What the Cup jockeys said

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Men in the middle ... the jockeys offer their thoughts on the 2012 Melbourne Cup. Source: Jay Town / News Limited

The Melbourne Cup jockeys give their own versions of the elation and disappointment they shared after the running of the race that stops a nation.

 

1 - Green Moon

 

2 - Fiorente

 

3 - Jakkalberry

 

4 - Kelinni

 

Super TAB Dividends:

Green Moon - $22.50 win $7.40 place

Fiorente - $11.80 place

Jakkalberry - $16 place

Quinella: $506.90

Exacta: $765.30

Trifecta: $45941.60

First four: $969406.60

BRETT PREBBLE (Green Moon) 1st
"It's a lifelong dream. I was very confident at the mile, then at the 1200m I thought the only thing that could get him beaten was his stamina if he didn't stay the trip, but the feeling he was giving me at the 1200 was the sort of feeling you only get from very good horses. I've been very fortunate to ride some champions and he's up there in the top 10."

JAMES McDONALD (Fiorente) 2nd
"At the top of the straight I thought all my Christmases had come at once but it wasn't meant to be."

COLM O'DONOGHUE (Jakkalberry) 3rd
"Delighted with him. We always thought he'd put up a big performance and he showed what a good horse he is today against possibly one of the best fields of all time."

GLEN BOSS (Kelinni) 4th
"He gave me a great ride, he lacked class when Green Moon put a gap on me but he toughed it out right to the line really well."

RYAN MOORE (Mount Athos) 5th
"The pace was too slow for me."

TOMMY BERRY (Glencadam Gold) 6th
"I felt the winner at the top of the straight. I couldn't have asked for a better run. He got found out in the last 200 (metres) but you've got to remember this is his first prep in Australia so next year's his year."

HUGH BOWMAN (Mourayan) 7th
"I had a good run in the race, he raced a little bit keen throughout but no excuses really."

MICHAEL RODD (Red Cadeaux) 8th
"He ran amazing. They just went too steady but he finished it off really well, he's a gutsy horse."

BLAKE SHINN (Precedence) 9th
"It was the run of his career, he had a good run in transit and found the line really strongly."

COREY BROWN (My Quest For Peace) 10th
"Probably should've finished three or four lengths closer. The tempo just took him out of his comfort zone and when they sprinted, he was left flat-footed. He ran well."

DAMIEN OLIVER (Americain) 11th
"The slow pace was against him. They really outsprinted him with the big weight but he still ran well, I thought."

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FRANKIE DETTORI (Cavalryman) 12th
"No good."

VLAD DURIC (Voila Ici) 13th
"He had a good run but felt the ground."

CRAIG WILLIAMS (Dunaden) 14th
"I nearly fell off at the start. The slow pace, big weight, he probably needs weight-for-age and a bit shorter distance now."

DWAYNE DUNN (Niwot) 15th
"He just hasn't bounced back from Caulfield. He had a beautiful run in transit and just didn't deliver."

LUKE NOLEN (Lights Of Heaven) 16th
"Didn't stay."

JAMIE MOTT (Winchester) 17th
"He just never relaxed at all today. He was really fired up and never got into it at all."

NICHOLAS HALL (Sanagas) 18th
"It wasn't my best ride but he may not have the turn of foot required for Australian racing."

JIM CASSIDY (Maluckyday) 19th
"I was never in it, he raced well below anywhere near what he's been doing and struggled a long way from home."

PAT SMULLEN (Galileo's Choice) 20th
"We had a beautiful position, I was very happy with the first part of the race but when they quickened he didn't let down in the ground."

GLYN SCHOFIELD (Unusual Suspect) 21st
"I went back from a wide gate but the slow tempo didn't suit him."

CRAIG NEWITT (Zabeelionaire) 22nd
"Disappointing. We had a good run at the back of the field and followed Dunaden into the race but we never seemed to make any ground. It was one of those races."

OLIVIER DOLEUZE (Tac De Boistron) 23rd
"Not a lot of pace. I put him in a good spot but I was travelling a bit too easy and wish I had a bit more rain."

RHYS MCLEOD (Ethiopia) Last
"He pulled up sore behind. Once I asked for an effort he just had no drive from behind, we'll see how he pulls up but I'm tipping that they'll find something wrong."

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Santos apologises for shirt swap

Anger ... Andre Santos comes under fire for asking for Robin van Persie's shirt at half-time. Source: Andrew Yates / AFP

Andre Santos has apologised after his half-time shirt swap with former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie during Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.

The left-back endured a tough Barclays Premier League afternoon at Old Trafford and his decision to swap shirts with Van Persie as the players headed towards the tunnel caused a commotion.

Arsene Wenger has criticised Santos's decision to exchange shirts at that time, but the Brazilian has explained his actions and said sorry to supporters.

