Sports

The Weekly A-Z

Posted on | Posted by Digby Beacham

A – ARRIVEDERCI ROCKY

Rock Magic has been defiant in his ongoing battle with Father Time. At 12 years of age, Rocky has raced for many more seasons than most expected. And he has been anything but a field filler. The gelding has performed at a high standard every campaign that has been overseen superbly by brothers Chris and Michael Gangemi since he arrived in WA midway through 2014. Rocky will tomorrow take his place in his sixth Winterbottom Stakes, a truly remarkable accomplishment which will also be his farewell appearance. There are no horses in WA as popular as Rocky, who has fought a good fight for so long. He joins an extensive list of athletes — human and equine — to have succumbed to Father Time, albeit in a points decision.

B – BEAST MODE

Western Empire made a mess of his rivals in the Group 3 Asian Beau Stakes (1400m) late last month, a performance so dominant that he became a clear-cut favourite for the Railway Stakes. And those who were willing to get involved then, or perhaps even prior to his first-up effort, were well rewarded when he obliterated a home-grown field in the $1 million feature last weekend. Given a perfect ride by William Pike for Grant and Alana Williams, Western Empire romped home by four lengths to capture everybody’s attention. It would be a major shock if he doesn’t round out his campaign with another win in next weekend’s $1 million Kingston Town Classic (1800m).

C – COOKED

Michael Voss and Brad Lloyd, as senior coach and general manager of football operations, had intended to be on hand and involved with Carlton’s recruiting at the AFL National Draft. That was until they were identified as close contacts of chief executive officer Brian Cook, who tested positive to COVID-19, and forced to self-isolate after being tested.

D – DESCENDING ON ASCOT

The middle day of the TABtouch Masters, best known as Winterbottom Stakes Day, is viewed as the softer of the three major meetings throughout the spring/summer. But it matters little to trainers and connections with involvement in the TABtouch Regional Championship Final: The Road To Ascot (1200m). With horses and trainers from Albany, Esperance, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie all chasing the lion’s share of the $100,000 purse, expect plenty of emotion pre and post-race.

E – ELEVATION

It was only a matter of time before Pat Cummins was rubber-stamped as the next captain of the Australian cricket side. That confirmation came today. Extremely popular within the cricketing family, Cummins bucked the trend that has seen officialdom in this country spurn the idea of a pace-bowling skipper for many years. But Cummins, who was interviewed this week for the post along with Steve Smith, believes he is up to the task. Smith will serve as his deputy.

F – FLAGGING THEIR INTENTIONS

Congratulations to Fremantle for raising the bar this week. Talk of flags, membership spikes, huge home-ground attendance figures and bolstering their cash reserves caused a stir. If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing. The Dockers have made progress and are considerably better placed under Justin Longmuir than they were at the end of the Ross Lyon era. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best you can be and that is exactly what the Dockers feel is attainable.

G – GIVE HER STRENGTH

There will not be a dry eye at Gloucester Park tonight if Sheez Our Hope prevails in the Group 1 Westral Mares Classic (2536). Trainer Michael Cornwall puts the polish on the in-form mare, having beaten the odds in overcoming pneumonia, cancer and depression. Intensive chemotherapy helped conquer the leukemia, but left Cornwall extremely sick. However, horses have a wonderful way of helping heal the mind and body and Cornwall has established a special bond with Sheez Our Hope, who has won seven of 12 lifetime starts to be worthy of her place in the feature.

H – HIM AS WELL

While we would love to see the big fella upstairs help out Michael Cornwall and Sheez Our Hope, it would be remiss of us not to ask him to intervene also in Ben Cunnington’s fight with testicular cancer. The star North Melbourne midfielder announced this week that he would undergo a nine-week course of chemotherapy after a routine check-up revealed a secondary cancer. Cunnington had a tumour removed earlier this year.

I – INEVITABLE

The ridiculously successful association between Bob Peters and co-trainers Grant and Alana Williams was thrust into the limelight this week when an article quoting Grant Williams, in the wake of the stable’s fourth consecutive Railway Stakes victory, suggested the union was coming to a close. But there was speculation as recently as yesterday that indicated there could be a way forward for both parties. Let’s hope that is the case. As we know, grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

J – JUST JOSHING

Had you said midway through last week that Josh Inglis was going to be in the selection mix for the first Test at the Gabba, your sanity might have been questioned. Not now. Inglis and Alex Carey are the two names that immediately spring to mind following Tim Paine’s decision to take a “leave of absence” for the “foreseeable future”. It would be a surprise if Paine is seen again at international level, which is extremely sad.

