It’s hard to imagine but the biggest cheer of the week on a racetrack came on Wednesday at Ipswich of all places.
“It’s Excel In The Sun for miRunners, listen to them cheer, they’ve lifted the roof off the grandstand”
Okay it was a figure of speech, but Sky Racing’s Queensland broadcaster Josh Fleming nailed his call on Wednesday in describing the emotional scenes that only micro-ownership can deliver when Excel In The Sun won at her first career start.
And while the hundreds of miRunners owners didn’t really “rip the roof off the Ipswich grandstand”…they went pretty close.
Toby and Trent Edmonds have always had a good opinion of Excel In The Sun and her 612 owners have now had their patience rewarded with the thrill of a lifetime.
No decision has been made whether the Edmonds camp will “tip her out” or give her another start, we’ll keep you posted.
Watch the clip above to hear Josh’s great call of Excel In The Sun’s win.
MAKE IT A MICRO-OWNERSHIP DOUBLE
It’s hard to describe the joy of owning a horse, the love of the animal, the expectation of getting them to the track, the excitement of race day and if you are lucky enough cheering them home as a winner…truly an experience you have to live to appreciate.
That’s what micro ownership is all about, giving everyone the chance to experience that thrill of a lifetime. And it was on display again this week, not once but twice for the miRunners group.
While Excel In The Sun stole the show at Ipswich congrats to all the miRunners owners who cheered home Fixated for his maiden win at Ararat last Sunday.
HUNTER SPOTLIGHT
Another Saturday, another $1million race, but it’s not in the Sydney metropolitan area, in fact there’s no racing in Sydney this Saturday.
It’s time for Newcastle to shine with the running of the $1million Hunter. It’s only the second year of the race and it’s drawn a capacity field on what many trainers say is the best track surface in New South Wales.
Kim Waugh, who’s put her video pitch in to train for the Tycoons in The Racing League, has the favourite Trumbull, which is coming off an impressive win last start in the consolation to the Everest the Sydney Stakes.
Click here to watch Kim’s trainer pitch
In saying that, there’s a sense of timing with Ranier from the Godolphin Team, his two runs this prep have been good without winning but I reckon that will change on Saturday.
The Lees name is synonymous with the Broadmeadow track. Max Lees was a legend in the Newcastle training ranks and his son Kris has certainly gone on to even higher honours.
Kris has a horse called Enchanted Heart in Race 8, which is currently flying and well worth a wager with the home track advantage.
Zipping – A Sandown Legend
With Cup week at Fabulous Flemington now over for another year, the spotlight in Melbourne will be on the traditional Sandown Cup and Zipping Classic meeting.
Zipping was a legend winning the Sandown Classic four consecutive times so the Lloyd Williams owned galloper well and truly deserves the race to be named in his honour.
I like the Chris Waller trained Brimham Rocks, who’s as “tough as an old boot” and is coming off a gutsy third last start at Flemington after having no luck.
ASCOT HOTS UP.
The Perth summer carnival is underway with the big Group One events on the horizon, which means many of the leading contenders are looking to stage their claim this week at Ascot.
The Ascot Gold Cup is the feature with a really classy galloper stepping out in the form of Too Close The Sun. The Lindsey Smith trained galloper is being set for the Perth Cup, may also run in the Kingston Town and just looks to be one of the better bets of the day.