Punters in a ‘Daze' as import causes a boilover
Given his history, the aptly-named import Glory Daze was always going to find an off-season Benchmark 88 easier than some of the races he has found himself in.
Now a resident of Bong Bong in the southern highlands, Glory Daze's opening seven starts in his native Europe included a tussle with future stablemate and Caulfield Cup winner Duke De Sessa in a Group 3 at Leopardstown at start number three.
Fast forward to starts six and (finally) seven and the grandson of our own Exceed And Excel contested both the English and Irish Derbies during June 2022.
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Saturday's 2000m assignment at Royal Randwick tested the stamina as much, or more, as either of the two classics, illustrated by a 60 length margin between winner Glory Daze and the French import Behtar at the back.
The result wasn't just an Irish-bred quinella, it was a double celebration for syndications firm, MyRacehorse whose racehorses, Glory Daze and Adam Hyeronimus' ride Bear On The Loose, pocketed over $100,000 between them for their hard earned efforts.
'He (Glory Daze) was looking for a trip and he was looking for a wet track,' Ciaron Maher Racing's Johann Gerard-Dubord said.
'This has been a long time between drinks but a couple of preps ago when he won here with Nash (Rawiller), it was very impressive.
• Queensland Oaks on radar for Let's Fly
'He is a horse that has had a few issues. The owners have been very patient and it was good to see they got rewarded.
'He's just got a big action and he needs to use that. It is the first time he found a Heavy track but I think the heavier the better and you won't get much heavier than that today. That will give him plenty of confidence too.
'He is in a good spot at the moment and will improve again off the back of that.'
Glory Daze's heroics marked win 107 for star apprentice Benjamin Osmond.
'He's huge. He's got a massive stride,' the jockey said.
'The race panned out well. I always felt like I was going to get to Adam but it just took a long time to get there.'
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
World Test Championship final quick hits: Cummins makes history and batting remains brutal
Pat Cummins reaches a magic marker, Temba Bavuma finally gets one right, and batting remains brutal at Lord's. Here are the quick hits from day two of the World Test Championship final. Sometimes when batters are trapped plumb LBW, they will instantly send the decision upstairs for a review and you straight away say, "Oh, they've nicked it." But that wasn't the case on the second morning at Lord's when it looked for all money like Australia had ended Temba Bavuma's counterattack. The South Africa captain came out swinging on day two but was trapped in front by an in-swinging delivery from Josh Hazlewood that hit the diminutive batter on the back pad. He didn't seem overly confident in his chances but eventually sent Chris Gaffaney's dismissal to DRS where Richard Kettleborough found a faint inside edge before the ball hit his pad. "It took forever to think about reviewing it," former New Zealand captain Ian Smith said in commentary. "When you feel as if you've got a touch on it you just automatically say, 'I'm reviewing that.' There was no semblance of that in that discussion. That was so interesting." Having only just survived that LBW call, it felt like Bavuma was destined for a match-defining innings on day two. Lord's purred as he drove over the covers and gasped as he pulled Pat Cummins for the first six of the match, but his expansiveness ended up getting the better of him. Stepping forward to a full Cummins delivery, he got the connection but not the height. The ball flew through the air before being plucked out of it by a full-stretch Marnus Labuschagne in the covers. Bavuma's brief but exhilarating counterpunch was over on 36 and South Africa's hopes of a first innings lead were fading fast. We've learned over the past few years that most Test cricketers wouldn't make great umpires, with their reviews often wildly off the mark. But Pat Cummins isn't most cricketers. Australia's captain, fired up after lunch on day two at Lord's, was appealing loudly to umpire Chris Gaffaney while running backwards with his arms outstretched. As Gaffaney started shaking his head Cummins was blindsided by Kyle Verreynne, the target of the seamer's appeal, and the pair went crashing to the turf. Cummins quickly dusted himself off, consulted with his lieutenants and reviewed the not-out LBW decision, with three red lights showing the ball smashing leg stump and sending Verreynne back to the sheds. That wasn't the only time Cummins found himself on the carpet that over. Only a matter of balls later, the newly arrived Marco Jansen was pushing forward and looped one straight back to the Australia captain, who was on his knees to complete a simple return catch. And suddenly, a milestone was in sight. Cummins was just two wickets away from becoming the eighth Australian to take 300. His 299th was a delight. A full delivery that straightened off the seam was far too good for David Bedingham, who feathered one through to Alex Carey. His 300th was slightly less textbook. Kagiso Rabada, who had worn a couple of Cummins bouncers, stood tall and shovelled one deep to the leg side. It looked like it was destined to fall safe, but Beau Webster circled, steadied and then soared to take a spectacular catch as he dived forward. South Africa's innings was over and Cummins became the third member of his team — after Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood — to take 300 Test match wickets. After South Africa lost its last five wickets for just 12 runs, the Aussies began their second innings with intent and a 74-run lead, but things went downhill quickly. Usman Khawaja was the first to go, pushing at and edging a delivery to nick off in typical fashion, before Cameron Green went in similar fashion for a duck as they were both dismissed in the same Kagiso Rabada over for the second time in the game. Marnus Labuschagne again got into his work before he too was caught behind after tea, and Steve Smith was out six balls later as South Africa correctly reviewed a not-out LBW call. That was bad enough, but then came another clump of wickets as Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and Ngidi again struck in successive overs to take Australia from 4-64 to 7-73. If not for Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc's rearguard, the Proteas might have already taken a big bite out of their run chase before stumps.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
