Geraldton Weekend Wrap UpWest Australian Racing

BC4E

It's been a while since I have made a valid contribution to the forum so I thought I would end the year with a BANG and post a wrap up of my weekend in Geraldton and my trip to the races. For the deadly serious people, best to stop reading now, as I may indulge a little bit. As they say in the TV Crime Shows, names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Given that the highly credentialed Andrew Carter is also a forumite and now in a position of power at the Sunday Times, if my memory serves me correctly from reading the rants that normally take place around his posts, (please forgive me if I am wrong), being a budding writer this can also double as a job application.

So I lobbed into the Crayfish Capital on Saturday morning, and as expected was greeted at the airport with the full limo service..... what else would you expect when a celebrity comes to town? After a few pleasantries and catching up with the offspring of The Weatherman, I was off to reinstate my caffeine levels to an acceptable blood percentage at the venue of the last line of defence against illegal boat people...... Dome Cafe. A couple of Machiattos away and after chewing the fat with the great Mouse, I was primed for an assault on the Utakarra Racecourse.

Being a budding fashionista, it was with great shock and dismay that I was refused entry to the members area due to a lack of collar on my brand new designer label tshirt. Not perturbed by this, I managed to acquire the required collar from the extremely helpful staff at the administration building..... probably the best these "loan shirts" have ever looked in their life. Anyhow, onwards and upwards.

I was disappointed however to see the state of some collars that are allowed inside, shirts of the quality that would be rejected by the Good Sammys Bin. But racing authorities and fashion policing is for another thread.

Having not been to Geraldton for quite some years, I was impressed with the facilities on course, the Barn is fantastic and the bar serves Ice Cold Beverages, however they have taken a leaf out of Perth Racing's book and slug full tote odds for a refreshment.... but at least it is cold.

Racing began, and it was nice to be able to view the condition of your horse in the mounting yard before ting prior to investing, something that is lost to TAB punters. Beverages were flowing freely, conversations were starting and relationships were formed, leading to a couple of winners being secured at very good odds, in relative comparison to the tote prices available. In an omen for the potential night ahead, Let's Kiss N Tell was rated a treat out in front and I was queuing up to collect with 1000m left to go, whilst Big Clint defied critics of his ability to run out 1300m with an strong performance. Thanks to Chicken, Cardigan and Crackers I went to the bar on good terms, and the surrounding patrons were on good terms as well with drinks flowing courtesy of the local bookmakers.

And then it came to the last of the day at Ascot, a very ordinary race with only a few chances. Now I have read Mailman's diatribe about this and that and poor old me, however, if you watch replays and then watch them again and again there was one stand out in that race, and no matter whether it went forward or back, it was just better than them. And surprise surprise, my prediction was correct. 

Now this is when the true hospitality of Geraldton kicked in. Collecting large amounts of cash can be daunting, and time consuming, however when local custodians offer their collection service it would be rude not to enlist the offer. So the wonderful Luka spent the next 45 minutes organising my finances, grabbing a few happy pics for bragging rights, whilst I kept the bar turnover ticking along. Then it was all discretely delivered in a calico bag. I do however feel for his Missus who may have thought a huge shopping spree was on the cards after a picture of the collect was sent to her phone.

Festivities continued till late, many venues were frequented, and the local economy received a timely boost, all until it was time to board the silver bird home again. 24 hours, many beverages, great conversations, tall stories and wonderful hospitality, I recommend it to anyone. I'm already booking my trip back for the Cup.

To The Weatherman, thanks for the hospitality, Luka... outstanding collection service, staff at the GTC - your helpfulness was appreciated, Chicken, Cardigan and Crackers, I love taking overs, Bunny - the spling lolls were tasty but somehow I was left feeling unfulfilled.

And to Love Muscle, Tawakoni and Goose - a word of advice. It's only so often you get to attend a Masterclass on how a day at the races should unfold, and you missed it. These opportunities only happen every so often, so plan ahead in future.

What a great weekend, looking forward to Cup Day.

OliversTwist

I must admit my fondness for a day on the Crayfish Coast. After investing heavily a fortnight ago on Sean Casey's maiden galloper Commended I was having a yarn to my bookie of choice, naturally taking unders because Im a genuine bloke like that, he held $230 on the race, 90% of which was mine. Commended won and I had a juicy collect. Rather than sulk he gave me an extra 20 so we could share a christmas beer on him. Excellent track condition, richie bell a pleasure on the microphone and a lovely people. Free entry that day as well. Definitely worth a trip

BC4E

Diva, did you read that? There's a bookmaker who is flaunting all bookmaker rules, giving away money. He needs to be kicked out of the union, he will give you blokes a bad name. That narrows it down to only 2 bookies you could have bet with, because the third definitely wouldn't do that.

As I was once told, bookmakers would eat their own young, and they would cut their own hair with borrowed scissors.

thefalcon

...and take wheat off blind chickens and if they were a ghost they wouldn't give you a fright....