My first recollection of overseas racing was when UK Grand National champion Red Rum beat the gallant Australian Crisp in the 1973 GN. A group of us cheered and cheered for Crisp but alas it was not be and when we saw the replay we just marveled at the effort of Crisp. A few years later we really knew how good the run was after Red Rum retired as Crisp was beaten by a genuine champion. In the years since quite a few Australian horses have travelled overseas and have made Australians proud of our

My first recollection of overseas racing was when UK Grand National champion Red Rum beat the gallant Australian Crisp in the 1973 GN. A group of us cheered and cheered for Crisp but alas it was not be and when we saw the replay we just marveled at the effort of Crisp. A few years later we really knew how good the run was after Red Rum retired as Crisp was beaten by a genuine champion. In the years since quite a few Australian horses have travelled overseas and have made Australians proud of our homegrown product matching it on the world stage. The NZ mare Horlicks and Australian champion Better Loosen Up thrilled us with wins in the Japan Cup and in recent times the likes of Choisir and Takeover Target have shown the world what sort of sprinters we can produce. We haven't been too bad in the jumps arena as shown by the exploits of Karasi in Japan and perhaps very shortly we may make our mark in the UK

The Australian Grand Annual winner, Ginolad, is now in the stable of UK trainer Venetia Williams, who trained last years UK Grand National Steeplechase winner Mon Mine, and perhaps he might carry the next banner for Australia. Years ago a horse like Ginolad would have simply stayed in Australia and that would have been that but the tyranny of distance is no longer such a major issue. To add more Australian flavour to the UK jumps scene Ms Williams will takeover one of our best jumpers , Pentiffic, after he has raced in Japan under the care of Fran Houlahan.

At 2am on Saturday morning Australian time I decided to watch two outstanding UK jumpers, Kauto Star (16 from 23)and Denman (10 from 14), attempt the amazing feat of running the quinella for the third time in the prestigious 5310m Cheltenham Gold Cup as I nursed a cup of hot tea hoping to ease the pain of a bad case of flu/head cold. As I watched this race my thoughts flashed through how the racing world, and I mean world, has gradually become part of Australian racing. I was also surprised to note I was actually interested in the result which is something I would not have thought possible a few years ago. I must be mellowing.