I was three out of three going into the plate with Bold Bastille, Thalassophile and Skybird all stand outs. The best of them was Thalassophile showing $1.75 for the place on the world pool in a seven-horse field. But can you believe that I backed it at $2.90 fixed on the tote! It reminded me of one those old Monopoly Chance cards – “Bank Error in Your Favour”.
Romantic Warrior, the short-priced favourite from Hong Kong, is all the rage but not my sort of horse at $1.35 for the place on the world pool. In the stalls he is beautiful, with his affable trainer Danny Shum all over him like a rash, hanging on his neck, cuddling him, kissing him. Quite clearly there is a romance going on here! But in the yard the horse’s head is very unsettled. Maybe he’s trying to shake off all those kisses. The best paraders are Gold Trip and Fangirl. But Gold Trip will drop out to last which is a difficult position to be in on the tight track so I go for Fangirl. You can imagine how disappointed I was in the running to see the mare back at the rear with Gold Trip. Like everyone else I thought Mr Brightside had won, but the Hong Kong star had prevailed by a nostril.