Bigfooty Racing Awards 2006

Tim56

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Thread starter #1
Top class racing was thin on the ground in 2006 - however, I think we can still acknowledge the best horses, jockeys, and races. There are a few categories, I don't intend for there to be formal voting, just share your opinions:

1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year

And the not so good...

1. Award for Worst Horse of the Year

2. Award for Worst Race of the Year

3. Award for Most Insipid Performance

4. Award for Worst Trainer

5. Award for Worst Jockey of the Year

6. Award for Worst Training Performance of the Year

7. Award for Worst Ride of the Year

8. Award for Worst Racecaller of the Year

If anyone wants to suggest something then I'll edit this post.
 

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Tim56

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Thread starter #2
1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year

Fairly thin on the ground but the best horse in the country, until injured, was Eremein. Credit to Miss Finland for her outstanding performances but she didn't really perform outside her age and sex, except the Cox Plate, where she ran 6th.

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year

Grand Annual Steeple - As good a jump race as you are ever likely to see.

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year

Fairly uninspiring lot this year but Fields of Omagh in the Cox Plate was one of those great racing moments that don't come round very often.

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year

Lloyd Williams has the highest quality team of horses in Australia. He can be backed with confidence, as his horses are there for one purpose - to win.

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year

SW Arnold - As good as anyone around at the moment, from very limited opportunities due to his weight.

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year

Robbie Laing for 3 different feats - 1. Winning the Australian Cup with Roman Arch off a limited preparation. 2. The entire 2006 jumps season. 3. Producing Pantani to win first up over 3000m. Isn't great with sprinters but is a genius when it comes to stayers. Honorable mention to EV Musgrove for winning in Japan with Karasi at 11 years of age.

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year

D. Dunn on Tawqeet in the Caulfield Cup. Did not put a foot wrong. Ditto for his ride in the Metropolitan.

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year

No one did it better or more consistently than Greg Miles.

9. Star Kingdom Award for Stallion of the Year

Redoute's Choice was again dominant but Commands was such a consistent source of winners, headlined by Paratroopers and Court Command.

And the not so good...

1. Award for Worst Horse of the Year

Kincharm. They keep sending him out short, and he keeps losing.

2. Award for Worst Race of the Year

Queensland Oaks/Derby. The fact these two are still G1 is a disgrace.

3. Award for Most Insipid Performance

El Segundo in the Caulfield Stakes. No excuses.

4. Award for Worst Trainer of the Year

Lee Freedman had a shocker and he knows it. He'll be back though.

5. Award for Worst Jockey of the Year

Glen Boss didn't do much in the saddle and didn't conduct himself with much class out of it. Dishonourable mention to Ms A. Leek - she simply shouldn't be riding.

6. Award for Worst Training Performance of the Year

John Hawkes for once again demonstrating he isn't much good with a stayer, with both Headturner and Railings having shocking Spring's.

7. Award for Worst Ride of the Year

M. Rodd on Activation in the Caulfield Cup (I'm talking through my pocket, but he cost that horse the race by going wide unneccessarily). Dishonorable mention to Nash Rawiller on Haradasun.

8. Award for Worst Racecaller of the Year

Bryan Martin isn't the caller he once was - particularly ordinary in the country where he just doesn't know the horses well enough.

9. Award for Worst Stallion of the Year

Giant's Causeway came here on a big fee and with lots of publicity, but has thrown nothing. Didn't come back and it isn't hard to see why.
 

starz

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#3
1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year: Efficient

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year: Melb cup

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year: Efficient taking out the Derby

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year: D.Hayes

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year: Probably Craig williams

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year: Rogerson/Lloyd

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year: Hard to say, jockeys are there to do a job, the horse makes them look good most of the time.

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year: Alan thomas - Brisbane

Not sure about the worst.
 

HeLMie

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#4
1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year: Efficient

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year: Melb cup

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year: Efficient taking out the Derby

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year: D.Hayes

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year: Probably Craig williams

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year: Rogerson/Lloyd

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year: Hard to say, jockeys are there to do a job, the horse makes them look good most of the time.

