The media have gone wild over You Know Who, with gushing descriptions of the horse: “Handsome – a classic-dished Arabian head, with a picture book white star”. And “deep through the girth and long in the rein”. And “a big loose sort of horse with the right superstructure and a lovely head”. A few words are even extracted from Bart himself: “He’s a big powerful horse. A great constitution. Good action, and he’s got a great will to win”. And “His coat’s got dapples on it. He’s very healthy. There’s plenty of him.” And heard on TVN: “he looks good in the skin”.
I’ve never paid much attention to skin, or coat condition, although I know some horse watchers place great store by it. No doubt they are an indication of good health, but dapples are also a function of coat colour, and you only see them on bays and greys. I’ve yet to see a dappled chestnut. You Know Who’s dapples are mostly visible on his underside and barrel, whereas usually they are more prominent on the thigh, buttock and neck. Stanzout has outstanding dapples, but he still finished tailed off ten lengths last in the sprint, and they didn’t help Zantelagh much in the last race. The TV news showed Gai toasting More Joyous under heat lamps to keep her happy in her skin, but the tactics probably let her down, not the dapples.
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- You Know Who
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- Stanzout
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- Zantelagh
The track is rated Dead (4) but they are running Good (3) times so I’m allowed to bet. My best for the day was Hot Danish in a six horse field. She paid $1.90 for coming second by 5.5 lengths to Black Caviar, whereas the winner only paid $1.40 the win and $1.20 for the place. I boasted to all and sundry about how clever I was. In the babies race I backed Elite Falls who was totally relaxed in the yard and had the benefit of a previous run in Sydney. And I liked Absolutely in the second race and managed to secure $2.50 with the bookmakers for a solid second placing, compared with a miserly $1.90 on the tote. So three out of three.
I only had my anorak on for half the day so my frustration with the weather is improving. And no bet on the Cox Plate. 5.35 pm? I should be home and tucked up. It’s too late in the day for gambling. And the mares race at 6.20 pm? I’m with Bart on this. The sooner the VRC takes over the Valley the better.