2009 Melbourne Cup: Shocking Result!!! - The Bluffer's Guide 2009

The 2009 Melbourne Cup has been won by SHOCKING! 

Final Places in the 2009 Melbourne Cup:
1st - SHOCKING (Jockey: Corey Brown, Trainer: Mark Kavanagh)
2nd - Crime Scene
3rd - Mourilyan

Winning jockey Corey Brown had finished 2nd last year on Bauer in a photo finish but was estactic with the 2009 result.
‘‘Last year was very disappointing but I’ve got it,’’ Brown said.‘‘I’ve finally won the Melbourne Cup.

‘‘My dream has come true, I can’t describe it, it’s unbelievable."


Pre-Race Article
The Bluffer's Guide to the 2009 Melbourne Cup
By W D Nicolson November 3, 2011.
Below is the Bluffer's Guide to the 2009 Melbourne Cup which was run at Flemington in Victoria at 3pm Tuesday 3rd November. Punters (and one day a year punters) around Australia pitted their racing intellect against millions of others in the race that stops a nation.

The problem is - as important as Melbourne Cup Day seems to be to people on the first Tuesday in November - the vast majority of people who follow the race will do so with little to no actual idea about the horses running.

So for the second year in a row (click here for the 2008 edition) - here is a bluffer's guide to the runners in the 2009 Melbourne Cup. (Prices as of 12:30pm via Sportsbet.com.au)

1. Viewed @ $5.30
It won last year so it is the favourite for this year's race. Sub-editors around the country probably used the James Bond inspired 'Viewed to a kill' for the headline last year - the question will be what can they come up with this year if it gets up?

2. C'est La Guerre @ $41.70
My punting friend in Brisbane texted me through this roughie with much confidence this morning - and he's no mug when it comes to punting... except of course on the Melbourne Cup. What is fun is trying to pronounce the name when you don't know how it should sound.

3. Fiumicino @ $54.80
Sounds like a caffinated beverage... so it won't have a problem staying awake for the duration of the race. Winning however... might be more of a challenge.

4. Master O'Reilly @ $14.10
Had friends last year to finish 4th... and won 2007 Caufiled Cup so it's won a big race before.

5. Mourilyan @ $30.90
Could get backed late to finish at 20/1 odds... and is a fancied import in the race.

6. Roman Emperor @ $6.60
If Viewed doesn't get the cash for Bart Cumming's 13th Melbourne Cup - then Roman Emperor might make it win #13 anyway. It's fair to say Bart would like his chances at lucky 13 in 2009.

7. Ista Kareem @ $66.40
Apparently rain is this horse's only hope of featuring in the race... it's overcast down there too...

8. Crime Scene @ $41.30
Saeed Bin Suroor's only runner in the Cup is overmatched here.

9. Munsef @ $50.10
Some very good performances of late (1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd) might see this import backed heavily for a place, if not the win.

10. Zavite @ $49.60
Won the Adelaide Cup earlier in the year, but that my friends is not the Melbourne Cup.

11. Alcopop @ $7.00
Questionable name for a horse - encouraging the kiddies to get on the juiced up pops... but has four straight wins heading into the race so will be a punter's favourite by start time.

12. Harris Tweed @ $80.20
Drab outfit will equate to a drab run.

13. Kibbutz @ $72.60
No siree bob... butz.

14. Newport @ $54.30
Named after a northern beach in Sydney but will finish well south on the racetrack today.

15. Warringah @ $32.90
Has placed in four its last five starts to give you some food for thought including it as a placegetter.

16. Gallions Reach @ $125.50
At 125/1 - you'd be reaching to even entertain the idea this horse ever sees the front of the field at any stage during the race.

17. Spin Around @ $86.40
I don't think so... no matter what spin you put on this horse - not winning.

18. Basaltico @ $44.40
Will sink to the back of the field like basalt... assuming of course basalt is a heavy rock/mineral and does indeed sink.

19. Capecover @ $155.80
Save your money for a horse who isn't 150/1...

20. Daffodil @ $11.10
Will today be the day Daffodil blooms on the big stage? Punters think so...

21. Shocking @ $11.00
Apparently a stayer of some quality and the Melbourne Cup is longer than most races... hence the price at 11/1.

