I’m back at my desk having flown in to a freezing cold Heathrow at 5:30 this morning wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I hardly slept a wink and I’m fading fast – as soon as I’ve done the blog I’m off to bed.
I couldn’t have been more impressed with Melbourne – it’s got everything. It’s clean and well maintained and is thoughtfully and creatively laid out. I felt safer wandering around town at night than I have anywhere I’ve been to including (unsurprisingly) London, and it has a very low crime rate.
Culturally it is an extremely polite and friendly place and anyone might strike up a conversation at any time. I found this a bit of a culture shock at first, particularly in the lift (I was on the 22nd floor) where friendly banter seemed to be standard. Sport is big on the menu and there’s a drip feed of top class live action throughout the year – Horse racing, Aussie rules, cricket and tennis top the list.
I was struck by the number of people who owned shares of horses. Most horses seemed to be owned by syndicates and I met several small owners working in the Betfair offices in Melbourne and Hobart. It’s a better investment than it is in the UK – training costs can be less than half of the UK equivalent and there is three times as much prize money country wide. Most race meetings are local affairs, and the best horses from each locale go on to contest races at the bigger tracks. It is far more of a participation sport than it is in the UK, and I thought that was hugely positive.
Sporting heroes are celebrated, sometimes in unusual ways;
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I wonder if a young Shane Warne dreamt that he might be a musical one day…
On to the horses;
I had a long chat with Pete this morning and he was happy with everything. The best news concerned Bouguereau – he’s making good progress and they are more positive about his recovery chances. Neither Looby Loo nor Teia Tephi are likely to run as 2yos – Teia nearly made it but she had a minor sore shin so we gave up on the year. Looby is still very immature and needs time – Teia is a decent prospect and could be out on the all-weather in February. Winker is out to grass. Maxwell Hawke goes very well now but I think he is done for the year.
Gary has Astrodome in the stable now – Tifernati is having a 6 week break before going down there. We were going to kick on with Astrodome, but after a chat with Sir Mark Prescott Gary has decided to give him a break first. Mon Michel is in great heart – he runs in a hurdle on Sunday week before going chasing. He’s grown and filled out a load and we think he’ll make a decent chaser in time. King’s Head will run as soon as the ground is right – he’s in the next sales but he’ll have a reserve.