Ride Like A Girl
The pinnacle of the Australian Horse Racing calendar is the Melbourne Cup, a 3200-metre race run at Flemington racecourse on the first Tuesday in November. This race has become such an iconic race that not only has the day the Melbourne Cup is run became a public holiday, but when a female jockey won the Cup in 2015, it inspired a movie named Ride Like A Girl. This move was released in 2019, and focused on the upbringing of said female jokette, Michelle Payne, who won on a horse named Prince of Penzance, a six-year-old gelding with which she had a long-term association. It chronicles her journey from an apprentice jockey to her falls during races, abuse from some male jockeys to her determination to continue riding. Eventually it culminates in her securing a ride, via hard work, grit determination and skill, in the Melbourne Cup and winning it on Prince of Penzance.
The Cup – The Movie
A true story about Damian Oliver, a true great of the Australian turf born into a racing family, where Damien and his brother Jason followed in their father’s footsteps. He was days away from riding in the Melbourne Cup, when his brother Jason was killed while riding in a barrier trial when both front legs of the horse he was riding tragically broke, catapulting him over the horse, and into a coma from which he never awoke. Damian eventually does decide to ride in the Cup, aboard the temperamental but brilliant Media Puzzle for Irish trainer Dermot Weld not only for him, but also for his Dad and his deceased brother. A true story of the love for the thoroughbred, personal tragedy and the grit determination and brilliance of one of Australia’s legends.
Phar Lap – The Movie
Phar Lap, arguably considered to be the greatest racehorse ever, was born and bred in New Zealand, but raced in Australia during the early years of the Great Depression. Scrawny, and gangly, and with an awkward gait as a yearling, he would eventually go on and capture the heart of a nation. As a two-year-old he’s record was patchy, but as he filled out and started racing over longer distances, he started on his phenomenal winning record. He captured the heart of a nation, but interestingly, his heart was 1.5 times bigger than the average racehorse. It is speculated that this was one of the reasons that he raced 51 times for 37 wins including multiple group one races in Australia and one in Mexico, winning five races in one week during a winning streak of fourteen races. Mystery still surrounds the untimely death of Phar Lap, with theories varying from the horse being killed by the mafia to a collection of bookmakers who were losing millions as Phar Lap continued to win race after race.
Today, horse racing is a sport ingrained in the Australian way of life and where bookmakers are now strictly regulated. These bookmakers offer a special free bets option (the reader can find all the offers of varying amounts for new users who sign up for an account on these bookmakers’ sites.
Sport, and in particular horse racing is an integral part of the Australian lifestyle. This is embodied in the movie Ride Like A Girl, The Cup and Phar Lap. If you have an opportunity, please set aside some time to watch these movies and it will leave you with a wonderful feeling of achievement once the credits roll. Hopefully it will also make you want to browse the Freebets or Bet365 websites and even take advantage of one of the options available there, and perhaps open a new user account.
