Spring Racing Carnival

The 2009 Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival produced many great moments and memories, but ultimately belonged to one man – the inimitable James Bartholomew Cummings. This was Bart’s Carnival; a week where the 81-year-old’s unsurpassed genius as a horse trainer was underlined yet again.

Already the most successful trainer in the history of the BMW Caulfield Cup, Bart notched win number seven in the Melbourne Racing Club’s $2.555 million signature Group One event with Viewed. He also trained the runner-up, Roman Emperor, a feat he previously achieved in 1980 when preparing the quinella with Ming Dynasty and Hyperno.

Both Cummings horses were given brilliant rides by their respective jockeys. Brad Rawiller hugged the rails on Viewed and did not go around another horse in plotting his path to victory from well back in the field. Hugh Bowman positioned Roman Emperor perfectly behind the leaders and found a gap in the straight, but could not withstand the finishing burst of his stable-mate, who raced clear to win handsomely by 2¼ lengths.

Bart’s triumph with Viewed was a fitting crescendo to a wonderful Carnival which began seven days earlier under perfect skies on The Age Caulfield Guineas Day on 10 October. Not surprisingly given the favourable fine conditions, the track surface was upgraded from a rating of Dead 4 to Good 3 before racing commenced.

The first of 27 races in Caulfield’s showpiece Spring week was won by favourite King Pulse, who was too strong for his rivals in the Harrolds Fashion Plate.

Punters had further reason to cheer when local Caulfield trainer Tony Vasil won the Fight Cancer Foundation Handicap with favourite, Maxisun, and champion jockey Damien Oliver registered an early winner with yet another favourite, Avenue, in the Thoroughbred Club Stakes at Group Three level.

Vasil then trained his second winner of the day when speedster Lucky Secret broke the Caulfield track record for 1000 metres in the Group Two PFD Food Services Schillaci Stakes. Well fancied in the market at $4.60, Lucky Secret won by 2¼ lengths in lowering the record mark to 55.97 seconds.

A trio of Group One races then followed, commencing with the Yalumba Stakes, where Damien Oliver brought up a double with victory on favourite Whobegotyou, who outlasted his great rival Heart Of Dreams in the weight-for-age contest over 2,000 metres. Whobegotyou’s success kick-started a highly successful week for Flemington trainer Mark Kavanagh.

Bart Cummings then added another ace to his BMW Caulfield Cup deck when $41 outsider Allez Wonder burst through the pack to grab victory in the David Jones Toorak Handicap – the Melbourne Racing Club’s premier mile handicap race.

The mare was given an exemplary ride by Michelle Payne in what was her first career Group One success. In a driving finish, Allez Wonder defeated Gold Salute by a neck, with the luckless Rock Kingdom in third place. Allez Wonder’s victory in the David Jones Toorak Handicap guaranteed the mare a place in the BMW Caulfield Cup field.

The 2009 edition of The Age Caulfield Guineas assembled an elite field of three-year-olds, headed by boom colts Denman, Trusting, So You Think and Manhattan Rain. But the fancied quartet was undone by a clever ride by Danny Nikolic on $13 chance Starspangledbanner. Nikolic dictated the pace on the Leon Corstens-trained colt throughout the 1,600 metre journey, surging away from his rivals in the straight. On the line, he had 2¾ lengths in hand of runner-up Carrara, with Manhattan Rain in third place in the $1,008,000 showpiece event.

Starspangledbanner’s victory set off wildly exuberant celebrations in the mounting yard from his large syndicate of owners.

The excitement had barely subsided when Alcopop emerged as a Spring force with a dominant 3¼ length win in the Sportingbet Herbert Power Stakes over 2,400 metres at Group Two level. Starting at $5, Alcopop’s hugely impressive performance placed his previously unheralded South Australian trainer and jockey, Jake Stephens and Dom Tourneur, firmly in the Carnival spotlight.

Fast-finishing mare Our Lona then stormed to victory in the day’s final event – the Northwood Plume Stakes – for trainer Gwenda Johnstone and jockey Mark Pegus at odds of $19.

