There was a time when the public holiday on Labour Day was a big deal and the Australian Cup at Flemington was the race of the autumn. Remember Dandy Andy? These days the races at the valley are low class mid-weekers with maidens and restricted 0-64 handicaps. But I went along because I’m grateful that it’s still daylight.

There was one minute’s silence for Roy The Boy, suddenly dead at seventy-five. He was a top jock. I never really understood why he was called the Professor. But I used to love his mounting yard comments about horses looking “hard and fit”, “tightened up”, and “carrying not an ounce of surplus”, with not a word about behaviour or gear. Roy used to have a little old man who’d dash out at the last minute with the word from the ring. I suspect his comments were heavily influenced by that information.

I managed a couple of photographs. Nearly got a good yawn photo. And a fair shot of a rare brow band and an even rarer tail chain. Three bets over the weekend for three collects. I’m doing OK.

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