Postcards from Flemington
As symbolic objects go, bucket lists are among my favourite. They encourage you to occasionally lift your head above the ho-hum, day-to-day activities of life and pursue something bigger, if only in a one-off or infrequent context. Last year a bucket list indirectly took me to Scotland for the Britsh Open golf at St Andrews. More recently it took me to visit Chicquita Lodge and clock towers. To visit the birdcage and the betting ring. To fascinating conversations with story tellers and satchel swingers alike. It took me to Flemington, for Victoria Derby Day on Saturday and the race that stops a nation on Tuesday.
On an excitement scale of one to Scarlett Johnannson naked (a scenario that has yet to be equated to a numerical value by mankind), I was running at about 527 when team Making The Nut (Nick Tedeschi, Tim Napper, Stu Warren and myself) assembled at Southern Cross station for the train ride out to Flemington. Could we take the cash from the bookmakers' bags on a tough day of racing? What would we make of a scene where 90,000 plus were in attendance, especially as aside from Nick we were light on for big raceday experience? And most importantly, given that the basic plan was to each drink enough to kill a small elephant, would we each still be in one piece come Sunday? (Side note: more on this last proposition to come in a separate 'round table' wrap up of our day out).
Admittedly, we had a couple of aces up our sleeve for the meeting: (1) the decision to buy tickets into the Lawn Stand meant that we had fantastic seats right near the winning post for watching the races unfold; and (2) thanks to the generous offer of Jason Sylvester and the Flemington Sportsbet team, we also had an invite to their office for the periods where we weren't out duelling with bookmakers or watching our cash weigh the relevant horse(s) down. These two factors significantly reduce fatigue towards the end of a long race day all else being equal, giving you the chance to fit more punting and drinking into the ways to expend energy over the course of the day.
Both Sting's Racing Selections and our Making The Nut punters club struck first blood early when Glass Harmonium won the Mackinnon Stakes at the tidy top fluctuation odds of $7.50, bring some early joy. However, our punters' club ethos for the day was cut from the 'all or nothing' cloth. The early winnings, along with those provided by Black Jack Boy at Traralgon later in the day (yep, we were betting based on names by this point of the day – don't ask), were 'left in the bag' as it were. Nonetheless, a couple of us made a nice profit on the day from a more select group of our own personal bets and with the beers flowing all day and the rain conspicuous in its absence, our Saturday was going rather well.
The most surprising part of the day came between the Mackinnon and the Ascot Vale Stakes, the chatter around the Flemington Sportsbet offices pausing for a moment when two gents walked in and asked if this was where you came to meet the Nut Gurus. Wait a second….. we have fans???? The concept was still percolating in my head as we chatted to Mick and Brad, both down from Newcastle for the carnival and as long time league and racing fans, right in our wheelhouse when it comes to finding like minded folk to discuss matters of such importance to our weekends and perhaps more broadly, our respective ways of life. Whilst the website traffic has always suggested that we have more than a few regular readers, to actually have someone tell you that they look forward to reading your columns personalises the reader/ writer relationship immensely. It was a very gratifying and humbling experience, one that topped off a great Saturday at the races nicely.
Monday brought with it another unexpected bonus. As regular readers of Making The Nut would be aware, the Footy Almanac (complete with 'match reports' of every game written through the prism of a footy fan's eyes, giving it a neat point of differentiation with the match reports you might read in the Monday papers) has recently run a pilot series for the Rugby League Almanac, for which Nick is the editor and many of the Nut Gurus submitted columns. It was this connection between Nick and Footy Almanac supremo John Harms that saw us grab a couple of seats at their annual Melbourne Cup lunch, held in Richmond. The food and beers both went down a treat but undoubtedly the highlight were the discussions with the two key speakers.
First up was Racing Victoria's chief handicapper Greg Carpenter, whom along with John went through the majority of the Cup field, offering plenty of well articulated (and more candid than I had anticipated) discussion points regarding how he goes about the process of assigning handicaps for each galloper. A number of the Cup runners (in particular the international raiders) were discussed against this backdrop, offering a fascinating insight into how one of sport's most complicated puzzles is pieced together.
The second speaker was Jan Wositzky, author of 'Me and Phar Lap – The remarkable life of Tommy Woodcock'. Whilst not a racing afficionado in the traditional sense, his background as a writer and musician meant that Jan knew a great story (and a great story teller) when he saw one. In meeting Tommy Woodcock almost three deacdes ago he saw both a story that needed to be recorded and a man with a knack for bringing his experiences, often half a century old, to life. The stories of Jim Pike, Harry Telford and the tragic death of Phar Lap rolled along effortlessly until the clock cruised well past 4pm and the formal proceedings for the lunch had to be drawn to a close.
It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the role of John Harms as the MC and his effect on the quality of the discussions. As anyone who has watched the likes of a Michael Parkinson or a David Letterman in action understands that the facilitator of such a discussion has a huge role to play, both in developing a rapport with the guest and in providing the best 'lead-in' questions or introductions to stories that allow the guest to shine. I went to the lunch hoping for a fun lunch along with some Cup talk, and left with three cogent lessons in story telling. It goes without saying that the event far exceeded my expectations.
All that was left was the big one – Melbourne Cup day. No longer a complete Flemington novice, I travelled between betting rings, food stands, the mounting yard and key viewing areas with greater assurance and purpose than had been shown on Saturday, much like a two year-old having their second race start and better appreciating what this racing caper is all about. The early races brought no joy and it was with some trepidation that I assigned my cash (and if history was any guide, accompanying kiss of death) to Dunaden in the Cup. Of course the record books now show that this resulted in a happy outcome for me and an even happier one for Nick, who backed the winner, had Red Cadeaux each way and via a flexi bet wound up with a decent percentage of the Cup trifecta. The high fives were flowing almost as freely as the beers – we were well and truly going home with the bookies' cash today. Even the rain held off bar a light sprinkle until we had retired back inside.
The final scenes of early Tuesday evening played out in the Flemington Sportsbet offices – chatting to punters and bookies alike about the day, the Cup photo finish and the punt in general. TAB Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie stopped by and over the course of an admittedly brief chat, came across as an eminently likeable guy. As did Sean and Trent, two more from the TAB Sportsbet 'stable' who were both more than happy to chat about racing, sports and the punt. But of course, nothing would have played out remotely as well without the wonderful hospitality of Jason, Allison, Nicoletta and all associated with the FSB team – many thanks for a couple of great days.
Derby and Cup days were everything I had hoped and then some. Melbourne always feels like a fun, friendly and vibrant city (temperamental weather notwithstanding), but the party atmosphere around town really cranks up a notch in Cup week. And then there is the phenomenal roar at Flemington as the Cup field storms past the winning post the first time – my literary skills can't do it justice, but suffice to say it was a moment that has to be experienced to be truly understood and appreciated. A bucket list may have brought me here, but the many levels on which Cup week in Melbourne can be enjoyed will bring me back multiple times. I'm looking forward to the next trip already.
The photo is of Nick and I, with the winning post semi-obscured in the background, around half an hour before the Cup was run and won.
