This weekend, the curtain drops on the most emotional and dramatic Melbourne Spring Carnival in living memory, while on the other side of the world, it is the end of the British Flat season.
This weekend, the curtain drops on the most emotional and dramatic Melbourne Spring Carnival in living memory, while on the other side of the world, it is the end of the British Flat season.
Godolphin will feature at both meetings -- at Flemington, where Bow Creek has an excellent chance in the G1 Emirates Stakes and Secret Number looms as the one to beat in the G3 Queen's Cup, and at Doncaster (UK), where Lightning Moon tackles the Listed Wentworth Stakes.
Australian racing is still rejoicing in the first win for a female jockey in the coveted G1 Melbourne Cup. Michelle Payne's triumph aboard Prince Of Penzance on Tuesday went into the record books, and will long be regarded as one of the most emotive wins in the big race. It made headlines worldwide.
The fourth and final day of the VRC Spring Carnival in Melbourne will take place on Saturday, on a track surface that has taken a battering on the first three days. Extraordinary weather, even by Melbourne standards, hit the course on Thursday, leaving it Heavy by the end of the day.
With only 48 hours to recover, it is going to be tiring ground on the final day, but Bow Creek should be well equipped for the task ahead in the Emirates Stakes, which features the best 1600-metre horses in the country.
The Godolphin five-year-old flew home at the end of the G2 Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley on October 24, doing his very best work at the end of the race. Jockey James McDonald hinted that the tight Valley circuit may not have suited his mount.
"It favoured runners up on the pace that day, and I feel Bow Creek will be much better suited on a big track such as Flemington," McDonald said.
In the UK, Bow Creek proved himself a progressive miler, winning Goodwood's G2 Celebration Mile as well as the G2 Boomerang Stakes at Leopardstown (Ire) on his final two starts last year. He seems to have thrived with John O'Shea in Sydney Australia.
In a very tough and competitive race, he has the Robert Smerdon-trained mare Politeness to beat. She is in fantastic form, as seen with her win in the Myer Classic a week ago, and she is proven in soft and heavy conditions.
Secret Number, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, missed out on a start in the Melbourne Cup, but he looks in fine fettle and he can gain compensation in the Queen's Cup, over 2,600m.
He has only been lightly raced but he is very capable on his day. His only run in the last 15 months resulted in a win at Chester on September 12. He goes particularly well fresh, and will appreciate the small field.
On the same card, the G1 Darley Classic should go to brilliant sprinter Chautauqua but Boban, a son of Bernadini, looks a threat, along with Terravista.
Over in the UK, Lightning Moon faces 13 rivals in the Wentworth Stakes in a final chance to recapture the sparkle he displayed several starts back. The November Handicap is the feature race on the final day of the British Flat season.