K – KING HIT

King Of Swing no longer does his racing in WA. That’s not to say his legion of followers have diminished, however. And tomorrow night at Menangle, King Of Swing will step out in the opening heat of night No.1 of the Inter Dominion Championship before the series progresses to Bathurst and Newcastle. King Of Swing trialled well at Menangle last week with regular driver Luke McCarthy in the bike and will start from barrier four as a raging favourite.

L – LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

The AFL is big business. Seriously big. Which is why the romanticism of the father-son rule in the elite winter sport in this country is to be cherished. As a result of that link to yesteryear, we were able to see Sam Darcy, the son of former Western Bulldogs ruckman-forward Luke Darcy, and Nick Daicos, the son of Collingwood premiership hero Peter and younger brother of Josh, land at the club of their choice during the first round of the national draft on Wednesday night. Then yesterday, we saw Taj Woewodin (Melbourne), Jackson Archer (North Melbourne) and Jase Burgoyne (Port Adelaide) continue their family tradition. May there be many more sons of guns who are afforded the same opportunity in the future.

M – MAC DADDY

Mac Jones continues to go from strength to strength. A first-round selection by the New England Patriots in the NFL Draft earlier this year, the youngster beat out Cam Newton for the starting position during training camp and has grown with the added responsibility. With the undeniably successful Bill Belichick as his head coach, Jones looks like he will become a long-term signal caller for the Pats. His most recent display, engineering a 25-0 shutout of Atlanta, underlined his influence to New England in what is a competitive AFC East. He might not have entered the year as a rookie-of-the-year contender, but he is shortening in the market with each week that goes by.

N – NAUGHTY CORNER

It is where the great LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart found themselves after their ugly spat earlier this week. James was ejected and suspended for one match by the NBA after he was found to have struck Stewart in the face, drawing blood. Stewart saw red at the contact and tried on multiple occasions to get at James. For his part, the Detroit Piston was slapped with a two-match ban. In typical James fashion, he bounced back from his enforced break to have 39 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-116 overtime win against Indiana.

O – OBSTACLE AFTER OBSTACLE

The Perth Wildcats’ lead-up to the start of the regular season has not gone smoothly. That is putting it mildly. Coach Scott Morrison only recently arrived in Perth and emerged from hotel quarantine just in time for the start of the NBL Blitz. And his job of bedding down a game plan and starting five whilst being able to integrate bench players into key roles hasn’t been aided by a mounting injury list. As much as things look different though in the post-Trevor Gleeson era, one things remains the same — excellence. Despite the hurdles, the Wildcats remain a powerhouse and on Wednesday night smashed the Tasmania Jack Jumpers 98-68. They will no doubt hit the ground running when the proper stuff starts.

P – PAINEFUL

Tim Paine’s week from hell reached an unwanted peak today. Having resigned as Australian captain last Friday after being embroiled in a sexting scandal, the Tasmanian veteran was in a real scrap to retain his position in the Australian team for the first Test at the Gabba. Paine’s glovework remained at a high standard, which was important as he recovered from neck surgery, but he had not exactly shone with the bat. Then came his announcement that he was taking a step back from cricket. It might be the last we see of him.

Q – QUIET PLEASE

America’s team on America’s day, aka Thanksgiving. It was all lining up beautifully for the Dallas Cowboys in their home clash with the Las Vegas Raiders this morning. Or so it seemed. That was until the Raiders, who were rank outsiders, established a significant quarter-time lead and then resisted a second-half push from the hosts to prevail 36-33 in overtime, leaving the Cowboys fans ashen-faced. The Raiders remain in the hunt for a play-off berth in the AFC, while the Cowboys still sit atop the NFC East despite losing their past two.

