Punt Drunk: Alligator Blood for the Doncaster Mile? Yeah right!
It was far from an eventful weekend, if we are completely honest – some good horses were back, some nice runs were made and seemingly most punters got their hard-earned back after a horror weekend the week before, but in terms of what we like to cover here at Punt Drunk, not much stood out. In Melbourne, Jye McNeil rode five winners including a feature race double, while leviathan owners Star Thoroughbreds had a field day all over the country. On top of that, a former cult hero stepped out in the trials at Randwick on Monday morning, with some rather ambitious goals this autumn.
HI FIVE FOR JYE
It’s not every day a jockey or trainer will go home with five winners under their belt, let alone on a feature day at Caulfield, but that is exactly what Melbourne Cup-winning hoop Jye McNeil did on Saturday. McNeil is set to be married this coming weekend, so his mammoth effort in the saddle will certainly bring plenty of joy to his soon-to-be wife. It was utter dominance from McNeil early on in the day, with four consecutive wins including the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes aboard Sebonack and the Group 3 Manfred Stakes aboard Generation, who looks to be in for a big autumn. McNeil wasn’t done there, as he booted home Melba Storm to win the penultimate, defeating the well-backed favourite, The Garden. It was a fair day at the office for young Jye, who took home roughly $23,000 in prizemoney.
A mighty fine achievement.
Relive @JyeMcNeil's FIVE wins at Caulfield. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 pic.twitter.com/Czr3kzVV3a
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) February 6, 2022
FOUR-STAR PERFORMANCE
The purple and white silks of Star Thoroughbreds are no strangers to racetracks in Australia, but on Saturday they seemed to pop up more than usual. The famous colours have been worn by some legends of the turf including the likes of Theseo and Sebring, and while we doubt any of Star’s winners on Saturday will reach those great heights, they certainly had a fair bit on their rivals. The wins came in quick succession in Queensland; Merimee dominated her rivals in race four at Doomben, while just half an hour later they romped in at the Gold Coast as Virtuosity delivered the syndicate their second win for the day. In the opening leg of the Randwick quaddie, James McDonald booted home the heavily backed Joviality to a narrow victory, before Desert Icon bolted in at Caulfield, landing another betting plunge. By our calculations, the team had just the four starters around the nation, with all four saluting. Some effort.
Joviality does the punters proud. 🤝@mcacajamez @cwallerracing @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/afFZ1AHovf
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) February 5, 2022
AMBITIOUS ALLIGATOR
More often than not, when a racehorse is loved by thousands of racing fans, that cult hero status lives forever. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for Alligator Blood, given his owner is a bit of a tosser. The Group 1 winner was stripped of his title in the 2020 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas after testing positive to a banned substance, which his owner didn’t take very well. Now with his third trainer – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Alligator Blood stepped out in his first trial on Monday morning, running a narrow second to Minhaaj. He hasn’t won since his brilliant victory in the 2020 Australian Guineas, and he hasn’t been himself since undergoing surgery for a career-threatening spinal problem. Now, we aren’t doubting his trainers’ ability – they’ve won plenty of big Sydney Group 1s – but they’re suggesting that Alligator Blood could be well-placed in this year’s Doncaster Mile. Spare us, please.
Alligator Blood steps out for the first time for the @GaiWaterhouse1-Bott stable 👇pic.twitter.com/fHpZpbMWCD
— TAB (@tabcomau) February 6, 2022
About Punt Drunk
Welcome to Punt Drunk – our daily column covering all the latest horse racing and punting controversies, dramas and headline news. Have a story or gripe or issue that just grinds your gears? Just hit us up in the comments or contact us page and our jaded, punt hardened Punt Drunk staff will give it the Punt Drunk treatment it deserves. Don’t expect pleasantries or typical racing media fanboy gloss from Punt Drunk – we’re on the punt and we don’t have time to bullshit; the next is about to jump…
