What a cracking return to Favourite Backing form from me, plucking out a 2nd placing, a $2.10 winner, and a $1.70 winner.

Better give myself a pat on the back and quite simply say, FIGJAM.

Anyway, that was a very entertaining day of racing – Rubisaki just keeps on winning, Bivouac’s Newmarket win was just pure arrogance from Bossy, the Hayes camp made it a hat-trick of Australian Cup wins with Fifty Stars beating The Wizard/Regal Power – Vow And Declare’s first run since his Melbourne Cup win ended in 3rd.

Further north, The Bostonian added to New Zealand’s recent annexation of Randwick in the Canterbury Stakes, Josh Parr rode a thunderbolt on Shadow Hero in the Guineas, Nature Strip decided to actually turn up with an easy win in the Challenge, Farnan is your Golden Slipper Favourite…

And other things happened.

Muntaseera in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Flemington – 2nd

There was one horse owned by a Sheikh that had everyone looking on in amazement…. and it wasn’t Muntaseera.

She at least got going late to take 2nd in a head bobber, but deadset, nobody was touching the Hayes horse, who made everyone look like they were standing still.

Funny story about the winner Minhaaj – Luke Nolen was due to ride her, but he was crook when he arrived at Flemington, and 35 minutes before the race, declared himself unfit to ride, so Dan Stackhouse (Who was still driving to the track) got the gig on the basis of riding her in her maiden win.

New rider or not, she gave everyone a soggy licking, with Nolen watching the race alongside the Hayes team, after which he headed home to recover.

The prize money bumps Minhaaj up to 20th in the entry list for the Golden Slipper (With only 16 spots in the race), so I would take a wild flash and say they’ll go for some other race like the Sires.

Wild Planet in the March Stakes at Flemington – WINNER

A funny old day for D.Dunn – He rode 2 winners and buggered up about 4 others, most notably the ride on Sires Produce favourite Ole Kirk (Finished 3rd), which he took responsibility for, although he still got rubbed out by the stewards (Funnily enough, so did Brett Prebble on winner Lunar Fox).

Anyway, Wild Planet was an absolutely painless watch – He jumped well, sat 3rd behind the leaders with nobody in the one out one back, and the lack of pressure really told when he strolled past Sirius Suspect at the Clock Tower, who raced very well to stick on for 2nd after setting the pace.

The placement from Johnny Hawkes was spot on, and the best horse in the race did the rest.

Shared Ambition in the Randwick City Stakes – WINNER

Backed as if he was unbeatable.

Raced like he was unbeatable.

Chris Waller has taken the piss out of Sydney for a decade, and he did it again here with the trifecta – Youngstar and Wu Gok were the only other Waller runners, yet they filled the minor placings.

Funnily enough, that was also SA’s first win in Sydney, and it was also his first black type win, showing that he’s well and truly on the right track, and Waller declared he’s not willing to risk running him in the 2000m G1 Ranvet in a fortnight.

Special Choice in Race 9 at Ascot – Midfield

Bloody oath, that was just an ugly race from start to finish.

Nobody wanted to take up the lead (Stock standard for a Perth race), resulting in a piss-up trying to sort the order out, Playing Marika nearly clipping heels and wiping out half the field, Smarty was racing like a drunken sailor, and Special Choice wound up around the lead on the rail, and being in a position foreign to a Peters horse, he dropped out under the pressure.

It was a similar shitshow for Lipstick Flickers, who got backed in to favourite ahead of Special Choice, only to get trapped on the rail as the ruckus went down, but that said, she was still oridnary even after getting clear.

Just to cap things off, apparently I Blackbooked the winner King Blitz after a Belmont win in September last year…

Buggered if I remember it, but apparently Peta Edwards did a Shane Dye on Veandercross and still won by 3 lengths.

Crazy Craig’s Tip Of The Day

Laying Tagaloa in the Todman Stakes – SUCCESSFUL

Fair to say this race went exactly to script – Farnan led the small field and opened up an unassailable lead in the straight, while Tagaloa settled way off the speed, but trucked home with some very good sectionals, and at least proved the clockwise track wasn’t an issue ahead of the Golden Slipper in a fortnight.

Farnzy will start a deserving Slipper favourite barring an absolute catastrophe, but Tagaloa was in between Grand Final runs, and comparing this race to the searing heat of a Slipper is your classic apples and oranges situation.

Regardless, Crazy Craig’s judgement was correct – The Kiwi combination was second best today.