I write today with great sadness.  In the lead up to this year's Melbourne Cup, much ado was made about the grand old boy Red Cadeaux's 5th assault on our great race.  In previous years I had underestimated the red horse's abilities while selecting our trifecta horses for myself and my sister, because in his 3 second placings I had left him out every time.  This year, out of respect, I put him in.  However deep down I felt a great uneasiness about this 5th attempt at the Cup.  The horse was 10 years old by our standards.  He was lining up for his 54th race start.  Were his connections asking for too much?   The horse had won a remarkable $8.108m dollars during his career.  An incredible amount of money for a horse that had only won 7 races.  His 2nd to Criterion in the Queen Elizabeth should have been a fitting end to his career, and he could have stayed in Australia and headed to Living Legends.  I'm sure Red and I woul...

If you're a glass half empty sort of person, you could be accused of saying that this week has been a tough one, if you count it starting on Sunday.  That's because we were dealt the double whammy of the death of an Australian icon and person I've always been very found of, in Mr James Bartholowmew "Bart" Cummings, and the defeat of The Big Horse, American Pharoah in the Travers.  I realise that these two events cannot be remotely compared, because one involves the death of a person, and a great person no less as well.  However in terms of emotional investment, both events caused a lot of people a lot of grief.  Further to that, on Monday I received a call from the lovely people at my bank to say that my VISA card had been used fraudulently, and so that sucked just a little bit. However I like to think of myself as a glass half full type of gal.  And so it's nice to think that the week is closing out with two more positive pieces of news.  One is t...

Mr Cummings died overnight. He was 87. We feel very sad as we drive to Seymour for the Darley Stallion Parade. To the man who gave us Saintly and So You Think we are eternally grateful. 

This week we are getting ready for Stallion Parade Weekend in the Hunter Valley.  These are fun trips to do together.  We work hard and are sometimes working from dawn to dusk, and then are hard at work on the laptops afterwards, but we love it.  I think it's a shared passion.... Triple Crown Sire.  Pioneerof The Nile at WinStar Farm.  Versailles, Kentucky.

I've wanted to visit New York for my entire life.  It was pretty special when that wish came true.  I bought my kids lots of presents while I was in the US, including some pretty cool "Minions" tshirts.  I have to admit to buying myself a Minion tshirt and pair of pjyamas too.  They are ace....  Minions are HUGE in the United States. Was pretty exciting seeing the Empire State Building at night, knowing we were going there in the morning! A cockatoo?????? Macy's - we both bought cool new shoes here and I bought some gifts as well Times Square There's a whole Forest Gump shop in Time's Square.  Amazing.... Empire State Building at night Empire State Building from the ground at night From the top of the Empire State Building.  So cool.... From our road trip to Kentucky.  My friend Pete would like this!