I spent a couple of hours looking at the ten horses in the Newmarket. My interview with Neil Kearney was going to be shown on Channel 7 before the race and then the plan was to do a live cross to me in the mounting yard ruling out horses with bad behaviour. I’ve been down this track before and seem to remember that once you get into the mounting yard it is all bedlam and the opportunity to look at the horses is quite limited. So I decided to base my comments solely on what I saw in the birdcage stalls. Here they are:
1. Chautauqua: Hand held +3
2. Delectation: Ear muffs, pacifiers, nose roll -21
4. Black Heart Bart: Yawning -30 or +30? Fearful or relaxed?
5. Charmed Harmony: Pawing -12
6. Japonisme: Relaxed 0
7. Churchill Dancer: Brushing, one-eyed blinker -22
8. The Quarterback: Positive strapper +3
9. Keen Array: Nibbling tie-up, winkers -18
10. Counterattack: Pawing, winkers -29. Later – Airborne jockey!
11. Secret Agenda: Tongue tie, nibbling tie-up -5
My final selections: 1,8,6,4. The trifecta in four!
Too bad there was too much chaos in the yard to get to air!
And I noticed that someone had spilled some vegetables around Makybe Diva. And the cutlery was all there, but no kitchen sink!