I couldn't believe it when Alex Park postponed due to 'torrential rain' OMFG - I was driving on the motorway between 3pm and 4pm and hot one small patch of surface water between Karaka and the City and it wasn't at Ellerslie. Can't quite see where they get their 22mm from? Maybe the ATC guys thought, if we have issues on our all weather track then it will help the story if it goes tits up at Ellerslie today...  Hopefully all goes without a hitch and the track finally performs how it should, and the starting stalls are on track and tested and there's no water in the electrical circuitry 🙄

Stupid rule .sometimes drivers can see gear fault on another easier than that driver. can they not speak, maybe course in lip reading??What about drivers room ? hidden microphones ?  What is wrong anyway with a chat pertaining to race.... eg. if you get front will you hand up> (maybe beneficial to both.) drivers often fly together so now what? seated separately then might (god forbid )share taxi  to the races...  (taxi drivers used to like talk in cab re chances ) Where did the need for it come from ? a disgruntled punter ? probably .we all have been that one. and if a driver appeared to let a friend/or stable horse gain an advantage ,then stipes can see replays and decide action. We have greater matters to deal with , just plain silly .IMHO

International riding star Frankie Dettori was hospitalized in New York after being unseated from his mount before the start of the ninth race Sept. 19 at Aqueduct Racetrack. He dislocated his right shoulder, the jockey posted Sept. 20 on X.View the full article

All roads now lead to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) after a bumper crowd watched City of Troy complete his key workout at Southwell Sept. 20.View the full article

Woodbine Entertainment has appointed two prominent industry leaders, Mark Krembil and Tom Mungham, to its board of directors.View the full article

Mystik Dan has resumed under-tack training at Kenny McPeek's Magdalena Farm near Lexington as the Kentucky Derby (G1) winner attempts to get back in form after a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes (GI).View the full article

Race Day Weather: Cloudy Track: Soft 5   Moisture Meter: 29.5% Rail: True Rainfall: 22mm Rain Last 24 Hours | 55mm Last 7 Days Irrigation:  Weather and Track updated at 6.30am Saturday 21 September

Weights for the race: Melbourne Cup Weights 2024 (punters.com.au)

MAGICAL ZOE, the Ebor winner, won't be going to Flemington either. Given she was a confirmed runner with the status of the Ebor as a "win it and you're in it" race, that will give one of the lower weights a possible entry.

After much deliberation at the California Horse Racing Board meeting Sept. 19, Golden State Racing was granted a conditional license to operate racing at Pleasanton beginning Oct. 19.View the full article

International riding star Frankie Dettori was hospitalized in New York after being unseated from his mount before the start of the ninth race Sept. 19 at Aqueduct. He dislocated his right shoulder, the jockey posted Sept. 20 on X.View the full article

All roads now lead to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) after a bumper crowd watched City of Troy complete his key workout at Southwell Sept. 20.View the full article

I don't think the merits, per se, of alternative surfaces are what is in question. 

Dermot Weld announced this morning HARBOUR WIND will not be going to Melbourne so that's one off the European list. Aidan O'Brien has meanwhile sounded off about the veterinary requirements imposed by Racing Victoria and has suggested none of his intended runners may participate. His concern realtes to the 3-y-o who are still developing physically and the requirement for a CT scan of distal limbs before departure. It's not an area in which I have much knowledge but I do know 3-y-o are still physically maturing and of course Northern Hemisphere 3-y-o are six months less developed than their Southern Hemisphere counterparts.

A thunderstorm after the first race changed the ground to Soft and LAKE FOREST was scratched. Yes, I know....

1. Caulfield R1. 5.14.15 2. Caulfield R6. 9.11.12 3. Caulfield R7. 1.2.14 4. Caulfield R8. 2.8.11  5. Caulfield R9. 3.5.12bb  6. Randwick R4. 6.10.17  7. Randwick R5. 2.11.12  8. Randwick R6. 1.4.8  9. Randwick R7 1.2.6bb  10. Randwick R8   3.6.7 thanks Scooby and John 

Live stream of CITY OF TROY gallop at Southwell if anyone is still awake (or up very early):  

