I thought it was a very good win.
First up over 1700m, came from about 8 lengths off the fast pace, took the lead on the turn, (seemed to be a short staight), won untouched by about a length and a half.

I couldn't agree more there Shaun don't know who that Kiwi caller is but he is going to have a heart attack with the effort he puts into it one day. Also agree with everyone on the US race callers they just do not seem to be able to get very excited about the race, IMO the race caller makes the races I am pretty happy with what we have here in Australia but I couldn't stand listening to the US Callers for more than a couple of races.

How come the yanks are so much more advanced than the rest of the world (maybe bar asia) when it comes to technial stuff like camera work etc. I think i just witnessed the worst race i have ever seen from a spectators point of view. For the whole first half of the race they never showed alinghi who was in 6th place, let alone any other horse who was behind her (i still cant work out how many ran the actual race).

Could you imagine having a bet on a horse you liked and it finishes 4th or 5th but cause it is a backmarker you actually never see it in the race and it never gets called cause the caller calls positions 1st, 2nd and 3rd plus the favourite. I would end up having to check that it actually jumped out of the barriers to know that my horse went round the track.

I am not sure what the audience is like in america or what there $$ are like in the industry, but i dare say a good aussie race caller could definately make a good pay packet and get the crowd right involved like they do downhere.

Mark, that guy gets on my nerves But the most annoying caller over there is the guy that does the Fort Erie meetings with his "Uurrrrr they're oofffff". ************ annoying when you have to watch the start maybe 5 to 10 times a race.

Saratoga - August 29th, 2005 - Race 8
Race name: Ballston Spa Breeders' Cup H. Grade: 3
Stakes - For Thoroughbred Three Year Old and Upward Fillies and Mares One And One Sixteenth Miles On The Turf
Purse: $200,000
Includes: $100,000 ( Breeders Cup )
Available Money: $216,300
Value of Race: $135,966 1st $69,780, 2nd $23,260, 3rd $21,630, 4th $10,815, 5th $6,489, 6th $723, 7th $723, 8th $723, 9th $723, 10th $389, 11th $711
Reverts: $80,334
Weather: Cloudy Track: Good
Off at: 4:48 Start: Good for all

Pgm HorseName (Jockey) Wgt M/E PP SP 1/4 1/2 3/4 Str Fin Odds
10 Alinghi (AUS) (Prado, E.S.) 119 L 9 8 6-3 6-3 5-1/2 3-1/2 1-1 1/4 0.90*
12 Que Puntual (ARG) (Velasquez, C.H.) 118 L 11 9 4-3 4-2 1/2 3-2 1/2 1-1/2 2-Neck 6.70
7 Delta Princess (Albarado, R.) 118 L 6 5 7-Head 8-1 6-Head 6-Head 3-Neck 11.10
4 Finery (Castellano, J.) 116 L 3 4 5-5 1/2 5-4 1/2 4-1/2 4-1/2 4-1 1/2 24.75
3 Spring Season (Dominguez, R.A.) 115 L 2 2 8-1/2 7-1/2 10-2 7-Head 5-1 3/4 30.00
8 Cloakof Vagueness (Coa, E.) 115 L f 7 11 11 10-2 8-Head 8-2 1/2 6-Nose 14.50
1 La Reina (Velazquez, J.R.) 114 L 1 3 3-2 1/2 2-Head 2-1 2-Head 7-1 11.50
9 Riskaverse (Santos, J.A.) 118 L f 8 7 10-Head 11 11 10-8 8-3/4 16.60
11 Snowdrops (GB) (Bailey, J.D.) 116 L 10 10 9-2 9-Head 9-1/2 9-1 9-3 1/4 17.60
5 Lentil (Chavez, J.F.) 115 L b 4 1 1-2 1/2 1-1 1/2 1-1/2 5-1/2 10-7 1/2 42.50
6 Stupendous Miss (Migliore, R.) 115 L 5 6 2-Head 3-2 7-1 1/2 11 11 9.90
Fractional Times: 22.78, 45.88, 1:10.05, 1:34.14, 1:40.30

Winner: Alinghi (AUS) - Dark Bay or Brown Filly, August 20, 2001
Bred by Piney Ridge Pty Ltd in AUS
Pedigree: Encosta de Lago - Oceanfast (AUS) , by Monde Bleu (GB)
Scratched Horses: Aesculus, Provincial, Capeside Lady, Ender's Sister, Path of Thunder


Pgm Horse Win Place Show Total WPS Pool: $543,015
10 Alinghi (AUS) 3.80 3.00 2.80
12 Que Puntual (ARG) 5.10 4.10
7 Delta Princess 4.70


Wager Type Winning Numbers Payoff Pool Carryover
$2 Exacta 10-12 23.80 468,995
$2 Superfecta 10-12-7-4 1,316.00 124,598
$2 Trifecta 10-12-7 120.00 309,902

