[Elements] 060317

Fri Mar 17 13:58:07 GMT 2006

ELEMENTS		FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2006	 THE HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EDITION

[Article in the AGE newspaper. Adelaide Cup Day Public
         Holiday]
[The Platinum Collection]
_____________________________________________________________________

Tubular Bells, the Horse, and Platinum Media Sightings...... M-C

From: "Tracy aplin" <tubulartracy at hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 12:58:34 +1030
Subject: [Amarok] Article in the AGE newspaper. Adelaide Cup Day Public
         Holiday.

Alarm Bells
March 13, 2006

Tubular Bells, in only five runs, has raced into favouritism for today's
Adelaide Cup, Patrick Bartley writes.

What are the chances of moderately bred country horse starting red-hot
favourite for an Adelaide Cup at only his sixth run? If you had told Andrew
Payne two years ago that the horse to achieve this rare feat would be
Tubular Bells, he would have given you any odds.

Payne had not seen Tubular Bells at that stage, but he had trained his older
sister, Look Hither, who he describes as a "very slow" racehorse.
Understandably, it was with some caution and not much optimism that he took
Tubular Bells aboard.

 From the day the horse entered Payne's Geelong stables, it was clear that
speed, or the lack of it, did not necessarily run in the family. Five
impressive wins from five starts and Tubular Bells is on the verge of
winning today's group 1 Adelaide Cup.

Payne said late last week that while the jump from a Bendigo class five race
on a Sunday to an Adelaide Cup may seem an imposing task, he is quietly
confident that Tubular Bells has the scope and depth to cope with such an
assignment.

Connections already have turned down six-figure offers for the four-year-old
gelding by Palace Music.

Payne took Tubular Bells on two years ago after striking up a friendship
with the horse's breeder, Mike Hirst, who is a convert of line-breeding.
This form of breeding involves matings between closely or distantly related
horses, aimed at transmitting a large percentage of one outstanding
ancestor's genes from generation to generation without causing an increase
in undesirable traits.

"I was very skeptical of linebreeding until this horse arrived," Payne said.

Payne said that as Look Hither had shown the trainer little by the time
Tubular Bells came into the stable, he didn't know what to expect of the
horse that was named after the 1970s hit by Mike Oldfield.

"As soon as I got him and began working with the horse, I knew that he
possessed ability but he was immature and needed time," Payne said.

"When he first came into work, he was practically uncontrollable and only a
six-foot strapper and myself could handle him. He was a dominant horse and
would bully the others when turned out into a paddock. He was a backward
youngster and was dogged by shin-soreness but just needed time. Once we
straightened out his traits, he became a genuine racehorse."

Training Tubular Bells has offered Payne a rare chance at a group 1 victory
just a handful of years into his new career.

Now 26, Payne knew at the age of 17 he would eventually become too heavy for
riding. At 22, he was licensed as a trainer.

He started with just a few horses and even today limits himself to between
12 and 15 in work. One of 10 children in the famous racing family, Payne
rode 227 winners but never enjoyed the fame of older brother Patrick.

Payne said Tubular Bells now has no vices and is a ready-made racehorse, and
has regarded him a genuine Adelaide Cup prospect for several months.

"I know it is a step to be running in a group 1 race at his sixth start but
he has been given the foundation," Payne said.

"People also doubted he could win second-up at 2200 metres. He is a dour
stayer and if everything falls into place in Adelaide and he wins, he'll go
to Sydney for the second-tier staying races like the Chairman's Handicap
before being put away for the Melbourne Cup.

"With the degree of improvement he'll have by his next preparation, he'd
have to be a genuine Melbourne Cup chance."

Kerrin McEvoy, boyfriend of Payne's sister Cathy, will ride Tubular Bells.

Originally from Streaky Bay on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, McEvoy flew
back from Dubai to chase his first win in SA's premier staying race. He has
not ridden in SA since the 2003 Adelaide Cup meeting.
______________________________

From: <mike.blakesley at ntlworld.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 11:36:17 +0000
Subject: [Amarok] The Platinum Collection

On Channel 4 (UKTV) they showed a TESCO advert for The Platinum Collection. 
It looked quite good for a change, very similar to the Incantations advert 
in 1978 very retro

Mike
Peterborough, UK
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