the superior horse, and as for making excuses for spring, it does'nt matter what she does, she has done it all anyway, she has nothing to prove, but having said that i think she will take all before her and prove once and for all, that she is one of the greatest horses, that we have seen, or certainly the best i have seen, but that is only my opinion. GO THE MIGHTY MARE.

Tie the Knot - melb duffer and backmarker
Sky heights - handicap horse
Ha Ha - 3yo fillie
Universal Prince - overrated & a backmarker, Crawl - rarely wins
Falvelon - sprinter who hates pressure
El Mirada - avg horse
Inaflury - over races & can't finish off
Shogun Lodge - backmarker who always runs 2nd
Defier - backmarker who runs 2nd a lot
Old Comrade - tired after Aust cup
Sports - old sprinter
Dash for Cash - 3yo
Cent home - avg horse
Desert Sky - Does he even race anymore?
Freemason - plodder

OC defeats of Northerly
1st time - Had a 7.5kg weight advantage, and Northerly was tired after the Cox plate.
2nd time - Broke 2 mins for 2000m. Sunline has never broken 2.02mins.

Add to that Northerly has beaten OC 3 times.

Corporate Bruce is a good horse who managed to catch Northerly early in the campaign when he was 50% fit.

According to trainer and jockey Sunline was as good as ever last year when she got beaten twice by Northerly. The 1st time was over 1600m at MV. Surely she should have won this one but couldn't because Northerly is a stronger horse!

Manikato,
Re Tie The Knot
Consider this - if Sunline and Shane Dye had never been conceived TTK would have a Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup on the mantlepiece along with the Underwood Stakes and the multiple Group One placings (Vic Derby,Caulfield Stakes, Caulfield Cup etc.)
Not bad for a duffer.
Re Ha Ha
What is the relevance of the 3YO filly reference? Do we blindly scrub other 3YOF's such as Surround, Emancipation, Light Fingers etc etc etc because of their age/sex or is there a better reason to discount Ha Ha.
I can't understand all the emotion on this and other sites re this stupid Northerly -v- Sunline stuff. This isn't a football match or politics or religion. They are horses who we are privileged to watch race year after year and luckily they clash occassionally. If you try hard enough you can downplay the achievements of any horse in history with a bit of rhetoric and a twist of the stats. If you can't enjoy them both without mindless denigration of one or the other then I feel sorry for you.
I often wonder what the tall poppy assassins would have done in the Tulloch -v- Todman era had the internet been around.

If only Shane Dye never rode and the track wasn't a bog on Cup day, Veandercross would have the Cups double and 10 group 1s as a 3/4 yo.

If he didn't get injured he goes on to win 16 group 1s or so and rated much higher.

"If only"

"If only" Sunline could beat Northerly.

quote Fred Kersley;...."Deeds on the racetrack should count more than popularity when you are talking about a racehorse. Sunline can't beat him on the racetrack, she can only beat him on the awards".

Manikato,
I'm not a Northerly knocker and never will be - you'd have to be silly just as you would have to be silly to knock Sunline. My favourite horse at the moment is My Czech Chick because I backed it yesterday and hopefully I'll have a few new favourite horses after Saturday.
I agree Veandercross was a topliner - the Naturalism clashes were fantastic as 3YO's. Sir Dapper -v- Emancipation another favourite rivalry.

Did you hear about the guy who went to the races and while there he observed a roman catholic priest who went over to a horse and sprinkled it with holy water and the horse went on to win the race, streaks ahead of the opposition, then at before the next race he saw the priest go over to another horse and sprinkle it with holy water, and like the first horse it went on to win it's race, so the guy said to him self if the priest sprinlkes another horse with holy water I am going to bet every penny I have on that horse, and sure enough the priest went over to another horse and sprinkled it with holy water, and the other guy went to a bookie and bet every penny he had on this horse. Then the race started and the horse that the priest sprinkled with holy water dropped dead about 100 yards after the start of the race, and the gug was devestated, so he went over to the priest and said what are you playing at, the last two horses you sprinkled with holy water went on to win their races, and this last one you sprinkled drop dead after only 100 yards, and i had put every penny I had on it's nose what are you playing at. The priest replied you are a Protestant aren't you and the guy admitted that he was, and said but how do you know that, the priest said because you don't know the difference between giving a blessing and administering the last rights.

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