Jason Whiting has never been one to waste any unnecessary energy. Here he is going to the line almost resting on ALMOHAD at Ascot on Saturday.The horse has come a long way during the past six or seven months.



Never one to miss a photo opportunity, part owners Jean & David Law are all smiles and proud as punch to be leading their latest city winner ALMOHAD back to scale after his maiden Ascot victory. David and Jean have enjoyed a great run in recent years and are fast becoming very lucky owners to have on board.

ALMOHAD IN STYLE

I fully believe that ALMOHAD's win at Ascot on Saturday is a sign of even better things to come! In a nutshell, the horse is basically a slow learner. He is now four years old and he still has very little idea of what is expected of him and sometimes I reckon he has no idea of what he is doing. His win on Saturday was achieved through pure ability and an excellent ride on the part of Jason Whiting.

I say these things in a kind way but also a frustrated way as the horse has enough ability to take him through to open company. Problem is that he thinks everything is a big game and he has the concentration span of willy wag tail. If only he was as nimble! The horse has improved heaps over the past twelve months however I don't reckon he is anywhere near reaching his full potential just yet.

We will take him through his Saturday classes over the next month or so before we decide which way to head with him. I reckon he could make into a nice Bunbury and Pinjarra Cup type and even a Perth Cup type if and when the penny finally drops with him.

END OF CAMPAIGN FOR GUYNO

Yesterdays race at Geelong will be the last time my little mate GUYNO will go to the races for a good few months. The horse went to Geelong to compete in the Geelong Cup and I expected him to be very hard to beat.

After travelling well throughout, the horse failed to quicken from the 800m and looked far from his normal self in the straight. All was revealed when he returned to the mounting yard. GUYNO had bled from both nostrils and will now suffer the mandatory three month ban. Obviously all further plans for this preparation have now come to an end and I will discuss his future with his owners over the next few days.

If the Metropolitan in Sydney was a disaster, yesterday was as big a disappointment as I have ever had on the race track and trust me I've had a few. Great caper this racing game!!!!

Meanwhile the horse will be cooled off before he is sent home for a good spell.

I

KEVIN BOOTS HOME A DOUBLE

Make hay while the sun shines!! That's what they say and that's exactly what my latest apprentice to be granted his permit to ride is doing at the moment.

Kevin Bohorun, who rode his first winner at Moora last weekend, was able to pick up a couple of extra rides on the weekend just gone at Mt Magnet after my other apprentice Andrew Castle was suspended last week. Kevin went to Mt Magnet with four rides and rode a double and a second place getter. One of his wins was on CHEVIC, a horse which Andrew won on at Moora the previous weekend when he rode a double.

Both boys have been going very well in the short time since gaining their permit to ride and it is great to see the support they have received from trainers far and wide as they seek out opportunities on the country circuit. Kevin has two rides at Ascot tomorrow and four at Geraldton on Thursday. Andrew will be back in the saddle the following week and I know he will be keen to make up for lost ground.

GUYNO ALL SET FOR GEELONG

I am happy to report that my little mate GUYNO appears to be back on track and set to run the race of his life at Geelong tomorrow. When I say back on track, I don't think he was ever "off track" if that makes sense. We were very confident when we went to Sydney with the horse however circumstances beyond our control put a stop to that as far as having any chance up there. The only doubt we have had over the past weeks is to assess how he has come through the run in the bog.

The horse hasn't had any gut busting workouts since going to Sydney however his work has been great and my son Dion reports that the horse is bright and happy and ready to run the race of his life. Considering the horse was unlucky in the race last year he only needs to be somewhere near his best to prove hard to beat again this year.

We will assess his performance in the Geelong Cup before we confirm plans for his next start. Obviously a win would see him become a real chance of going around again in the big one in November however there are other options.

Now all I need is for anyone who fancies having a dollar on the horse to make sure they say an extra prayer to the weather gods today or tonight and keep any rain away until Thursday. I know it is Melbourne and I know I am asking for something which is nearly impossible but hey, miracles can happen!!!!

BUSY WEEK AHEAD

Even though we don't have a heap of runners over the next few days, we will be covering a few miles as part of the racing week. Tomorrow we have Striken racing at Ascot in the opening race of the Ascot season. On Sunday we venture down to Pinjarra where we have four runners at the opening meeting of the Pinjarra season. At this stage we will be heading to Lark Hill trials on Monday with a couple of babies then back to Ascot on Wednesday with a couple of lightly raced up and coming horses.

All of this in between heading over to Victoria early in the week to have a second crack at winning the Geelong Cup. We went very close last year without having any luck so I am looking forward to this years race.

Its a great time of the year to be involved in the racing industry and it is even better when we have a couple of live chances in the major races.

BOTH COLTS SHOWING FORM

I have been singing the praises of my two young stable apprentices for a while now and I am pleased to say that both boys now have their permit to ride in races and both are up and running.

Andrew Castle has been in great form of late with a winning double at Belmont some weeks ago followed by a winning treble at Geraldton two weeks ago. As if that isn't enough he went to Moora today with a full book and kicked home a double and a couple of seconds. Not a bad effort for a young kid.

Kevin Bohorun who is a bit older but who signed up a bit after Andrew impressed the stewards and the riding masters enough to gain his permit to ride in races only 12 days ago. Kevin had his first ride at Toodyay last Sunday and then had his second ride at Northam on Thursday. He also ventured to Moora today with four rides although one did not gain a start. From his three rides Kevin ran second on his first ride, third on his second ride and ended the day booting home his first winner at the juicy odds of 14/1. Nobody has worked harder than Kevin to to get his apprenticeship and to gain his licence so I know what a big thrill the win will be for him. It is very hard to break through when you first start off so hopefully today's win will be the first of many many more for Kevin. Congratulations Kevin on a job well done and good luck to both boys in the coming weeks.