How Tom Harley traded up from one game at Port Adelaide to holding the keys to AFL House
One kick. One goal. That's where it could have ended for new AFL COO Tom Harley. Almost exactly 27 years ago, the then-20-year-old debuted for Port Adelaide in a round 14 game against Geelong that has every right to be forgotten. It was mid-season at Football Park, between two teams that would go on to miss finals — one on a trajectory up the ladder, the other crawling towards years of uncomfortable irrelevance. Amid a score of future Port premiership stars like Gavin Wanganeen and Warren Tredrea and Stuart Dew, the unfashionable, slow-moving number 27 was all but a footnote in a game that was an annotation in a season that was an aside in the history of both the Power and the Cats. He came on. He got a kick. That kick was a goal. He never played for Port again. For many, that would have been the end of it. Harley had worked hard to get to that point. He was hardly a star in his juniors, and lacked the skills, the speed, and the sheer athleticism to be considered any sort of game-changer on the field. He was the type of player that would be one of the last picked, and should have been grateful for the opportunity. One kick. One goal. Enough to be satisfied that he had made it to the AFL and at least got his hands on the pill. By the end of the season, he was surplus to demands at Port. He was studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Adelaide, and a life of full-time work with a bit of part-time footy glanced around the changing room doors at Alberton and waggled its finger, as it had waggled at thousands of players before him. But that one kick. That one goal. Somehow, it had done enough to capture the eye of someone at Geelong. Maybe it was "master recruiter" Stephen Wells, who was early in his journey at the club, back when he was just "recruiter" Stephen Wells. Or maybe it was coach Gary Ayres, who had a habit of making unfashionable decisions at a club that had for so long relied on fashionable players. Whoever it was, they decided that Tom Harley was worth a punt. They gave Port Adelaide pick 37, Port Adelaide gave them Harley, and in an odd reminder of what he was worth to them, the Cats gave Harley the number 37 guernsey. He would debut for the Cats — as he did for the Power — in a round 14 game that had little bearing on the season. A Geelong team in the midst of its burgeoning irrelevance, an Adelaide team on the way down the ladder after two premierships. Three kicks. No goals. The next week he'd get the ball nine times. By game three, he'd found the Sherrin on 13 occasions. Carefully and gradually, he built on his trade. By 2000, and under new coach Mark Thompson, Harley had turned himself into a key defender whose magnet remained permanently attached to the centre half-back position on the white board. Slow, but clever, undersized, but strong. He was a reader of the game, a watcher who only inserted himself into the story when it absolutely demanded it. There was nothing glamorous about him. Geelong didn't need more glamour. The new kids on the list — Gary Ablett Jr, Steve Johnson, Jimmy Bartel — they had enough glitz to make Moorabool St feel like Sunset Boulevard. But Harley was different to the old Geelong. That Geelong cherished style above substance. That Geelong could make the Grand Final in a glorious halo of after-the-siren heroics but fall apart when it mattered. Harley was the in-betweener who had the respect of the players around him as a more-than-reliable general in the backline, and the respect of the administrators as a well-spoken, intelligent footballer who was fast learning what the business of footy was all about. That every man persona was part of the reason Thompson made him captain in 2007, the year Geelong broke its 44-year premiership drought. Ask any Geelong supporter and they'll mention a few names as being the key architects in turning the club around. Wells as recruiter will certainly be there. Thompson as coach deserves more plaudits than most. President Frank Costa and chief executive Brian Cook will always get a nod. When they talk about players, they'll mention Ablett and Bartel, Brad Ottens in the ruck, Matthew Scarlett at full-back. But a special mention will be left for Harley. That yes, he was the leader of an exceptional backline on the field. But it was what he did off it that was key. He understood that kicking the ball was one small part of a successful club. Having retired at the end of 2009, once again lifting the premiership cup to the Geelong faithful, Harley dabbled in media, he worked at the AIS-AFL Academy, and he played in role in the establishment of the GWS Giants. He got a taste for it all, before joining the Sydney Swans in 2014 as their general manager, becoming the CEO in 2019, and overseeing a club that has seen record crowds, record memberships, and sustained on-field success in the heart of rugby league territory. Now, Harley faces his greatest challenge of all, becoming the second banana behind