Damien Oliver’s double on the opening day placed him one ahead in the race for the Roy Higgins Medal for the leading jockey over the three days of the 2009 Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival. Oliver was the reigning winner of the medal introduced last year.

Enjoying the perfect weather, a crowd of 24,582 on The Age Caulfield Guineas Day set the highest attendance at the Carnival’s opening day in 26 years.

The action continued with Schweppes Thousand Guineas Day on Wednesday, 14 October. Prior to the first race, the barrier draw for the 2009 BMW Caulfield Cup was conducted on the Fashion and Entertainment Stage.

Caulfield’s traditional Ladies Day unfortunately commenced under grey skies and light drizzle on a track still carrying a Good 3 rating. There was nothing downcast, however, about the dazzling performance of $1.60 favourite Definitely Ready who romped to a 3½ length victory in the day’s opening event - the Rokk Ebony Cup over 1,000 metres. Trained by Mark Kavanagh and ridden by Michael Rodd, the three-year-old maintained his unblemished record from three career starts.

Dark Valley then won the Inglis Debutants Stakes, the Melbourne Racing Club’s first two-year-old race of the season. Trained by Darren Weir and ridden by Nicholas Hall, Dark Valley was well supported in the market at $4.80.

Impressive wins were then produced by Spacecraft in the Pura Light Start Plate, Grail Jeuney in the Snowhite Handicap and favourite Here de Angels in the Mittys Cup. The win of Here de Angels brought up a double on the day for the Mark Kavanagh/Michael Rodd combination.

Top three-year-old filly Irish Lights confirmed her class with a narrow but impressive victory in the day’s premier event – the $502,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas - at Group One level over 1,600 metres. Starting favourite at $3.50 with Glen Boss in the saddle, the David Hayes-trained filly held off the fast-finishing Melito by a neck, with the Bart Cummings-trained Faint Perfume a further short neck adrift in third position.

Nicholas Hall brought up a double with a fine ride on $6 favourite Lady Lynette in the carsales.com.au Classic for trainer Robert Smerdon and the eight-race programme was completed with jockey Dwayne Dunn and trainer Lee Freedman combining to win the Wakeful Club Ladies’ Day Plate with $5 favourite Timetable.

At day’s end, the doubles by Michael Rodd and Nicholas Hall and a victory by Danny Nikolic on Spacecraft had seen all three riders join Damien Oliver in a tie for the lead for the Roy Higgins Medal on two wins apiece.

BMW Caulfield Cup Day on Saturday, 17 October began with victory to trainer Darren Weir and jockey Luke Nolen with Sublimity in the Arrowfield Stud Plate. Last year’s BMW Caulfield Cup winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy then notched his first winner of the 2009 Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival with Kidnapped for trainer Peter Snowden in the Jayco Stakes. Just as Sublimity had done in the previous race, Kidnapped finished powerfully from back in the field to score.

Equally impressive was Sydney three-year-old filly Run For Naara, who lumped 59 kilograms when charging away to win the Sportingbet Plate over 2000 metres by 2¾ lengths. Raced by Patinack Farm, Run For Naara is trained by John Thompson and was ridden by Hugh Bowman.

The Patinack Farm operation had to settle for both minor placings in the following event – the Group Three AAMI Norman Robinson Stakes – with Onemorenomore and Gathering behind the decisive winner Shamoline Warrior. Starting favourite at $3.50, Shamoline Warrior ran away from the Patinack stable-mates in the concluding stages to win the 2,000 metre contest by 1½ lengths. The victory jockey Michael Rodd to the lead in the race for the Roy Higgins Medal and was a fourth success for the week for trainer Mark Kavanagh.

Sydney galloper McLintock showed the evenness of the racing surface by winning the Group Three Betfair Stakes over 1,400 metres with a front-running display. Starting at $8.50, McClintock was ridden by Glyn Schofield and is trained by former successful jockey Mark de Montfort.