From the seven races held at Moora today the boys rode three winners three seconds and one third between them. Not a bad effort from a couple of young colts on the up!!!

GUYNO BACK IN MELBOURNE.

On Saturday morning while I had a few hours to fill I posted an article on this site about the day ahead at Randwick for GUYNO and his connections. At the time I was still in a half decent mood however this changed dramatically as the afternoon wore on.

I have to say that after putting in so many months of planning and taking in to account the many dollars spent by the connections to get the horse to Sydney, I have never been as disappointed in the way a day panned out as I was on Saturday. I am not disappointed in the effort of my horse or anyone involved with him, just the way circumstances occurred. If anything I am disappointed that I didn't make the hard decision and scratch the horse half way through the afternoon when the track became a bog.

A bog is probably the best way of describing, what 24 hours earlier looked a track made to order for us. On Thursday night it was hot weather and the track was firm and fast. Friday was cooler but the track was still firm. What a difference a day makes! (I think someone sung a song with a similar name). This is not a case of sour grapes but simply telling it how it was and I have to say that what took place on Saturday at Randwick was not racing but something more akin to mud wrestling. I have never ever seen a track anything like it before and I can confidently say that I will never take part in the likes again. I know, there were some who probably relished the conditions and are now group one winners however I for one will never ask one of my horses to compete in such conditions ever again.

Walking the track that morning I knew we were in trouble but at no stage did I count on the track reaching the standards (sorry, sub standards) that it did. It wasn't as though it was a deluge. Just steady heavy drizzle. It wouldn't have been enough to make the Belmont track go from dead to slow. Nor Ascot for that mater! Randwick went from fast on Friday morning to dead 5 on Saturday morning,after some overnight light rain, to heavy 9 on Saturday at 3.30pm. I would love to know at what stage it is called un-raceable if there is such a term? Or indeed if there is a heavier rating?

I don't want to carry on any longer about it as I am likely to say something I will regret or I will be called a whinger again. I will simply say that things here in W.A. are really not as bad as we sometimes make them out to be.

GUYNO has gone back to Melbourne and we will give him the rest of the week to get over the trip and the race. Dion reported this morning that the horse had travelled back well and appeared happy and bright in the eye. Providing he comes up OK we will continue on with him as planned and head towards the Geelong Cup or the Mooney Valley Cup a few days later. I will let the horse and my son tell me over the next week or so which way we go.

A NEW ADDITION TO THE LUCIANI FAMILY!!!!

My darling daughter was always very very keen to get to the races when GLAMOURZON, the mare she part owned with me, was running around and winning races for us. It seems like yesterday! Now, GLAMOURZON is enjoying life as a broodmare and last weekend she delivered her second filly foal by Oratorio. Her first foal has grown into a very smart looking filly and is enjoying life at Mungrup Stud where she will stay until early next year. My daughter, like most "proud mums" has asked me to post the pics of our new addition on this site for all the world to see just how beautiful she is so here they are. Mum and baby are both doing well!!!!


ORATORIO /GLAMOURZON filly foal at 6 days old.

BASKERVILLE STRETT DOES IT IN STYLE.

BASKERVILLE STREET looks all class as she powers away from her opposition at Belmont last week. The filly will be given a few easy weeks before we set her for the better mares races over the carnival.

BLOODY WEATHER!!!!!!

Obviously I have done something to upset the weather gods here in Sydney. Months of planning and all the last minute precautions, Doting the i's and crossing the t's has all gone out the window with a night of thunderstorms followed by a morning of steady rain.

As I sit here in my hotel room watching the steady drizzle continuing to fall on the balcony out my window, I wonder what the day has in store but more so, what might have been. When I arrived in town on Thursday it was 34 degrees after a month of generally warm dry weather. Just what the doctor ordered I thought. A quick walk out on the course proper yesterday had me jumping for joy. The track was firm and fast (just how he likes it) and he had travelled up well and had settled in quickly.The rest was going to be up to luck in running.

Suddenly the weather gods figured that to travel over from the other side of the country to take on the best of the locals was not a big enough obstacle. A wet track would be a great idea to test out my sense of humour. I can say with some confidence that my sense of humour has well and truly been tested and the weather gods have won. I hope they are @#%&@*! happy!!!!

My son Dion, my jockey Jason Whiting and I walked the Randwick track this morning at about 6.30am. We started at the 1600m mark and after only 200m I knew we were in trouble. What I didn't realise was that this was the best section of the track. It got worse from there on. Dead 5 they say with the chance of more heavy rain to come. Even the ducks were flying north!! Dead 5 my @#$%. Tell that to my "Rivers" boots that I was wearing at the time. The lady at the cafe where we went for breakfast after the walk thought I'd had a little "accident" under the table when she spotted the little puddle forming under my chair. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was actually from my shoes. Dion and Fishy were so busy laughing, the effect of the truth would have been lost anyway!!!

Its just not fair. I know, I know. Nobody ever said it would be but it doesn't have to be this bloody hard either. Anyway what will be will be. As I continued the morning moaning and whingeing, Dion kept saying not to worry. "They all have to go through it." The cup is always half full with him! I wish I had his sense of positiveness. Then again I probably did back when I was his age!

Time to go out and buy a pair of flippers and a snorkel. Maybe even a "Driazabone." thanks to all the good wishes I have received via email and sms. We will give it our best shot and if anyone has a direct line to the big guy upstairs or a set of rosary beads, now would be a great time to put it to use.
We live in hope!!!

Catch ya!