October
AugustJoy for jumps
Grand National Steeple Day at Ballarat was very wet, but fantastic. It confirmed Aussie jumps racing is not only back, but near the best it’s ever been, and will only get bigger and better. Continually raising jumps prizemoney is a key.
This punter and many others were surprised by the big wins carrying top weight on a very heavy track by Wells and Zanteco, so well done. Mannertone was probably helped by both favourites parting company with their riders, but good luck to him.
In Wells’s Grand National Steeple, Slowpoke Rodriguez gave the crowd a Galleywood moment. When looking a place certainty he fell at the last, but rose a few minutes later to the cheers of the crowd, just before the dreaded screen arrived.
He just needs to come back and win the big one in the next year or two to match the Galleywood legend.
Aussie jumps jockeys earned a big lead in the Irish challenge, but of more interest to some was the free Aussie scarf on entry — very handy outdoors in a Ballarat winter.
While the almost all-jumps card was exciting and well worth a try, I’d much prefer half and half racecards run weekly, than waiting a fortnight for all-jumps cards.
Sharing the jumps experience with a flat racing crowd probably helps grow the sport. A good template is four jumps races, then five flat races.
This gives both sets of jockeys enough races to earn a living, but not enough to overextend either.
To cater for this wonderful exploding jumps population, every season add an extra half jumps day.
Long live jumps racing!
Flemington (Vic)