Based on a series of plausible events in a regional Victorian town

Alright friends, on we go through the Spring, past the midway stage of September, and this week we witnessed Jamie Kah suspended for 3 weeks after being found guilty of not permitting Let’sfacethemusic every opportunity for a best placing during the Group 3 McNeil Stakes at Caulfield (In which Let’sfacethemusic finished 5th, 4.8L off the winner), putting Kah out of The Everest and the Caulfield Cup…

That’s nothing for a dodgy ride, in 1988 Jim Cassidy got a year off for not allowing Cruiser to run to its merits during a midweek meeting at Rosehill (In which Cruiser ran 3rd), which turned out to be the second-longest suspension of Pumper’s career, quite an achievement considering he missed somewhere in the region of 5 years’ worth of races due to suspensions.

Moving on, the highlight of the day’s racing will be the Group 1 Underwood Stakes at Caulfield, a race that typically serves as another meeting point for horses going to both the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate, with the winner still getting ballot exemption for the Caulfield Cup…

I would note that the last horse to win the Underwood-Caulfield Cup double was Elvstroem 20 years ago this week (September 19, 2004) while the last horse to win the Underwood and Cox Plate was Ocean Park in 2012, and only 2 horses have ever won all 3 races – Northerly won all 3 inside of a month in 2002, while Tobin Bronze won the Underwood & Cox Plate in 1966, then came back and won an epic Caulfield Cup with topweight in 1967… and won the Cox Plate again a week later.

As for the other races, Randwick hosts a heap of Group races, namely the Kingston Town Stakes, the Bill Ritchie Handicap, the Tea Rose Stakes for the fillies, the Seven Stakes (Which is actually a Listed race) and The Shorts:

Another highlight of the day is the country cups, one being in Bowraville in the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, the Dalby Cup in the Western Downs of Queensland, and the Mount Magnet Cup in the historic Midwest WA gold mining town of Mount Magnet, and they called it Mount Magnet because the current historic townsite had a prominent hill to the west, which seemed to be a magnet for idiots looking for gold.

Fun fact, if you look north from Mount Magnet, it is exactly true north.

Of course, this Sunday also features the Flemington meeting for the Oaks and Derby previews, a meeting that in recent years has been held as a midweek meeting at the end of September, one of the few midweeks to be held at Flemington outside of Melbourne Cup week, the other being ANZAC Day when it falls on a weekday.

So it’s on to Crazy Craig, and he hasn’t had a clean run of things over the last 2 weeks due to various events in his life, in fact he told me last night he didn’t even know there was racing at Flemington last week, he just stuck a couple of darts at a board and got Crazy Colin to write down the results…

Which may explain a lot, because he is Crazy, and he does rely on Elvis Presley for inspiration.

The way too early for Christmas P(r)ick: Snowman (No.7, Barrier 3) E/W in Race 3 at Randwick (SR3), 1pm AEST

1600m BM88 Handicap Peachester Lodge Shoot Out Mile

Trainer: Chris Waller, Jockey: James McDonald, 57.5kg

Hello hello folks, it’s Craaaaazy Craig, TBFB, Scratchie King of Bairnsdale, back from a road trip last week that left me flying blind on the tips, and can you believe it, we’ve got just 1 week to go until the AFL Grand Final!

The longest bloody year on record… even the year with the Sydney Olympics finished on September 2!

Still, it’s much better if you support a crap club like Crazy Colin supporting Richmond, because at least your season usually ends by April!

Anyway, enough of talking about creatures with 2 legs and no brains, we best talk about creatures with 4 legs and a brain, and this week I’m going to start off at Randwick, and it’s early on in the card, far away from the shorties like Fangirl and I Am Me, but the big question for my pick at Randwick…

Can Snowman, who isn’t even a damn grey to really complement his name, win outside of Winter?

And, can he win outside of the Snowy Mountains in an arid place like Randwick?

Imagine that… a horse made from snow winning a Saturday race!

Craig Picks Craig: Craig (No.9, Barrier 2) E/W in Race 5 at Caulfield (MR5), 2:25pm AEST

1400m Listed Testa Rossa Stakes

Trainers: Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young, Craig Williams, 57kg

Well, we did it before and it worked, so bugger it, it’s CRAIG PICKING CRAIG AGAIN!

The Tina Turner P(r)ick: Simply (No.8, Barrier 5) in Race 8 at Belmont (PR8), 4:40pm AWST

1600m 63+ Rating Morley Growers Market Handicap

Trainers: Grant & Alana Williams, Jockey: William Pike, 56.5kg

SIMPLY the best…

BETTER THAN ALL THE REST.

Underwood Stakes tip…, buckle up, BUCKAROO!

Enjoy your weekend folks, stay safe, stay negative, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, and remember, I’m Crazy Craig, and that’s why they call me Craaaaaazy Craig!