22. Allez Wonder @ $16.90
I gather the name Alice Wonder was taken and the owners went with the poor imitation of Allez to compensate... Bart Cumming's 3rd horse in the race which is probably why it is a tempting price.

24. Leica Ding @ $27.90
Has some winning pedigree but there's better horses to choose from.

So who am I tipping for the 2009 Melbourne Cup?

With little to no idea (as you'd read above - I pretty much made it up as I went along) here is my Trifecta:

1. C'est La Guerre
2. Viewed
3. Warringah
 Heck let's take a stab at the Top 6.
4. Shocking
5. Alcopop
6. Munsef

Enjoy the day and please bet smart if you are punting. Just think of all the Big Mac Meals you could buy for those $10 bets that get put on at the last minute on horses with absolutely no chance of winning...

Are Fans Finally Getting What They Want?

More Day Games PLEASE.

If there is a sport played on an outdoor field - there is absolutely no question that the quality of the game is far superior to when it is played at night.

The National Rugby League switched their Grand Final from a 3pm start to an 8pm kick-off in 2001 to satisfy television network Channel Nine's desire to show the code's biggest game in prime time.

What wasn't taken into consideration was the concept of 'Grand Final Day' when fans could organise a big get together to watch all three grades and celebrate their team's victory (or wallow in their defeat) on into the night. But with a night Grand Final - kids in particular would miss out - celebrations would be curtailed by the late night finish.

The euphoria of a Grand Final victory would last barely an hour before people began to leave, rather than the debrief starting at about 6pm and going well on into the evening. And those who went to the game would consider trying to beat the traffic home first and staying to take in the post-game atmosphere a distant second following the full time whistle.

But Television only cared about the ratings during the game itself and from 2001 to 2007 the game was kept at the prime time kick-off. Finally people power made some headway (after a long time complaining) and Channel Nine and the NRL made a concession - moving the kick-off back to 5:15pm.

This still meant that part of the game is played at night, but the first half started in the twilight.

It was a compromise that didn't quite give fans everything they were after - but it is better than having to wait til 8pm for the biggest game of the season.

The Australian Football League has so far resisted overtures from TV to move their game out of the Saturday Afternoon time slot - and their Grand Final is far better for it.

Now Major League Baseball may be following suit.

Right now the entirety of the World Series (the Grand Final of Baseball is a Best of Seven Game Series) is played at night - with Television Stations who spend millions of dollars demanding that the games be in prime time. Not since 1984 when Detroit and San Diego played a day game in the World Series has the true essence of baseball been a consideration in the final games of the season.
The downside to the prime time revolution is when at least one West Coast team makes the World Series. This is because a prime time start in the West means a late night start in the more lucrative East Coast market. In 2002 when the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels played in the World Series, the starting times were a nightmare for East Coast centric TV executives.

News today that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig wants to have at least one afternoon start for a World Series game is fantastic. There is no doubt that baseball is a better game during the day (much like how cricket is a better contest during the day) and for a lot of fans - the game never feels the same at night.

Here is a link to the article on Yahoo! Sports.

Perhaps the most cranium scratching facts about night games for the biggest matches of the year are the fact that particularly in baseball - the majority of games are day games... yet when the biggest matches take place - we play them at night.

It begs the question - does the championship winning team need to be the best team over 162 Games or just the best team at playing night baseball?

Just food for thought... why do we play day games in any sport if the biggest game of the year is played in different conditions?

International Rugby League: Four Nations Wallpapers miss the mark...

The Official Gillette Four Nations Website is now online, with the first round of games kicking-off this weekend. England take on France in Doncaster on Friday Night, while the reigning World Cup champions New Zealand play Australia in London.

The website is average for the most part - a tournament like this should lend itself to a plethora of intriguing content options for the International Rugby League fan - but the best they have been able to do is make four wallpapers available for download for each Four Nations team and list the players in each squad...

It is nice and colourful but where's the substance?

Where's the reasons for a fan to visit the site more than once?

Still searching for them myself... suffice to say - the site has a lot of room for improvement.

Here are the Wallpapers, they are baffling to say the least... what do you think of them?

ENGLAND

NEW ZEALAND

AUSTRALIA

FRANCE

It might be just my opinion - but does the English Wallpaper look like the only graphic that has Jamie Peacock's actual body attached to his head?

Or is it some sort of cutting edge design technique I don't know about?