I arrived in time for the third race to find big crowds in front of stall 54. It must be Winx. On closer inspection I found the stall to be empty although the photographers didn’t seem to care! Gosh, Charlotte, that must be some horse!

In the fifth I saw a lovely relaxed-looking mare, Lubiton, who streeted them at $2.20 the place. And in the seventh I had a bit on I’ll Have A Bit, who paraded with a lolling tongue, which is actually quite a positive. The horse ran on well for second at $2.80. So coming into the Cox Plate I was quite cashed up.

Winx looked much the same as last time. Maybe swishing the tail a bit more. My place bet was between Royal Symphony, Gailo Chop, Humidor and Folkswood.  Folkswood had the Hanoverian nose band and winkers, so that was no-no, Royal Symphony looked fabulous in his stall, Humidor had the ear muffs and two strappers and Gailo Chop was a clean sheet, alert and interested. I pulled the wrong rein and went for Gailo Chop. Oh well, two out of three. I didn’t stay for the last.

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There’s a chill in the air and lots of goosebumps. An omen, perhaps. I like to have a go at the trifecta in the big races, but it’s virtually impossible to see them in the mounting yard. I usually end up four deep or find hats and beers in the way. So my selections are mainly based on behaviour in the stalls and parade ring. Boom Time was the first horse I crossed out, because he was kicking in his stall. In hindsight he was obviously keen to go! My final six in order were Marmelo, Amelies Star, Abbey Marie, Ventura Storm, Harlem and Inference.

My place bet was on Marmelo who was alert and relaxed in his stall and came home like a train when it was all over. None of my selections finished in the first four!  Single Gaze was not looking anywhere but flaring her nostrils and showing teeth and Johannes Vermeer and Lord Fandango had the dreaded cross-over noseband. A wipeout! At least I Got a bit back on Gai’s Global Glamour. Now there’s some alliteration!

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A boilover! The flashy blonde chestnut with the Trigger good looks gets up to beat the blueblood Kementari. How did it start at 100/1? There was a lot of moaning so obviously not many folk bet on flashy appearances. I wasn’t too fussed as I backed the Godolphin horse for the place at $2.20. The last boilover I can remember was Marwong in 1987 winning at 50/1 on protest from Our Poetic Prince, despite the margin of a length and the Prince being eased down.

Had a look at some of the imports out the back. They get special attention with the wood shavings as well as straw in the stall. It must be what they are used to back home. Riven Light had the ear plugs, Johannes Vermeer was probably the most relaxed and ran a slashing second, and The Taj Mahal seemed pretty solid and impassive.

The best horse I saw all day was Invincible Star which streeted them in the three-year-old fillies and paid $2.90 for the place, but I gave some back on Comin’ Through in the Toorak Handicap. Two out of three for the day is quite fine for the first day of the spring carnival.

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There are 20,822 people here to see Winx, but I’m not one of them. I’m here for the first two-year-old of the season. There are two very nice looking horses, Nomothaj and Sunlight, but I have a preference for Nomothaj with her head in towards the strapper, whereas the strapper uses two hands on Sunlight. I was pretty pleased with $1.80 first up for nearly five months!

But I did have a look at Winx. And you would have to say the horse is fit, with good lines and not a spare ounce of fat. Even some dapples, if you fancy coat condition. Why do folk get so excited? It’s not as if the horse is backable.

And the island bar is coming on. But what a disaster is looming in a few weeks time. I had enough trouble making my way from the stalls to the yard with twenty thousand. It’s going to be five times as hard on Cup day.

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Here it is, the middle of winter, and I’m back at Flemington. I’m spelling, so it will be a brief visit. I’m not here to bet, but to “Meet the Makers” and find out more about the replacement of my racing home, the Island Bar. It will be on the first floor of the new stand with views over the mounting yard. I tried to scribble down some of the words the architect Kristen Whittle used to describe the interior: “traditional tonality and attitude”, “high end interior” with “memorabilia and signage”, a “warm and muted palette” and a “heroic backdrop”. I asked Kristen afterwards if the bar will be an island, but it is joined to a service area, so I guess it is an island with a causeway. One punter asked if the mounting yard will be moved, so that made me sit up and take notice. Amanda, our chairman, replied that the mounting yard will be extended back to the opening of the tunnel! Gosh! That’s a big move. I suggested to Amanda that the plans should be put up on the internet, so you never know, that may happen.

As I was leaving the two-year-olds were coming into the mounting yard for the third race, so I had a brief look from the second floor. The favourite Anchor Bid looked a bit short at $1.05 the place, but from the distance I could see nothing wrong with number 2, Justice Faith. I only had $100 in my wallet, but could not complain when it ran home for second at $2.20. Don’t you hate it when they pay more at fixed odds and you haven’t bothered to get your phone out? At least my eye is still working!