An outstanding field of sprinting mares contested the Harrolds Stakes over 1,400 metres at Group Two level, with the Peter Moody-trained Typhoon Tracy ($3.90) winning decisively by 2¾ lengths from favourite Hot Danish. Typhoon Tracy’s victory brought up a winning double for jockey Luke Nolen after his success in the opening event on Sublimity.

Consistent Warrnambool galloper Baughurst won the Group 3 David Jones Cup over 2,000 metres for the second successive year. Trained by father and son combination Bill and Symon Wilde, Baughurst was $4 for the event and was ridden by Ben Melham. Top international models Megan Gale and Miranda Kerr were involved in the post-race trophy presentation through their roles as David Jones Ambassadors.

Ahead of the BMW Caulfield Cup, the track surface was upgraded from a Dead 5 rating to Dead 4 in improving weather conditions. The 132ND running of the great race assembled a capacity field of 18 starters, including international visitors Kirklees and Cima de Triomphe who were strongly fancied in a very open betting market.

Kerrin McEvoy rode Kirklees for Godolphin seeking to emulate their landmark victory last year with All The Good. The Luca Cumani stable entrusted the ride on Cima de Triomphe to Damien Oliver, who was seeking to join the late Scobie Breasley as the most successful jockey in BMW Caulfield Cup history on five wins.

Bart Cummings was well represented with Viewed, Roman Emperor and Allez Wonder. Viewed had fared worst of the Cummings trio at the barrier draw, having to start from gate 13. Jockey Brad Rawiller opted to ease Viewed ($13) to the rear of the field as the race commenced and skillfully found a position on the rails where the reigning Melbourne Cup winner relaxed perfectly in the running.

Nearing the home turn Viewed began to make rapid progress on the rails and was travelling like a winner just behind the leaders. All that was needed was an opening which came early in the straight and the six-year-old charged through to a glorious victory over stable-mate Roman Emperor ($15) and the Danny O’Brien-trained Vigor ($15) who ran a gallant third.

This year’s internationals could not match the feat of 2008 winner All The Good. Kirklees fared best of the duo in 7TH place, whilst Cima de Triomphe was never in contention and finished a disappointing 13TH.

With the international challenge thwarted, the crowd of more than 43,000 at Caulfield saluted Cummings, who was once again the King of Spring. The solid gold BMW Caulfield Cup trophy was back on home soil.

After the excitement of the Cup, Lee Freedman and jockey Dwayne Dunn combined to win the Group Two Perri Cutten Sprint over 1,100 metres with the promising First Command, who brought up his 7TH victory from just nine career starts. The $2.50 favourite controlled the race to beat Turffontein by ¾ length, with Happy Glen a neck away in third place.

The Pure Blonde Plate concluded the 2009 Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival and heading into the race the highly competitive battle for the Roy Higgins Medal was wide open, with several jockeys still in contention.

A victory for Damien Oliver on favourite Solchow would have seen him retain the medal on the count-back system, but his mount was beaten into second place in the 1,100 metre event by Hugh Bowman on Seeking Attention for trainer Anthony Cummings. Bowman’s win lifted him to two winners, joining Oliver, Danny Nikolic, Nicholas Hall, Luke Nolen and Dwayne Dunn on that score.

The result left Michael Rodd alone on top of the Roy Higgins Medal table with three winners. With Roy Higgins unfortunately indisposed with a back complaint and unable to be at Caulfield for the medal presentation, Victorian Jockeys’ Association Executive Officer, Des O’Keeffe, deputised to make the presentation to a proud Michael Rodd.

Although there is no official form of recognition for the leading trainer of the Carnival, Mark Kavanagh was the most prolific with his four wins. But all honours in that regard lay with Bart Cummings, whose magnificent Group One victories with Viewed and Allez Wonder made him the toast of Caulfield.

More than 75,000 patrons had witnessed the action of the 2009 Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival over the three days, despite unpredictable and at times unfavourable weather in the latter part of the week.