And they're off

[unfrufru]

any tips for Melbourne Cup 2day people?

I put in for a couple of sweeps at work yesterday and dad and I went to the TAB this morning as the local opens at 7. put $10 each way bet on 3 horses, even if I win or place I'll still make my $60 back. I almost got the wrong horse cause dad was filling out the forms by the daily telegraph not by the TAB forms so the barriers changed for a couple. But I put on the girly act and the guy had just gotten out of bed and was really nice and let me cancel the bet and put it on the right horse.

Sticking with my tradition of betting for stupid reasons -

mr celebrity cause I was reading wil's Sunday life and was thinking all sarcastic ooh look at me I'm mr celebrity I'm soo good, then I saw the horses name and went oh yeah.

distinction cause my radio lecturer was on Einstein factor on the weekend and she gave me a distinction

railings cause its kind of like the railway spike he used to kill people with hehe.

Didn't check the odds or anything until this morning but 2 of them are actually now favourites hehe

[Renee_Turner]

My box trifecta is Mr Celebrity, Distinction and Eye Popper.

I haven't placed a bet though, I'm poor. If someone else does and it wins, throw me a cut, would you?

Dizelle is also another possible.

[unfrufru]

Makybe won, On a Jeune came 2nd and Xcellent came 3rd.

i won the office sweep so i won $70 and since i spent $70 on bets eh who cares

[Keyser Soze]

Go go Makybe Diva! She is incredible. I'm so glad she won.

[wheehah]

Does anyone know who came last?

[Mythor]

Franklins Gardens according to the SMH results.

[op shop girl]

Originally Posted by wheehah

Does anyone know who came last?

My pick, of course


I don't mind losing, but I'm very annoyed that Makybe Diva won. Why does everyone keep comparing her to Phar Lap? Would Phar Lap's trainers have threatened to pull him out of a race because the ground was a little dry?
Stupid media fanfare...

/rant

[Alisso]

I had Xcellent and On a Jeune in two different sweeps, so I got my money back twice over *G* Sure, that only amounts to a $10 profit, but I was happy with it. I also had Dizelle, I think...

Till the race ran, I thought I'd gotten a really dodgy lot of horses, then I heard the results and felt guilty *G* And pleased, of course.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally Posted by op shop girl

I don't mind losing, but I'm very annoyed that Makybe Diva won. Why does everyone keep comparing her to Phar Lap? Would Phar Lap's trainers have threatened to pull him out of a race because the ground was a little dry?
Stupid media fanfare...
/rant

I agree that Phar Lap was an amazing horse, but i think comparisons of Makybe Diva to him are totally justified. As the media keeping repeating, what she has done has never been done by any horse ever, including Phar Lap. Even though Phar Lap's life was cut short, I think its fair to say he wouldn't have won the Melbourne Cup 3 years running. But even if he had, that in no way subtracts from Makybe's victory.

One histrorical horse that many people seem to forget is Archer. Apparently, he won 2 Melbourne cups in a row and was a favourite to win a 3rd, but the changed the rules specifically so that he couldnt play.

[Mythor]

Phar Lap was killed when he was five. Makybe Diva has retired at seven.
Had Phar Lap won in '32 (the year he was killed - prior to cup day), '33 and '34, he would have been seven for his third win. There is no way to tell if this would have happened or not.

Phar Lap started in 51 races and won 37 of those.
Makybe Diva has started in 36 races and won 15.
If Diva enters another 15 races (51-36) the absolute best she can do is another 15 wins, which will only get her to 30 total wins.

Winning three Melbourne Cups in a row is certainly impressive, but she's not even close to Phar Lap.
She's certainly the "Phar Lap" of our generation, but that's it. Comparing the two is really just sullying the accomplishments of both.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally Posted by Mythor

Phar Lap was killed when he was five. Makybe Diva has retired at seven.
Had Phar Lap won in '32 (the year he was killed - prior to cup day), '33 and '34, he would have been seven for his third win. There is no way to tell if this would have happened or not.

Phar Lap started in 51 races and won 37 of those.
Makybe Diva has started in 36 races and won 15.
If Diva enters another 15 races (51-36) the absolute best she can do is another 15 wins, which will only get her to 30 total wins.

I could quite likely be extremely wrong, but from what I know of Phar Lap's story, I thought that when he left Australia to America that was sort of "it" for his races in Australia. In which case he was never going to win 3 cups in a row. But of course, thats not to say he couldn't have.

Originally Posted by Mythor

Winning three Melbourne Cups in a row is certainly impressive, but she's not even close to Phar Lap.
She's certainly the "Phar Lap" of our generation, but that's it. Comparing the two is really just sullying the accomplishments of both.

I disagree. I don't think it sullies either of their accomplishments. Saying the Makybe Diva has "joined the ranks of those such as Phar Lap" in no way does injustice to either horse. Saying "Omg Makybe Diva kicks Phar Lap's arse" certinaly does, but from most of the media reports I've seen , no one has gone anywhere near such claims.

Comparing the horses in the way you just did (comparing starts and victories) could be seen as sullying their accomplishments, but I see the point you were making, and was unaware of the number of wins vs starts.

[Mythor]

Lee Freedman (Diva's trainer) has been running his mouth about her being better than Phar Lap, which got my goat. I tried to find the exact quote earlier but didn't have any luck.
She has two extra years on Phar Lap and ran fewer races and still came out with a worse record, other than winning the same race three years running.

I just don't see it I guess.

[VAxwell]

I just saw the news report with the Lee Freedman sound bite, and it really annoyed me. He was so arogant in the way he said it. I can't remember the exact quote but it was something like 'You didn't see Phar Lap in three.' He seems like a real prat, and I feel sorry for the poor horse.

Either way, I don't really care about the race. I had an exam today from 2.30 til 5, so I missed the whole fucking thing completely. And how ironic is it that the exam was held at the Caulfield racecourse, without a horse in sight?

Fucking rude. I probably would have bet on the Diva, and On The Jeune because mum loves the Diva and her name is June.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally Posted by VAxwell

I just saw the news report with the Lee Freedman sound bite, and it really annoyed me. He was so arogant in the way he said it. I can't remember the exact quote but it was something like 'You didn't see Phar Lap in three.' He seems like a real prat, and I feel sorry for the poor horse.

Yeah that is pretty darn rude, and unnecessary. As i've said, I think Makybe Diva is amazing and, in my opinion, possibly of the same calibre as Phar Lap. But Freedman should be grateful for such praising comparisons and should not so arrogantly diss Phar Lap. All it does is make people compare Makybe Diva to Phar Lap in a bad "who's better" way, instead of just admiring both horses.

[Mythor]

I think he actually said something about him not seeing Phar Lap winning three. And, you know, he wasn't even born when Phar Lap died, so he didn't even see him winning one.