Punt Drunk: McDonald raises the bat for third year running
Happy Friday eve, punters! What a big 24 hours it has been since we last spoke in yesterday’s edition of #PuntDrunk. We will shut up and get straight into it.
New Melbourne Cup rules for overseas runners
Since the conclusion of the 2020 Melbourne Cup, the discussion has centred around how international runners can run in the race with their connections confident they will depart our shores safely. Racing Victoria and the Victorian Racing Club recently announced a ‘New Global Safety Benchmark’ for horses competing in Melbourne during the spring. Any international galloper who has suffered a previous fracture or undergone orthopaedic surgery will not be permitted to come to Australia. Only 24 horses will be permitted at the Werribee International Quarantine Centre, and those horses will only be allowed to have one lead-up run in Australia.
JMac or the Don?
He is only 28 years old, but James McDonald is quickly putting his name towards the top of the list of the best jockeys New South Wales racing has seen. He rode yet another double at Warwick Farm yesterday, and his second winner of the meeting saw him raise the bat for 100 wins in Sydney for the racing season. Remarkably, it is the third year in a row that JMac has achieved the feat, and he does not look like slowing down anytime soon. Only two other jockeys have ridden at least 100 winners in three consecutive seasons, and they are none other than Larry Cassidy and Darren Beadman. To all those 28-year-old punters out there, we hope you have backed at least one of those winners!
Thursday racing tips – April 29, 2021
Punt Drunk’s best bet of the day
Saquon looks well placed to string together consecutive wins at Wyong in a BM64. It is hard not to like his racing pattern, as he tends to lead the field up and prove hard to run down. Tim Clark sticks on board from the dominant last-start win, and the pair should prove too quick for this field over 1350m.
About Punt Drunk
Welcome to Punt Drunk! Our new 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…
