Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamblor
The melb cup is completely different to the cox plate. The former is a 3200m handicap, the latter 2040m WFA. We just haven’t been breeding 3200m horses here in recent years so our stayers are garbage. The European stayers are distinctly superior to ours.
However we do still breed good horses up to about 2000m. Our sprinters have been our best horses for the last few decades (though our current crop are sub par) however we’ve always produced good 1600m and 2000m horses too. Completely different type of horse and type of race over 1600 to 2000 (winx pet range) than it is over 3200. And a completely different type of horse required to win at each.
Therefore saying “if the Melbourne cup is anything to go by then...” is an argument flawed at its inception.
Kind of like me saying “if the NFL is anything to go by then all American sport is shit.”
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My initial post was a
general comparison concerning grass horses from Europe vs Australia. I agree with everything that you wrote in your first two paragraphs.
You obviously live in Australia. What is your local racecourse? I lived in WA for almost a year back in the 90's and have been back for racing holidays six times and have visited 70 racecourses there. So FWIW, I'm pretty well aquainted with your racing and breeding industry. If I can recall, the
only success Australian bred horses had overseas (Europe/Dubai, because they rarely, if ever, travel to the US) is with their sprinters, which amplifies their worldwide inferiority at middle and staying distances.
Keeping in mind that this is a Winx v Enable thread; in Winx's latest prep, she could have very well been pointed to the US Breeders Cup. Her connections could have easily skipped the Cox Plate and sent her to the US. Her optimal/softer race would have been the Filly and Mare Turf (2100). Though to prove her superiority over Enable she would have had to go against her in the Turf (2400).
The argument over who's best is difficult as Winx's best is 2000 and Enable's is 2400. If you split the difference and have them run at 2200, I believe that Enable would still win.
Enable travels to France and wins the Arc, then travels to the US and wins the Turf. Winx stays at home and continues to beat up on the local talent.
Also, Enable is a proven winner on more varied racecourses, Chester/Churchill Downs (sharp and tight), as well as, Longchamp, Chantilly, York, Ascot (large, galloping-type). Most of Winx's win have come on large, galloping-type (400+ meter stretches); less Moonee Valley which shows a stretch of of 173 meters, but that is a bit mis-leading as prior to the small bend leading into the stretch, there is a 400+ meter stretch leading into it.
Unfortuately, I don't think that they will ever meet, so the debate goes on. But for me, it will always be Enable.