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year: Alan thomas - Brisbane

Not sure about the worst.
Very ignorant statement..... And stop aftertiming, you should have called it before the race......and given Approx odds....
 

starz

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Very ignorant statement..... And stop aftertiming, you should have called it before the race......and given Approx odds....
Why isn't it 'hard to say'?
Of course it is.

Hey, i'm not the one who aftertimes.. There's only a few here who don't.
 

Lockyer24

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#6
1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year

1st Miss Finland - A good ride in the Cox Plate next year will answer some questions, but you cant fault her otherwise. Too good for Tuesday Joy over distance, beat Haradasun over a sprint and anything else in between pretty much won it all.
2nd Efficient - Backed him since day 1 so was a pleasure to see him improve as he went further into his prep. His 3rd run at Caulfield I think was the first sign he would be very good. Didn't beat much in the Derby but what a run.
3rd El Segundo - just got pipped in his main target after a fantastic Spring with just the one hiccup. Best middle distancer in the land IMO.
4th Aqua D'Amore's - Spring was as good as you could get without actually winning.
Honourable mention - Takeover Target - yeah probably the best considering he beat the world but would like to see him put a few together in a row in Melbourne over a Spring

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year
1st Cox Plate - just an amazing race to watch, I was right on the fence and seemed to be the only person in my area who knew FOO had won!
2nd Haradasun vs Miss Finland bout 1.

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year
FOO Cox Plate. To come from the back like that was a miraculous way to win and bow out with. Honourable mention Efficient - Derby

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year
Hayes easily

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year
Williams easily

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year
Lloyd W with Efficient

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year
Craig Williams on Lyrical Bid in the Myer classic Derby Day, his ride won a good race on a B grader, honourable mention Rodd in the Derby

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year
I honestly couldn't say

And the not so good...

1. Award for Worst Horse of the Year
Obviously some spud in the country somewhere but Raid the Royals has more ability than its output

2. Award for Worst Race of the Year
Any of the races the days there was a leader bias and I backed backmarkers...Caulfield Day Springs to mind...

3. Award for Most Insipid Performance
I thought Sorenstam/Maxerelle were better mares than the way they went

4. Award for Worst Trainer
Hawkes spelling of Mearas puzzled me and Headturner never went on with it

5. Award for Worst Jockey of the Year
Never confident when I had Shinn aboard and by the end his mate Ryan wasn't much better either

6. Award for Worst Training Performance of the Year
I cant criticise but Freedman and Little saying their horses (Sphenophyta and El Segundo) won't run in the Mackinnon then running them clearly not at their best was 'annoying'

7. Award for Worst Ride of the Year
Brown's ride on Fast n Famous in the Salinger was dissapointing for my wallet

8. Award for Worst Racecaller of the Year
Again don't take much notice
 

sethlad

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#7
1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year:Takeover Target...daylight

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year Average year so Ill go AG Hunter Cup,full of action

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year:Takeover Target,travelling to the UK & winning.Only true champions can do it.

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year:John O'Shea for adding a little interest to Sydney racing,will learn from his Melbourne trip

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year:No-one jumps out at me

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year:Brian Mayfield Smith for Maybe Better.How he got a 1600m horse to win at 2500 then be the 1st local home in the Cup,staggering

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year: S Arnold for Maybe Better in the Winning Edge,barrier 17,big weight & a distance doubt??

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year Dan Mielecki,his calls of the Gp races are always action packed & is never wrong in a photo.

seth
 

footyman

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#8
8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year Dan Mielecki,his calls of the Gp races are always action packed & is never wrong in a photo.
You're right there, he can test the eardrums some times with the yelling but he always has a crack in a close finish and I cant remember him getting one wrong ever.

The worst is Chris Barsby the QLD harness caller, now Wayne Wilson is back doing the Brisbane Gallops, hopefully David Fowler picks up the calling of the trots up there again.

Anyway my two cents worth....

1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year - Miss Finland

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year - Cox Plate - full of intrigue pre-race with a fairytale finish.

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year - Takeover Target at Royal Ascot. Sitting duck in front, kept kicking, remarkable victory.

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year - Gai Waterhouse, finally figured out how to win races in Melbourne!

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year - In the bush, Neville Wilson, keeps on keeping on.

In town Craig Williams, professionalism with the track walking and all that really knows where to ride his horses.