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"Robin's departure to United did not turn him into an enemy for me," Santos told English newspaper The Sun.

"We remain friends and he talked about exchanging shirts, which is something players do all the time.

"Did I think it would cause such a commotion? Of course I didn't, otherwise I would have told Robin to exchange shirts away from public view. That's why I'd like to apologise to supporters who felt aggrieved by it.

"I just want people to understand he is my friend and I wouldn't treat him differently because of the move to United.

"He approached me at half-time and at the time I did not think it would create such an uproar. I would never refrain from saying 'hi' to a good friend.

"It surprised me that people latched on to a gesture that promotes friendship and fair play.

"Arsene Wenger had asked the supporters to show respect towards Robin, after all."

Read more: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11670/8228197/Arsenal-s-Andre-Santos-sorry-for-shirt-swap-with-Man-Utd-s-Robin-van-Persie 

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Carpenter Quiney carves Test spot

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Late bloomers ... Rob Quiney (L) and Michael Hussey were both in their 30s before getting Test debuts. Source:AAP

Rob Quiney might be on target to become Australia's oldest apprentice carpenter, but compared with one of his new Australia teammates, he has scarcely served an apprenticeship at all before becoming a Test batsman.

A calf muscle injury to Shane Watson opened the door, or as Quiney prefers to think of it, a window, to the 30-year-old Victorian left-hander making his debut for Australia against South Africa at the Gabba starting on Friday.

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Seven years ago, it was another 30-year-old left-hander, Michael Hussey, given the chance to wear the baggy green cap for the first time, also in a Brisbane Test, as a result of a fractured rib suffered by Justin Langer, now Australia's batting coach.

But where Hussey had accumulated a record 15,313 runs in first-class cricket over 11 years before making his Test debut, Quiney has been at his cricketing trade for barely half that time, accumulating 3,092 first-class runs.

And yet, ironically, his Test career is beginning just as he is putting in place plans for life after cricket, as an ageing apprentice carpenter.

"The one thing that was doing my head in was what happens after cricket, so I wanted the transition to be fairly smooth," Quiney told The Australian.

"It's a four-year apprenticeship to be done over six years, so fingers crossed I can stay in cricket for a while and knock off a few more years."

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Quiney is adamant he had never given up on his dream of wearing the baggy green. Indeed, his conviction that he would one day play for Australia had grown stronger over the years, not weaker, as he developed his game, following up his impressive 2010-11 season (724 runs at 42.58) with an even more imposing 938 at 49.36 in 2011-12.

But all the while he was becoming more and more aware that he had responsibilities to others, not just himself.

"It wasn't that today (Test selection) wouldn't come but I wanted to be prepared ... now that I've got a daughter, I've got to be mindful that I have to support the family once cricket is done," he said.

Girlfriend Helen and daughter Amelia will be in the Gabba stands on Friday watching proudly as Quiney is presented with his treasured Test cap. And if Cricket Australia has any sense of occasion, they will arrange for the batsman he most admired when he was growing up to present it to him, Allan Border.

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As fate would have it, Border was captain of the last Australian side to lose a Gabba Test, against the West Indies in 1988, but that's not what Quiney remembers about him. Rather, he had Border's poster on his wall as a child because of the way he always fought so desperately, never surrendering. It's a quality Quiney has built into his own game.

"I don't think I've modelled my game on anyone because I've got a different technique to others but Allan Border was someone I loved watching as a kid, just the way he went about it," Quiney said.

Border had to contend with Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in that long ago Brisbane Test but Quiney won't be doing it any easier against the Proteas pace trio of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.

Steyn, in particular, worked up frightening pace against Australia A in Sydney on the weekend, and even though Quiney stood tall to score 85 in the first innings, he was more than happy to allow Phil Hughes to bear the brunt of Steyn's blistering burst in the second innings.

"Everyone knows how good a bowler he is and how fast he can be, so it's good to have a bit of a taste," Quiney said.

He's certain to get another taste at the Gabba, and while his cricketing apprenticeship might fall short of Hussey-like extremes, Australia's new apprentice carpenter batsman should be able to build an innings.

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'Flintoff fight is a joke'

A joke? ... Freddie Flintoff's attempt to enter professional boxing has been met with scepticism. Source: AAP

The chairman of the British Boxing board should be sacked for granting former English cricket captain Andrew Flintoff a professional licence to fight, claims a high-profile promoter.

Frank Maloney said 34-year-old Flintoff's maiden bout on November 30 is an insult to the sport.

"Giving Flintoff a professional licence with no experience of boxing is a joke. It gives our sport a bad name," Maloney told reporters.

The promoter of British heavyweight champion David Price said Flintoff's foray into the world of pro heavyweight fighting is reminiscent of countryman and Olympic rower James Cracknell who was knocked out seconds after he stepped into the ring for the first time.

