Innehållsförteckning för October 2023 från Turf Monthly

State Of Rest comes to Newgate Farm this season as the controversial winner of the 2021 Cox Plate. He, some would say rather fortunately, was able to see off the challenge of boom colt, Anamoe both on the track and in the stewards’ room. State Of Rest laid in down the straight which those who watch the replay will clearly see. Quite remarkably, the three placegetters in the race at Moonee Valley were the last three in running. Verry Ellegant was to run third in the race but was also a hard luck story having to go around the field while the other two gained runs on the inside. Nonetheless, the quality of the three placegetters is enough to suggest that State Of Rest was a top line galloper, and…

Darby Munro rode some of our great stars of the turf. His list of stakes winners includes Peter Pan, Hydrogen, Shannon, Rogilla, Hall Mark and San Domenico. Arguably one of the most underrated of all of Munro’s stars was the NSW champion, Allunga holds a special place in history being involved in one of only two dead heats in AJC Derby where he tied with Homer in 1935. The other was in 1919 when Artilleryman and Richmond Main could not be separated. Munro had a special affinity with the AJC Derby, winning the race on five occasions. Allunga was trained by Jack Munro, the lesser known brother of Jim and Darby. He too had commenced his career as a jockey, but rising weight issues quickly curtailed his riding. Jack was…

Artorius is one of the most high profile newcomers this year at Newgate Farm. The stallion certainly ticks a number of boxes for a new stallion and Newgate Farm certainly knows how to support their stallions. Marketing though is a big thing for new stallions, and sometimes it must be a tough gig for studs to come up with something new. To quote from the Newgate Farm site, Atorius “ran the fastest last 600m in 9 of his 11 Group 1 runs – including running faster than Anamoe in the Caulfield Guineas & Home Affairs in the Coolmore.” It is certainly an interesting view but whether many mare owners would factor it into mating decisions is another story. Artorius was a top quality galloper, and was arguably unlucky to run…

Munro, David Hugh (Darby) (1913–1966) by Bede Nairn This article was published in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, 1986 online in 2006 This is a shared entry with James Leslie Munro James Leslie Munro (1906-1974) and David Hugh Munro (1913-1966), jockeys, were born on 7 September 1906 and 5 March 1913 at Caulfield, Melbourne, sons of Hugh Munro (d.1925), horse-trainer, and his wife Susannah Catherine, née Dunn. The Munros were steeped in thoroughbred lore and racing: Hugh trained Revenue, the winner of the 1901 Melbourne Cup; he also had Wakeful, a champion mare which ran second in the 1903 Cup. The Munros moved to Randwick, Sydney, about 1916. Jimmie Munro was absorbed in horses and stables. His precocious riding skills were recognized by astute horsemen Dick Wootton and…

In The Congo is another of the newcomers at Newgate Farm. He earned his shot at stud glory largely through his win in the Group 1 Golden Rose which many regard as a stallion making race. It is certainly a race that has historically been won by good horses, and it was won by Zoustar who went on to become a top line stallion, but the notion that winning a certain race ensures stud success is an odd one. The Caulfield Guineas has a similar reputation and that was underlined by the fact that the race was won by champion Redoute’s Choice. There was also a rule of thumb that a good stallion needed a Group 1 over 1600m on his resume which further enhanced the reputation of the Guineas.…

Saturday Evening Express (Launceston, Tas. : 1924 - 1954), Saturday 29 October 1938, page 14 Allunga’s Fourth Attempt on Cup Allunga, who arrived in Melbourne his week to run in the Cup, is rapidly becoming the "'Shadow King" of the Cup field, as he will be making his fourth attempt to win that race. "Old Shadow" holds the record for Cup starts. He ran six times and was placed four times. Toryboy competed in five Melbourne Cups. He won in 1865, and is the only grey to win the big race. Perhaps one of the reasons why his owner started him five times was that when Toryboy won in ‘65 the first trophy given with the Cup was that particular year. No doubt his owner had plenty of space on…