R – REVOLVING DOOR

From the moment the final whistle sounded to signal the end of Watford’s 4-1 drubbing of Manchester United last weekend, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was a dead man walking. He had narrowly avoided the axe after a 5-0 spanking at home from bitter rivals Liverpool and also another loss before the Old Trafford faithful at the hands of noisy neighbours Manchester City. There would be no reprieve this time, ensuring Solskjaer joined David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho as managers who have come and now gone following the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s imperious reign in 2013.

S – STAR ON THE RISE

Grant and Alana Williams and a high-quality Peters Investments filly standing up on the big stage. It has become the norm over the years and after last weekend’s Group 2 WA Guineas, we have another reason to be excited about the future. Treasured Star, who confronted the boys head-on after missing the WA Champion Fillies Stakes, powered to the line en route to her first black-type success. It was a victory of an extremely gifted three-year-old and helped ease the pain from the luckless run in the Listed Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m) on Melbourne Cup Day.

T – THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Glen Boss, thank you. For everything you have done throughout your riding career. For being able to overcome adversity, highlighted by the nasty falls which threatened your general wellbeing. For being a great showman. For being accessible to the media and giving everyone with more than a passing interest in racing an insight into what it takes to be a champion jockey. Bossy retires after tomorrow’s Zipping Classic meeting at Caulfield, bringing the curtain down on a career that has delivered 90 Group 1s, among them the Melbourne Cup hat-trick aboard Makybe Diva, four Cox Plates and seven Doncaster Handicaps.

U – UNANIMOUS

Steph Curry has made a habit of rewriting the record books. He is the best shooter the game of basketball has ever seen. That was never more evident than in the 2015-16 season when he was adjudged the NBA MVP for a second time, but in doing so became the first player in history to claim the gong by a unanimous vote. Curry has been outstanding again for Golden State this season and it wouldn’t be a massive shock if he was on track to again be unanimously adjudged the league’s premier performer. Curry is averaging 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds per game already and can become even more damaging when Klay Thompson returns from injury.

V – VICE-LIKE GRIP

Trainer Adam Smithson has been able to prepare Vice Grip for tomorrow night’s first of two shootouts for the Dogs WA slot to contest The Phoenix without as much pressure as others. As a winner of the Group 2 All Stars, Vice Grip was assured of his berth in the field of four, where he will go up against Sir Monty, Amplified and Unsee This. The other heat will see Momentum, Kaito, West On Brae and Fernando Star doing battle for the right to advance to next weekend’s match race.

W – WHERE THERE’S A WIL

To those punters who are on Wilchino at $67 to win the Winterbottom Stakes, good on you. To the individual who wagered $1000 each-way on the flying Dan Morton-trained mare at $51 and $8.50, I hope and pray for your sake, the “Overs Gods” don’t have something to say. Logic says Wilchino is out of her depth in the $1 million weight-for-age feature after having contested only ratings races on the way through. We said the same about Elite Street last year and look how that worked out. Any time a horse runs 1:08.58 for 1200m around the corner like Wilchino did at her most recent outing, they clearly have a serious motor under the hood. Combine that motor with an inside barrier and it is little wonder she is the price she is.

X – XAVI’S STANDARDS

Are clearly very high. And that is why Barcelona were so keen on appointing him as their manager following the sacking of Ronald Koeman. The former club great declared his side’s scoreless draw with Benfica in the Champions League was “not Barca worthy”. Don’t be surprised if Xavi and management are extremely aggressive in the January transfer window.

Y – YOUNG GUNS

Watching the jubilation on the faces of AFL draftees, and by extension of that their families, never gets old. It was the case again this week with the first round of the annual lottery held on Wednesday night followed by the remaining rounds yesterday. These young men now have an opportunity to live out their childhood dreams. Included in that is Matt Johnson, who was strangely left on the shelf on the opening day, only to be snaffled extremely quickly by Fremantle yesterday with the prized first pick of round two.

Z – ZIPPING AROUND CAULFIELD

The Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m), boasting a purse of $750,000, was always going to attract a fair bit of attention with the presence of Melbourne Cup placegetter Spanish Mission, now trained by Peter Moody. Throw in the fact he will be partnered by Glen Boss, who yesterday announced he would retire from the saddle after tomorrow’s card, and straight away the focus on the race intensified. Spanish Mission is no flash price, but considering he fought out the minor money alongside now stablemate Incentivise on the first Tuesday in November, that is understandable. He is going to feature in a heck of a lot of multis.




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