I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing late last week, of Ern McQuillan OAM. The former celebrated photographer, had been suffering the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease in recent years, and slipped away peacefully at the Barclay Gardens Aged Care Facility at Forster, on the NSW mid north coast.
When Larry Cassidy had his one and only ride on Winx, in the Sunshine Coast Guineas on May 16th 2015, he knew he’d had a brush with equine royalty. Going into the race he probably thought she was a pretty good three year old filly, but the fact that she’d already been beaten six times, eliminated any “air of invincibility”.
I’m a keen watcher of Sky’s harness racing coverage on Saturday nights, which incorporates all races from Clifford Park, Toowoomba. For several years now, I’ve been aware of the impressive strike rate of jockey Skye Bogenhuber. Rarely does a meeting go by that she doesn’t win at least one race, while doubles and trebles are common.
I was reminded of Matthew Smith’s background, as his 5 year old gelding Plymouth Road led all the way to win the 2400 metres BM 82 at Randwick on Saturday. Matthew was born and reared at Wangaratta in Victoria, which boasts one of the oldest country racetracks in Australia(1855). His Dad Christopher was a member of the Wangaratta Turf Club Committee, and a keen racehorse owner.
How often have you heard hackneyed clichés like “this is unbeatable” or “this is a good thing”, being bandied about at the track or the TAB outlet. We can’t include Winx or Black Caviar in this exercise, but I’m referring to horses who look near certainties, provided everything goes right in the run. One sprang instantly to mind, and that was an imported English horse called Marooned in 1986.