But my eye doesn’t like what it sees though! How are we going to survive the spring!

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Well, I went along, mainly to find out more about the bane of my life, the building site, also known as Flemington. The club was hosting a “Meet the Makers” event, where the architects responsible for the new stand report on progress to date and give us a squiz at some of the interiors of the ground floor. The interiors look very grand and plush and I do like them. It’s the exterior that worries me. The shape of the building is not my cup of tea and looks to me like a birthday cake, or one of those multi-decked Italian cruise ships. I talked to Kristen the architect after the meeting to ask about the three flying saucers that seem to have landed on the roof. They are really just decorative and the inspiration for them was that common fashion accessory– the fascinator! So there you have it. You will be able to spy the stand from a distance by its pieces of feminine frippery on top.

I’m off now for my winter break. There will be another “Meet the Makers” in July when we find out more about the replacement for the Island Bar, so maybe I’ll go along to that. Keep your eye out for a postcard. Otherwise, I hope to be back for the Guineas in the spring.

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I don’t pay much attention to coat condition, well, none really. After all there are so many factors that could affect it, including day length, ambient temperature, brushing, the use of unguents, and of course health. I have seen too many horses with glossy coats go under. But today, here is the favourite in the fifth, Kenjorwood, with a pretty dodgy coat. You would call it dull, with the winter coat starting to come through on the unders. What’s more his ears are back and he does a bright green sloppy poo right in front of me. Looks like lots of lucerne in the feed bin! You’d have to say a place lay at $1.53.

The horse laboured into eighth and was reported as pulling up lame in both front legs. A pity I don’t pay more attention to coat condition.

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Another no show. My attendance record is starting to slip, but I’ve got plenty of excuses. The forecast was dismal. Wind, showers, hail and snow flurries on the hills. And Flemington is no longer agreeable for horsewatching with no mounting yard access from a demolished Members Stand, and no bookies ring. And besides, I’ve got a heavy duty cold which has dived down into my lungs and I don’t want to end up like Bert Newton in Epworth Emergency with a lung infection. So I’ll sit it out. Didn’t even watch it on TV.

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No show, I’m afraid. I’m stuck up on the roof of my place with a serious roof plumbing emergency. But the internet is amazing and I’m always keen to check out a short priced favourite in a two-year-old race. How often do they fall in a heap? So I can see the mounting yard parade on my iPhone on racing.com and Doubt I’m Dreaming, the odds-on favourite, seems relaxed enough, although munching on the bit with an exaggerated open mouth. Going to the gate he seems to lose the plot and fights against the jockey. Normally I would require two faults to oppose a horse so resisting the jockey on its own is probably not enough. So I just watch the horse flounder into third place. Besides, how ridiculous is it to lay a horse on your roof? So I would have lost anyway, as I lay them for the place, and $1.16 would have been pretty irresistible! It’s not often a leaky roof can save your bacon!

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Every now and then you have one of those good days. And so it was. It didn’t start out too well when I missed Miss Vista’s race, mainly because I was attending to my complaining stomach, but also because of the huge field size. The striking cult horse with the albinism and walleye won in a breeze, well, just held on. I managed to catch up with her after the race. In the next there was plenty to like about Plenty To Like, with the tongue tie, positive strapper, ear flicking and snorting. Plenty to like about the place dividend of $4.60 too. No need to worry about dead-heating for first! In the fifth it all came undone with Moonlover, prancing, head in to a positive strapper, but an overweight jockey. The horse simply didn’t run on and I did my dough. Boom Time in the next looked terrific, but was too short for me at $1.60 and won as it liked. Arch Fire in this race was listed in the gear changes as having “synthetic hoof filler”. This must be a first so I photographed the horse’s feet and I guess it must be the front hooves as the colour of the wall is different!

In the Victoria Handicap Hooked looked a standout with tongue tie, salivating and head in to the strapper. I was very pleased with $2.25 fixed on the tote for the place. And in the Easter Cup I narrowed it down to High Church and Second Bullet. I really wanted to lay the favourite Grey Lion but my Betfair app had frozen so I backed the Bullet instead. Grey Lion was roaring in the parade ring, giving the two strappers a hard time who were tug, tug, tugging, and was sweating up remarkably on a cold day. Did I mention the dump? A lay that got away when it finished last. Still $3 for the Bullet was OK. And in the last race I wasn’t betting but determined to get a photo of the horse that finished last. I pretty much failed but this has to be a trivia question for the future. Name the horse that Greg Miles called last in his last race call. If you look up the results you will see it is Authoritarian. In my poor photo the horse Greg named is covering up Authoritarian on the inside. Three out of four for one of those good, good days.

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