Why do we let Grey Lion off so easily?
THERE is nothing unusual about an overseas import coming to Australia and failing to breakthrough for a win, but few horses have had the amount of apologists that Irish galloper Grey Lion has had over the journey.
Much has been made about compatriot Tom Melbourne’s inability to get the job done on Aussie soil after multiple winning chances, but the Matt Cumani-trained grey has inconspicuously flown under the radar in each of its 12 runs since arriving in the country during late 2016.
Why is that though?
Grey Lion. Discuss…
— Simon Baird (@sbaird80) December 9, 2017
Much like Tom Melbourne, Grey Lion has a habit of racing well without breaking through. In its Australian debut the horse raced a gallant second in the Geelong Cup before running a poor 14th in the Melbourne Cup three-weeks later. Perhaps it was the horse’s 14th placed finish that made the punters shy away from the horse, but Grey Lion has not copped anywhere near the vitriol that Tom Melbourne has incurred.
Looking at the results over the last year however, and maybe those scolded investors should be making their voices heard a little bit louder.
Grey Lion ran 10th, seventh and 13th in its three returning runs following the Melbourne Cup, but looked to have turned a corner after a strong third-placed finish in the Cranbourne Cup as a $31 outsider via Crownbet.
From there Grey Lion finished fourth in its second Geelong Cup, before recording an impressive third in the Group Three Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington.
The odds on all those runs suggest improvement was to come, but this is where the failures start to mount up.
Jumping as the $3.60 favouite in Sportsbet Ballarat Cup, Grey Lion had no excuses in a brutally run race given its supposedly superior staying pedigree.
If the run at Ballarat was below-par, the last-start effort in the Pakenham Cup was even worse.
Opening as a $3.30 favourite, the grey failed to even mount a challenge in the $250,000 listed event, which was taken out by Like A Carousel at the $27.50 price via Ladbrokes.
What a cockroach that Grey Lion is
— James (@jamesarthur83) December 9, 2017
We may need to face facts with Grey Lion – it may not be cut out for racing in Australia. 12 starts have yielded exactly zero wins down under and any punter that continues to bet on the son of Galileo may as well throw their money away.
At least Tom Melbourne backers can say the horse gave them a run for their money.
We hope the grey can prove us wrong and get that elusive Australian win sometime soon, but by the looks of things the six-year-old may never get to stand in the winner’s stall in a race at its adopted home.