Every form expert, punter and analyst has to review a meeting in detail in order to work out who was best suited and not suited on the day. This information is crucial when trying to combat the market for the next meeting, especially if multiple horses meet again. We’re throwing our hat in the ring and giving punters a different insight, trying to ascertain horses early in their preparations which have paraded indicating a good run could be ahead.

We’ve broken it up in to three categories, the ‘Follow, Watch and Wait’.

Any given mounting yard report for us follows something of a routine, but with a healthy dose of unpredictability ensuring what might be a relaxed task at times can quickly become a mad rush to the finish. To give you an idea of the timeline that FTY experiences on a twice-weekly basis, I have attempted to document the mounting yard process from the Bletchingley Stakes at Caulfield, July 27, 2025.

Just a quick note that FTY will be having a freshen-up across April, with the next meeting for coverage at Caulfield on May 3.

It is pleasing to return consistent results across the Victorian Autumn Carnival, matching the standard achieved in the Spring. While somewhat disappointed at having to reduce our meeting coverage to Saturdays only, the database is now at a size where we are comfortable that the process will continue to produce this quality of information.

Watching the race live, it seemed for a moment like each of the three colts was going to challenge or even win the race. I’ll leave it to others to dissect the sectional splits, impact of the wind and the replays for excuses. But from what I saw on the fence, this was a race and a meeting where conditions played as much of a role as the condition of the horses involved.

Perhaps it isn’t a fair fight, but racing administrators in Victoria must be watching the crowds flock to the Australian Open with some degree of jealousy. It wasn’t too long ago that racing in Melbourne, particularly during Spring Carnival and Cup Week was considered a significant, if not essential, injection of tourist and hospitality dollars in the calendar.

It feels like more often than not, racing in Australia is its own worst enemy, shooting itself in the foot as the competition for hearts and minds gets stronger and more desperate. And quite often, these are the simple or little things which other sports and industries get right.

Let's take a moment to outline some of the things FTY observed over the last year which detracted from the racing experience, and are on our ‘let’s do it better’ wish list.