barjon
Rookie
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2020
- Messages
- 3,750
Still in Madeira with no betting 
, but popped in a couple of times to see what the new site looked like - very impressive.
Iāve been trying to get the flat notebook started and on the jumps front I donāt think I missed much except for Brighterdaysahead I was all over her for Cheltenham and thought Jack Kennedy gave her a complacent ride and got got caught out (although Golden Ace has won again since). She was my biggest bet of the meeting and I wanted my money back, unfortunately she gave it back without me at Aintree.
Anyway, itās all really been down memory lane whilst lounging in the sun. I have seen some tremendous races over the years, but none to top the Grundy/Bustino batlle in the 1975 King George. Bustino had won the St Leger the year before and his camp sought to run the finish out of Grundy who had won the Derby and the Irish Derby. The pacemakers set a fearsome pace - the race was the fastest King George ever run until after they reconfigured the course in 2006 - and Bustino took the lead in the straight with Grundy inching forward to join him with little over a furlong to go. Grundy moved ahead, but Bustino fought back and they went nose to nose to the line where Grundy shaved it. It was a titanic battle and rightly headlined as the ārace of the centuryā. Bustino had seemed to falter very slightly just before the line and Joe Mercer said later that he had changed legs and he knew he was beaten.
I was on Bustino and not directly in line with the winning post, so I couldnāt see who had won. It didnāt matter, though, because like everyone else it was the sinew straining battle I was watching that was all that mattered. Both horses gave more than their all and it finished them. Bustino never ran again and Grundy only a ādown the fieldā once. Wonderful - even though it was a flat race!
, but popped in a couple of times to see what the new site looked like - very impressive.Iāve been trying to get the flat notebook started and on the jumps front I donāt think I missed much except for Brighterdaysahead I was all over her for Cheltenham and thought Jack Kennedy gave her a complacent ride and got got caught out (although Golden Ace has won again since). She was my biggest bet of the meeting and I wanted my money back, unfortunately she gave it back without me at Aintree.
Anyway, itās all really been down memory lane whilst lounging in the sun. I have seen some tremendous races over the years, but none to top the Grundy/Bustino batlle in the 1975 King George. Bustino had won the St Leger the year before and his camp sought to run the finish out of Grundy who had won the Derby and the Irish Derby. The pacemakers set a fearsome pace - the race was the fastest King George ever run until after they reconfigured the course in 2006 - and Bustino took the lead in the straight with Grundy inching forward to join him with little over a furlong to go. Grundy moved ahead, but Bustino fought back and they went nose to nose to the line where Grundy shaved it. It was a titanic battle and rightly headlined as the ārace of the centuryā. Bustino had seemed to falter very slightly just before the line and Joe Mercer said later that he had changed legs and he knew he was beaten.
I was on Bustino and not directly in line with the winning post, so I couldnāt see who had won. It didnāt matter, though, because like everyone else it was the sinew straining battle I was watching that was all that mattered. Both horses gave more than their all and it finished them. Bustino never ran again and Grundy only a ādown the fieldā once. Wonderful - even though it was a flat race!
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