"They haven't named an opponent for Flintoff yet but even if they find some guy who's lost his first four pro fights, he will still be in against someone with amateur experience," Maloney said.

"It will be a terrible shock when he gets hit on the chin by a heavyweight.

"It is a disgrace (the board) have given Flintoff a licence. I told the chairman, Charles Giles, that he should be sacked for approving this scandal."

Trained by Barry McGuigan, who became world featherweight champion in 1985, Flintoff will step into the ring at Manchester for the climax of a TV reality show, The Gloves Are Off, which has documented the former cricketer's preparations to fight.

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Do you think it's a joke letting non-boxers get in the ring professionally?

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Sonny Bill's future up in the air

Sonny Bill Williams ... it is unclear when he will return to the field or ring. Source: AP

Sonny Bill Williams's recovery from shoulder surgery is progressing as well as hoped but his immediate sporting future remains unclear.

Williams's manager Khoder Nasser said doctors were happy with his client's progress since undergoing surgery on a minor pectoral muscle tear on October 31, but couldn't confirm when the dual international would be fully fit again.

The nature of the injury could yet rule out Williams for the remainder of the Japanese rugby season which concludes at the end of January.

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But he is likely to be fit again to fight South African Francois Botha in Brisbane in mid-February before his much anticipated return to rugby league with Sydney Roosters.

"He is recovering well, but because of where the injury is and how the arm is used in boxing as opposed to rugby these are the things we still have to work through to understand when he will be fit again," Nasser told AAP.

"You use the arm and muscle differently in each sport and with the doctors we are looking at data from other athletes who have suffered similar injuries to see what the recovery timetable is."

The Williams camp is confident of announcing a new date for the rescheduled fight with Botha in the coming days, Nasser said.

And while the injury may preclude Williams from returning to play with the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan, it is unlikely to affect his much hyped return to the NRL with the Roosters.

The NRL is yet to officially release its 2013 draw, but with the Roosters pencilled in to kick off the season with a match against arch-rivals South Sydney on March 7 that would leave Williams little time to get to know his new teammates at Bondi.

"There is a process we are working through," Nasser said.

"Sonny is concentrating on his rehab at the moment and we are confident he will make a full recovery sooner rather than later."

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Defiant Oliver still a winner

Victory ... Damien Oliver wins on Walk with Attitude in the Lexus Hybrid Plate. Source: Wayne Ludbey / News Limited

Embattled Damien Oliver shrugged off speculation over his racing future to ride a winner home at Flemington.

But his win aboard Walk With Attitude could not be replicated in the biggest field of all, when his highly fancied Americain finished 11th in the Melbourne Cup.

His appearance at the Cup was overshadowed by news he had fronted a stewards' panel to answer questions over allegations he bet $10,000 on rival horse Miss Octopussy at Moonee Valley two years ago.

Earlier, in race four, Rose of Peace had to be destroyed after breaking down with Oliver aboard.

His disappointing result in the Cup capped a tumultuous month in which he was interviewed by a panel of stewards over allegations he breached racing rules by betting, through a third person, on a horse he was racing against.

He lost his ride on Green Moon in the Cox Plate after the allegations surfaced.

The inquiry is due to wrap up within days. Oliver has seven rides booked for Oaks Day tomorrow, including Mama's Choice, which he will ride in the main race, the Crown Oaks, for trainer David Hayes.

Oliver yesterday batted off any questions relating to his future or his alleged betting activities.

"It's nice to get a win for (Americain's owner) Gerry (Ryan) before the Melbourne Cup," he said after winning on Walk with Attitude. "I hope I can get a running double for him."

Racing Victoria defended the decision not to suspend Oliver ahead of the Cup, with investigators saying their inquiry was ongoing.

Officials also declined to comment on reports that Oliver had admitted making the bet on Miss Octopussy to stewards.

Publicly, Oliver has neither confirmed nor denied making the bet.

"Stewards are conducting an ongoing investigation into the allegations and as no charges have been laid, it is a matter of procedural fairness to allow the jockey to continue riding," a Racing Victoria official said yesterday.

Racing Minister Denis Napthine's spokesman Mark Lee said the Government would not make any legislative changes until a report by the Racing Integrity Commissioner about alleged race fixing is released.

"The Government is awaiting the outcome of the Racing Integrity Commissioner's inquiry and will look to adopt his recommendations where appropriate," Mr Lee said.

The probe was launched amid allegations of misconduct against star jockey Danny Nikolic. Nikolic was suspended as an investigation got under way, but Opposition racing spokesman Martin Pakula said Racing Victoria needed stronger powers.

"It's beyond time for minister Napthine to give (Racing Victoria) the powers they've been calling for for two years now," Mr Pakula said.

It's the third time in as many years that Oliver's spring carnival has been beset with problems.

It has been widely speculated within the industry that Oliver is the first of several jockeys who will be exposed over betting on races.

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