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year - Graeme Rogerson/Lloyd Williams - they place horses so well, train them to win and the punters benefit on a daily basis.

7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year: Yasunari Iwata on Delta Blues in the Melbourne Cup. We've seen plenty of international jockeys come here and ride poor races year after year in the race, his first ride in it and he walked away a winner.


8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year -
Rick McIntosh. Covers plenty of territory and when he calls feature races he rises to another level.

The improver would be Mark Shean in Sydney - hes improved a heck of a lot in the last 12 months, the accuracy was always there but the colour wasnt. Getting better.
 

Tim56

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Thread starter #9
8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year - Rick McIntosh. Covers plenty of territory and when he calls feature races he rises to another level.

The improver would be Mark Shean in Sydney - hes improved a heck of a lot in the last 12 months, the accuracy was always there but the colour wasnt. Getting better.
The problem with McIntosh is that for about the last 600m of any given race, he basically focuses on one runner (generally whoever is travelling best). Can be frustrating if you are not on said runner.

Shean has improved but give me Ian Craig any day.
 

Ricketts

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#10
1. Phar Lap Award for Horse of the Year

Takeover Target

2. Bonecrusher/Our Waverley Star Award for Race of the Year

Melbourne Cup

3. Kingston Town Award for Victory of the Year

Takeover Target in England

4. T.J Smith Award for Trainer of the Year

O'Shea for having winners every week, or Hayes for winning major races

5. George Moore Award for Jockey of the Year

Williams i suppose, even though i don't like him. No real obvious choice

6. Bob Hoysted Award for Training Performance of the Year

Hayes getting a Golden Slipper winner to win G1's in the spring over 1600 and 2500, even though 3YO Filly races are ordinary.

Casual Pass winning a G1 after injuries.


7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year

M.Rodd - Efficient in the VRC Derby

8. Bill Collins Award for Racecaller of the Year

I like Terry Bailey

And the not so good...

1. Award for Worst Horse of the Year

Mnemosyne

2. Award for Worst Race of the Year

QLD Oaks
QLD Derby
Brisbane Cup


3. Award for Most Insipid Performance

El Segundo in the Yalumba was fairly poor

4. Award for Worst Trainer

Freedman for all the quality horses he gets and facilities

6. Award for Worst Training Performance of the Year

Hawkes for Headturner and Railings

8. Award for Worst Racecaller of the Year

I can't stand Brian Martin
 

starz

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7. Mick Dittman Award for Ride of the Year

M.Rodd - Efficient in the VRC Derby
There's a classic case of Horse making jockey look good.
Ask the Efficient backers (me included) what they thought of Rodd's ride at the top of the straight they would have all said abysmal.
 

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#12
There's a classic case of Horse making jockey look good.
Ask the Efficient backers (me included) what they thought of Rodd's ride at the top of the straight they would have all said abysmal.
That's a silly comment. They don't pay at the top of the straight- at the post he was well clear and all efficient backers would surely have been happy with that.
Rodd knew what kind of horse he had under him and got him into the clear with enough time to put a couple of lengths on the others. It's a risky way to ride a 1-1 fav but it worked a treat.
 

starz

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#13
You can't do with what you don't have.
I backed it @ 2.70 and yea happy to collect but It was the horse, not the jockey. Sure he punched it out well but the positioning was terrible, watch the race again second last on the rails straightening for home a mile off where it should have been and in BIG trouble.
 

Ricketts

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#14
You can't do with what you don't have.
I backed it @ 2.70 and yea happy to collect but It was the horse, not the jockey. Sure he punched it out well but the positioning was terrible, watch the race again second last on the rails straightening for home a mile off where it should have been and in BIG trouble.
I think you'll find the rail on Derby Day was the place to be and Rodd was given instructions to stick to it, so he did, rode perfectly to instructions.
 

starz

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#15
I wasn't privy to the instructions but i do know they wouldn't have liked it being that far back. A big sigh of relief the horse was so damn good it didn't matter.
Let's face it, Efficient would have won from anywhere no matter who was on it, and proved it.
 

Tim56

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Thread starter #16
Lloyd issued the orders for how the horse was to be ridden, and Rodd executed them. It wasn't a bad ride, but all credit goes to LJ Williams, Australia's greatest owner/trainer/punter/human being.
 
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