Did you know that 60 Melbourne Cup winners have backed up the following year for another tilt, with only five successful? Did you know that Incentivise will become the 12th Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup winner if he lands the big one on Tuesday, but the first since Rising Fast in 1954 (59.5kgs) to carry 57kgs or greater? And did you know that Damien Oliver is just four short of 700 rides for the Melbourne Cup carnival?
Well, that’s a big NO to each of the three for moi, but fortunately Form Focus has the answer to those and all the questions you were afraid to ask.
Established in 1997, the primary vision of Form Focus was to research and compile concise historical data and information on all Group 1 races conducted in Australia (from inception). Expanding on that vision, Form Focus broadened its coverage to include all Group 2 races, plus other selected major races on the Australian racing calendar.
Underpinning it all was a drive to provide the industry with a historical snapshot of prestige races, comprising a list of recent winners combined with a range of associated statistics, facts and commentary.
And while there is a wide range of sources for recent and current data – the Breednet website of course being the premium go-to – there is a serious void when it comes to tracking information in an industry that dates back over 170 years.
Form Focus is doing its best to fill that void.
Let’s face it, there’s a very good reason that four cobbers made squillions for coming up with Trivial Pursuit, particularly given our obsession with everything from the arcane to the important.
Now, knowing that Damien Oliver is just one Group 1 victory away from equalling Bobby Lewis’ record of 24 Group 1 Melbourne Cup carnival winners will probably only make your richer in spirit rather than the pocket, but we all know that history can have a tendency to repeat.
For instance, five winners of the Caulfield Classic have gone on to capture the Victoria Derby, while five Moonee Valley Vase winners have enjoyed Derby success … yet Vase winners (Forgot You in ’21) have the edge – 15 to 9 – over Caulfield Classic winners (Gunstock in ’21). Forgot You and Gunstock face off on Saturday.
Keep an eye out too next Thursday for the VRC Oaks and note how many in the field are backing up from Saturday’s Wakeful. Turns out that since the Wakeful was first run in 1932, 64 of the Oaks winners had used the Wakeful as a launching pad, while 84 of the Wakeful winners have started in the Oaks for 37 victories.
It all makes for interesting reading/research. And again, no-one is guaranteeing that Form Focus will find you that elusive winner, but you’ll at least have fun while you’re trying.
