Divorce Filed; Valley Gallops; Williams Derby Ride; Guelph And Her Future; Deadline Disaster; Bad Luck Kelinni; Epsom Jinx
Rawiller has copped another slap in the face from Waterhouse on top of his sacking from the Cox Plate ride on Fiorente by being replaced as the rider of Caulfield Guineas runner-up Divine Calling at his next start.
Glen Boss will take the ride on Divine Calling despite Rawiller giving the grey every chance to run down Long John last Saturday.
Divine Calling is being freshened for a drop back in distance to 1200m and a clash with boom colt Zoustar in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington.
With Damien Oliver now suspended Tommy Berry, the current peach of Waterhouse's eye, is favoured to land the Cox Plate ride on Fiorente. It will be a one off as Oliver is locked in for the Melbourne Cup ride.
• COX Plate invitees Mull Of Killough and Side Glance had their first look at Moonee Valley on Thursday morning.
Craig Williams has picked up the Cox Plate ride on Side Glance but his first ride on the horse today wasn't perfect as the saddle slipped during his work.
Mull Of Killough stretched out well in a strong solo hit out with Steven Arnold in the saddle, leaving the jockey and his trainer Jane Chapple Hyam happy about his Cox Plate prospects.
Arnold commented that he is "a nice horse and very easy to ride"
However Puissance De Lune captured all the attention among the Cox Plate horses on Thursday morning when the big grey won a 1600m jump out.
It was business as usual for Damien Oliver despite Wednesday's suspension. He was on hand to ride Fiorente when he galloped with stablemate The Great Snowman.
Other stars working at the Valley included Manikato Stakes contenders Samaready, Rebel Dane and Sessions.
• IN another carnival riding switch the connections of classy Sydney colt Criterion have elected to recall Melbourne ace Craig WIliams as his rider in the Victoria Derby at Flemington on November 2.
WiIliams had one ride on Criterion in the autumn for a win in the Todman Stakes at Rosehill when he was called in to replace Glyn Schofield.
Criterion has since had a merry-go-round of riders with Hugh Bowman, Christian Reith, Nash Rawiller and most recently Brenton Avdulla on board when second in last Saturday's Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick.
• PETER Snowden must be fearing the day when Sheik Mohammed calls to tell him Guelph is heading overseas.
The outstanding filly will certainly be on the short list with the likes of Long John and Complacent to join the Sheikh's Godolphin stable for a northern hemisphere campaign next year.
Just when Snowden gets the call from Dubai is the question but he wil be hoping it won't come until after the autumn when Guelph will have the opportunity to add G1 races like the Coolmore Classic, George Ryder Stakes, Queen Of The Turf and Doncaster Mile to her superb record.
We have seen our best sprinting mares like Black Caviar, Miss Andretti and Ortensia fly the flag so well in the UK but there is another dimension to Guelph if she races overseas as she has the scope to contest the best G1 races in Europe up to a mile.
In the short term a Cox Plate start for Guelph is still to be determined but wherever she races Snowden has no doubt she is world class.
“She is a very gifted filly. I think the autumn will be the best we see of her,” he said after Wednesday's win. “She will keep coming on for the next 12 months. She is that sort of filly that just keeps on improving.
“She may go overseas but I hope she stays with us.”
• HERE”S a little tip for those who think running feature Group One races like the Caulfield Guinea and Caulfield Cup as the last race of the day is such a good thing.
Running these features after 5.30pm is playing havoc with newspaper deadlines as it means no coverage or results of these big racing events are making the early editions of the Sunday newspapers that are distributed to the majority of country areas around Australia.
If that's promoting racing it's not a good look!
• ALL the talk about 'horror' barrier draws for horses coming from wide gates in the Caulfield Cup is nonsense.
Since 1983 horses starting from gates 9 to 18 have won 15 times compared to 14 for horses starting from gates 1-8.
They include winners coming from gates 15 to 18 inclusive - and none have won from the rails gate.
Bad luck Kelinni!
• AND here's another sobering thought for fans of Epsom Handicap winner Boban - no Epsom winner has won its next start since Golden Sword in 1993.
Doesn't auger well for his chances at Caulfield on Saturday where he faces a big rise in weight and a drop back in distance.
