Princess' mention of the Match Book threw my memory back to another time when two of the greats of the Australian turf clashed in a match race. In 1969 Big Philou, trained by Bart Cummings, was backed for a fortune to win the Caulfield - Melbourne Cup double. After winning the Caulfield Cup on protest, the horse went into the Melbourne Cup as the hot favourite. In the final hour before the Cup, Big Philou began to show sign of distress. It was obvious that the horse had been hit with a stopper. He was scratched from the race. At the time no guilty hand could be found. A man confessed some twenty years later. The race that year went to the great Rain Lover who became just the second horse to win the race in successive years. In 1970 a 2500m race at weight for age was scheduled by the Victorian Turf Club. When it became obvious the both Rain Lover and Big Philou were entered, all other trainers pulled their horses. This created a problem for the club. They were about to cancel the race, but were talked into letting it become the "match race of the century." The link below provides a radio broadcast by one of Australia's most loved callers, Bert Bryant. I've just listened to the race for the first time in ages, and it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. http://www.racerate.com/1970 MATCH RACE OF CENTURY BIG PHILOU RAIN LOVER.mp3
That link doesn't work for me Cyc (it wants me to download something) but you sufficiently raised my curiosity enough to find this [video=youtube;aq15k6WkdGU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq15k6WkdGU[/video] commentary, if not the same, is actually pretty exciting too!
Yeah I saw that as well George. It's the same broadcast too. I like the film, but the pictureless call is my favourite. It allows for the imagination to play with what's happening. But both are good. Another that took place was between the Japan Cup and Cox Plate winner Better Loosen Up and the Melbourne Cup winner Let's Elope. Watch the way the whips were used in those days, particularly Dittman's effort on the winner. He was known as "the enforcer." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZoXnOUBEQ
