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All the races on Melbourne Cup Day
Zahra relaxed ahead of ride on Al Riffa
Jockey Mark Zahra is riding the topweight, Melbourne Cup favourite Al Riffa, so it was a nice confidence booster to get his eye in early on Party Crasher.
He appears very relaxed as he discussed the winner of race two: “He’s a deceptive horse. You get on him, he’s a bit of a skinny runt of a horse, but it just worked out nicely.
“He (trainer Michael Hickmott) said, just have a soft run. He’s second up 2000m and good speed early, I was able to slide in midway back.”
Mark Zahra riding Observer to victory in the Victoria Derby.Credit: Getty Images
Zahra liked what he saw from Party Crasher in winning race 2 today.
“The further I went, the more he took me and gave me a good kick,” Zahra said.
“He’s up for the fight, and that horse sort of joined him on the inside. He put the ears back and grit it out and held him to the line.”
Hickmott is now eyeing off the Adelaide Cup in March for Party Crasher.
“I’m really happy with him,” he said.
“He’s a horse that I’m probably going to set aside for the Adelaide carnival, so he’ll probably have a break now.”
With Greg Dundas
What’s in a name when picking a winner in race 3?
Race 3 (12pm) TAB Trophy (1800m)
(1st) 4 Different Gravy
Jockey: Mark Zahra; Trainer: Henry Dwyer
(2nd) 9 Arabian Prince
Jockey: Ethan Brown; Trainer: Michael Kent
(3rd) 2 Obvious
Jockey: Ben Allen; Trainer: Greg Eurell
(4th) 1 Matahg
Jockey: Craig Williams; Trainer: Philip Stokes
What we say: Trainer Henry Dwyer is a star at setting his horses for the right race. He will have plotted a path towards a Cup Day run for Different Gravy, which is a cracking name. I also like the form of Arabian Prince and Obvious. Although I don’t like their names as much as Different Gravy. Matahg also has good soft track form.
Suggested bet: Box quinella 1, 2, 4, 9.
Wobbly around the turn, but Maher’s winner has a ‘bright future’
By Greg Dundas
Trainer Ciaron Maher and jockey Ethan Brown got their Cup Day off to a perfect start when Tornado Valley won Tuesday’s opening race, the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate.
The duo will be hoping they can repeat that success shortly after 3pm when they team up with $34-hope Middle Earth in the Melbourne Cup.
Brown was rapt to start his day with a win.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said.
“I was on a horse who was presented very well. He took a lot of improvement from his first-up run, raced like an ultimate professional today, and had a good look at the crowd. He won with quite a bit of authority then. [He’s] gonna make a lovely three-year-old.
“Ciaron assured me he’d taken a lot of improvement, and he was dead right. I saw Mark (Zahra on Carnevale) outside of me wasn’t going as good as he would, so I took that opportunity to take the gap, and he accelerated.”
Trainer Ciaron Maher.Credit: Getty Images
Maher was understated about the win.
“It was just like a barrier trial, really. I thought he was a bit sleepy out of the gates. Wobble at the turn and was very good late,” the trainer said.
“It was a nice positive ride by Browny. Great job by the team.
“This colt is very well-bred and he’s got a bright future.”
Zahra’s hot run continues
Tornado Valley survived the protest of first against second in race one as we moved into the second without a blip.
Party Crasher showed Mark Zahra’s form has not disappeared since Derby Day as he rode a beauty to get the talented gelding home.
The horse’s form is outstanding, with six placings in seven starts.
Pittsburgh Pirate added value to the exotics, backing up his Horsham Cup run to finish second, while the emergency Ghetto Supastar made the most of her late entrance into the field to run third.
Crowds are starting to build, and, so far, the rain has threatened, but not arrived.
Party Crasher wins race 2
Party Crasher has won the Grand Handicap, race 2, at Flemington today, just ahead of Pittsburgh Pirate.
More to come.
The DJ/millinery crossover we didn’t know we needed
Ellen Patterson is a slashie, but not just any old slashie – she is a DJ and milliner, quite a unique combination that has her in demand for the spring racing carnival.
When asked whether there are any other DJ/milliners, Patterson says: “I’m yet to meet another”.
DJ, artist and milliner Ellen Patterson in the Birdcage.Credit: Penny Stephens
Patterson plays by the DJ name High Hat because she is 182 centimetres tall.
For Cup Day, she is wearing a jacket and pants by designer Alex Dowsing of the Suitsuu brand, and a headpiece she created herself.
“I love the races because everyone is dressed up to the nines,” she says. “Everyone is self-expressed and dressing up. It is an ocean of colour and textures and creativity.”
Dressing for the weather in the Birdcage
Early arrivals in the Birdcage have taken a sensible approach to their clothing.
Victoria Racing Club member Diana Nadebaum is keeping warm in a Zara suit and hat by Peacock Millinery.
Nadebaum says she attends the races every year and loves the carnival. She didn’t have to make any last-minute outfit changes despite the forecast.
Diana Nadebaum wearing a hat by Peacock Millinery.Credit: Penny Stephens
“I’ve brought an umbrella and a coat,” she says.
“We were smart initially. Knowing it’s Melbourne, we went for a suit, to make sure that I wasn’t freezing no matter the weather.”
Nadebaum says this is her first time modelling a hat for a milliner trackside.
“Because she’s brilliant,” Nadebaum says of milliner Belinda Osborne.
“She’s from the Northern Territory, and it’s just an amazing opportunity.”
Race 1 protest dismissed
Nine is reporting that the protest from second against first place-getter in race 1 has been dismissed.
Tornado Valley remains the winner.
Time to get serious: The horse to back in race 2
Race 2 (11.20am) Grand Handicap (2000m)
(1st) 3 Makdane
Jockey: Craig Williams; Trainer: Mick Kent
(2nd) 7 Brave Miss
Jockey: Jamie Melham; Trainer: Anthony & Sam Freedman
(3rd) 12 Hot Too Go
Jockey: Damian Lane; Trainer: Danny O’Brien
(4th) 10 Party Crasher
Jockey: Mark Zahra; Trainer: Michael Hickmott
What we say: Now’s the time to get serious. Trainer Michael Kent does not have too many runners across Cup week, so he will be keen to land a blow. He is also an expert track walker – which is a term for experts who know how to find the firmer, and therefore faster sections of the grass to run on. That’s worth a length right there. “Willow” is a gun jockey. That’s worth another length. Makdane was very good last start.
Suggested bet: Makdane to win.
One race in and we already have a protest
UPDATED: Hold your horses. There has been a protest in the first race.
Second against first, alleging interference at the 500-metre mark.
The stewards will now interview both jockeys and make a ruling.
If upheld, the second horse, Tales Of Time, will be elevated to first, and Tornado Valley relegated to second. If the protest is dismissed, the placings stand.
More to come.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