Andrew Dillon. One of the great knocks of the AFL of late has been a perceived disregard for the clubs and the fans. Whether right or wrong, discord has been growing. The clubs and the coaches have felt unheard and unloved. The fans have felt pushed aside for the almighty dollar, as costs skyrocket and games scream out from behind a paywall. Harley's status as an in-betweener has never been more important. His knowledge of the clubs, his understanding of playing the game, his acute awareness of what success means to long-suffering fans will be put to the test over the coming years. One kick. One goal. In 2005, a Canadian blogger traded a red paper clip for a pen. He traded the pen for a doorknob. And he kept trading up until he eventually owned a house. From one kick, one goal, Tom Harley has traded up to almost holding the keys to AFL House. He might only have one shot at getting it right once he has them. The AFL can only hope that he kicks truly.
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Cummins' milestone inspires Australia in WTC final
Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Australia secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday. But after his 5-51 in the first innings, Proteas spearhead Kagsio Rabada (2-15) stepped up again to claim Usman Khawaja (six) and Cameron Green (0) in a three-ball burst just before tea. Australia finished the session on 2-32, with new opener Marnus Labuschagne on 16 not out and Steve Smith unbeaten on four, with the lead out to 106. Victory in only the third WTC final would ensure Australia have landed four ICC trophies since November 2021. But South Africa are refusing to throw in the towel, having not won an international title since the 1998 Champions Trophy. The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved too good for the batting of South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job. It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career. The first paceman to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins' 22.08. "It's way more than I could've asked for," Cummins said. "For any fast bowler, 300 is a big number, it means you've battled a few injuries and niggles and got through it." The 32-year-old also finished with the best figures by a captain at Lord's, bettering England's Bob Willis' 6-101 in 1982. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was pedalling backwards while appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212. But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to end the innings in a hurry. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by pulling opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Australia secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday. But after his 5-51 in the first innings, Proteas spearhead Kagsio Rabada (2-15) stepped up again to claim Usman Khawaja (six) and Cameron Green (0) in a three-ball burst just before tea. Australia finished the session on 2-32, with new opener Marnus Labuschagne on 16 not out and Steve Smith unbeaten on four, with the lead out to 106. Victory in only the third WTC final would ensure Australia have landed four ICC trophies since November 2021. But South Africa are refusing to throw in the towel, having not won an international title since the 1998 Champions Trophy. The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved too good for the batting of South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job. It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career. The first paceman to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins' 22.08. "It's way more than I could've asked for," Cummins said. "For any fast bowler, 300 is a big number, it means you've battled a few injuries and niggles and got through it." The 32-year-old also finished with the best figures by a captain at Lord's, bettering England's Bob Willis' 6-101 in 1982. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was pedalling backwards while appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212. But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to end the innings in a hurry. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by pulling opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Australia secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday. But after his 5-51 in the first innings, Proteas spearhead Kagsio Rabada (2-15) stepped up again to claim Usman Khawaja (six) and Cameron Green (0) in a three-ball burst just before tea. Australia finished the session on 2-32, with new opener Marnus Labuschagne on 16 not out and Steve Smith unbeaten on four, with the lead out to 106. Victory in only the third WTC final would ensure Australia have landed four ICC trophies since November 2021. But South Africa are refusing to throw in the towel, having not won an international title since the 1998 Champions Trophy. The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved too good for the batting of South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job. It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career. The first paceman to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins' 22.08. "It's way more than I could've asked for," Cummins said. "For any fast bowler, 300 is a big number, it means you've battled a few injuries and niggles and got through it." The 32-year-old also finished with the best figures by a captain at Lord's, bettering England's Bob Willis' 6-101 in 1982. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was pedalling backwards while appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212. But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to end the innings in a hurry. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by pulling opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