Pgm Comment
10 Alinghi (AUS): unhurried early, advanced inside, 4 wide move, drew clear late
12 Que Puntual (ARG): in hand inside, split rivals, 3 wide move, dug in gamely stretch
7 Delta Princess: outrun early, 4 wide move second turn, game finish outside
4 Finery: rated along inside, saved ground, inside move, game finish
3 Spring Season: rated along inside, inside move second turn, stayed on well
8 Cloakof Vagueness: outrun early, inside trip, no rally
1 La Reina: close up inside, chased pace, middle move, tired stretch
9 Riskaverse: outrun early, swung widest for drive, no rally
11 Snowdrops (GB): outrun early, 3 wide trip, no response when roused
5 Lentil: hustled clear, set strong pace, tired stretch
6 Stupendous Miss: speed 3 wide, chased pace, tired after three quarters
Footnotes
ALINGHI (AUS) was unhurried early on, advanced inside into the stretch turn, rallied four wide approaching the stretch, ran by the leaders leaving the eighth pole and drew clear under a drive. QUE PUNTUAL (ARG) raced in hand along the inside early, split rivals on the second turn, rallied three wide into the stretch, reached the front in upper stretch and dug in gamely but could not contain the winner. DELTA PRINCESS was outrun early, rallied four wide on the second turn and finished gamely outside. FINERY was rated along inside, saved ground, rallied inside into the stretch and finished gamely. SPRING SEASON was rated along early, advanced inside on the second turn and stayed on well to the finish. CLOAKOF VAGUENESS was outrun early, raced inside and lacked a rally. LA REINA raced close up inside, chased the pace, put in a run on the second turn and tired in the stretch. RISKAVERSE was outrun early, swung widest into the stretch and had no rally. SNOWDROPS (GB) was outrun early, raced three wide and had no response when roused. LENTIL was hustled out to a clear lead,set a strong pace and tired in the stretch. STUPENDOUS MISS chased the pace while three wide and tired after three quarters.

Brave Chief, yeah he used to annoy me, but after listening to the others he now makes me laugh. I reckon the worst is the guy who calls Calder & Turf Paradise. Every race is the same slow drawl, "and they're off............................................... ..for the lead..........................................400m into the race & he's called maybe 1 or 2 runners.

Look at those sectionals for 1700m. They dont muck about over there.

Sportz, Alinghi was extremely impressive if your ask me. First up, sat a great trip, and was under a hand ride from what I understand. I listened to it at work on the computer and was bored as well with the call. In Durkin's defense, he is very clear in his enunciation at least but no excitement, unless he has the winner! He must have tried to beat the champ. However, Alinghi didn't face much of anybody and definitely not the best in America, let alone Europe. She may be the best of all though when it's all said and done. It is so hard to tell when you beat nothing. I guess you have to give a lot of credit to any horse that can ship half way around the world, experience two summers in a year, and win like that first up from the 10 hole, first time over the track, etc etc etc.!!!!

She definitely go the distance and while posting last night I saw she could get the mile no problem with 2 wins and a 2nd. Where is she gonna go in the Breeder's Cup??????

A Qld racecaller Michael Rona went over there about 15 years or so ago and became one of the leading callers at Hollywood Park and a few other top tracks. He became famous for calling Cigar's American record breaking win and several other top races. He's also the guy who called that race in the hit show Seinfeld. You know the one when Kramer overheard the tip on the subway.

He said that he was pressured a bit when he went there to only call the first 3 or 4 horses over the line and to change his style, but he didn't go along with that and always called just as he had done in Australia. He got into a bit of trouble for using some expressions because the Americans just couldn't understand them. One good one was when a jockey was on a horse that was doing it easily and he said that "he had something up his sleeve". A lot of people actually thought he must have been referring to some sort of illegal device!

By the way, there was another track he went to where the punters were EXTREMELY superstitious and he got accused of putting a jinx on certain jockeys simply by mentioning how well they were going. For example, one jockey had ridden several winners on the program and was coming up to a possible record in the last race. When he mentioned that and the jockey subsequently lost, a lot of the punters blamed him for for the loss by daring to mention it! So, after that, whenever a jockey was doing extremely well, he had to refrain from even saying a thing.

Sportz, I forgot about Rona. He was good but the thing is, every time a foreign annoncer comes over here he gets mistaken for Trevor Denman, even though it is South African, Aussie, English, Irish, etc. The majority of Americans sadly do fit the ugly American stereotype, but ya gotta give 'em what they want. Marshall Cassidy was always my favorite (Durkin replaced him on New York circuit). He had a way of delaying a split second after the start that gave you a great sense of anticipation, then called the early parts of the race slowly, gradually picking it up until he was at a frenetic pace if it was a good finish. his best calls came in EASY GOER's races, especially the Belmont Stakes. I don't know why US announcers don't call the whole field at the finish but they usually will give every horse a call at some point. Also, every country has their own lingo and it would certainly confuse anyone if they didn't understand the jargon; like FA!!!!!