Continuing the review of last weekend's racing and the next stop is Longchamp on Sunday for what is called "Arc Trials" day. There are actually three significant races run over the 2400m Grande Piste and the first of these is what is sometimes called the "Fillies' Arc" or the Prix Vermeille which is a Group 1 contest. An intriguing clash of the generations this year with the likes of Diane winner SPARKLING PLENTY, SURVIE, AVENTURE and the Ballydoyle challenger OPERA SINGER up against the older fillies and mares headed by BLUESTOCKING and EMILY UPJOHN. The ground at the end of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris was soft. A typically courageous effort from BLUESTOCKING who battled back to outstay AVENTURE (who at least saved my each way money) with EMILY UPJOHN back to somewhere near her best form in third. The time was 2 minutes 31.93 seconds - a couple of seconds above Standard but that looked decent on the ground and what it wasn't was a typical French race with AVENTURE's pacemaker HALFDAY setting some decent fractions. Indeed, it looked more like a British race and in truth the first three home were close to the pace throughout and nothing came from the back. I thought they were wrong in running BLUESTOCKING in the Juddmonte rather than the Yorkshire Oaks and her limitations at 2000m against the very best such as CITY OF TROY and CALANDAGAN were exposed but at 2400m against her own gender she's very good and if they go to the Arc she'll be there with a serious chance. She'll need to be supplemented but Juddmonte can probably afford it and they know how to win the race with a 2400m filly - ENABLE. AVENTURE ran well in second but for me she didn't quite get home and the strong gallop set by the pacemaker was probably her undoing in the final 150m. I'm not sure if they'll risk her in thre Arc or go for the Opera. EMILY UPJOHN is 50/1 for the Arc and while it's hard to see her winning she has place claims on this effort though the evidence is she'll come up short against the boys (no geldings in the Arc remember). The first three were three lengths ahead of STAY ALERT who made it a 1-3-4 for the older fillies and mares. Ryan Moore has always said he though OPERA SINGER would stay 2400m well but I'm not convinced on this effort though she finished well ahead of SPARKLING PLENTY and SURVIE who were well held and probably not suited by the strong gallop.  The Group 2 Foy was the trial for the older horses. Just five went to post with the favourite CONTINUOUS facing the veteran IRESINE and a hardy perennial in these races, FEED THE FLAME.  Christophe Soumillion was doing rising duties for Aidan O'Brien with Ryan Moore at The Curragh and he took CONTINUOUS into the lead and at one point looked to be travelling strongly but early in the straight IRESINE went past and ran on well to hold off the late challenge of ZARIR who ran a decent race. IRESINE is a gelding so the likely target is the Champion Stakes at Ascot for which he is 20/1 and remember CIRRUS DES AIGLES gave the great FRANKEL a real fright in the 2012 renewal. CONTINUOUS was disappointing if truth be told and isn't the same horse as he was when fifth in the Arc last year. He's 25/1 for the race. FEED THE FLAME was eased and pulled up 250m out and has been retired to stud though details of where he'll stand and for how much have not yet been made public. The 3-y-o had their trial in the Niel and the ante post favourite for the Arc, LOOK DE VEGA, winner of the Jockey Club, faced an intriguing re-match with SOSIE who was third but went on to beat DELIUS in the Grand Prix de Paris over this course and distance. This was run more as a typical French race with LOOK DE VEGA setting easy fractions up front but when the sprint started at the top of the straight, he had no answer to SOSIE who swept by and galloped strongly to the line beating DELIUS by a length and a half with LOOK DE VEGA well held in third. SOSIE and DELIUS were split by two lengths in the Grand Prix de Paris when first and third (ILLINOIS was third is you want a bit of a collateral form line and ask why JAN BREUGHEL isn't an Arc contender) and this was a length and a half but still convincing, SOSIE is now 4/1 favourite for the Arc and he must have a big chance on this evidence.  DELIUS is 10s and that looks a nice each way play at this stage. LOOK DE VEGA's bubble was well and truly burst and you'd have to ask if he'll even turn up for the Arc. The English raider AMBIENTE FRIENDLY was last and hasn't really rediscovered the form of his Derby second - the race often takes a lot of horses and it may be he's done for the year but could be a nice middle distance campaigner next season. Current UK Ante Post Prices for the Arc de Triomphe - 2400m - October 6th 4/1 SOSIE 6/1 SHIN EMPEROR 13/2 LOOK DE VEGA 8/1 LOS ANGELES 10/1 AL RIFFA, DELIUS 16/1 BAR

From 13,000 miles away, I have to say Polytrack surfaces have become an integral part of racing in England, France and Ireland. We also have Tapeta surfaces and whether that's a route NZ could or should have followed is academic. I've no sense fatalities are an issue or have been since they stopped hurdle racing many years ago. Fields at Dundalk, Chantilly, Kempton and Lingfield are strong especially in the early winter and there seem few trainers unwilling to run juveniles on them in November and December. We've had synthetic surfaces for over 30 years and Polytrack for more than 20 at Lingfield replacing earlier Equitrack and Fibresand surfaces. If this report is correct, the installation of the NZ surfaces seems to have been problematic at best. I sense there's a strain of opinion against racing on synthetic surfaces and that existed both in England, Ireland and France in the early days of the new surfaces but we have multiple Group 1 winners who have run on them and NOTABLE SPEECH, this year's English 2000 Guineas. won the classic on his first experience of racing on grass. All that being said, IF there are or have been serious deficiencies in how the tracks were constructed, they need to be addressed and I imagine Martin Collins and his people have given plenty of guidance on track preparation. Over here, harrowing is a requirement especially in the depths of winter and the harrowing can slow the surface down - we've found rain on the Polytrack surface can make it quicker despite the drainage within the surface fabric. We have had, in the middle of prolonged snowy and frosty spells, meetings put on specifically for jump horses to have a run - the races are called Bumpers for Jumpers - and the surface is deep harrowed to produce something akin to good winter turf rather than the usual which should be like good summer turf. Oddly enough, they also deep harrow in the middle of hot spells as well to ensure the top doesn't dry out too much.

1. Caulfield R1     3,6,14 2. Caulfield R6    5,7,11     3. Caulfield R7     9,10,11     4. Caulfield R8     1,2,3 5. Caulfield R9     4,9,10      6. Randwick R4   1,4,12 7. Randwick R5   2,11,18  BEST BET 8. Randwick R6   1,4,7     BEST BET 9. Randwick R7    6,7,10 10. Randwick R8  6,7,8 Thanks John & Scooby