New Zealand was in 1971 and Spencer was part of tha

If you have been following ESPNs Monday Racing Wraps over this Spring Racing Carnival, there has been one name often featuring in the blackbookers section. For So Si Bon, the Group 1 AAMI Victoria Derby over 2500 metres is this three-year-old colts D-Day.He probably shouldve gone closer, or won, the Caulfield Guineas, So Si Bons trainer, Robbie Laing, told ESPN.Aiming for his second win in the Derby, after Polanksi saluted in 2013, Laing and jockey Hugh Bowman -- who must still be feeling the rush after Winxs breathtaking win in last Saturdays Cox Plate -- will team up once again for at tilt at this 2016 edition.Luck , or conditions, just hasnt been kind to the colt in his major lead-up runs, most notably with his fifth placing in the Group 1 Guineas (1600m) run three weeks ago.He got back [in the field], which was fair enough because he drew an outside alley, and was set to make a run at them at the 300 metre mark. He got blocked by a horse on his outside and then Seaburge [who is also engaged in the Derby] came from the inside and went under his neck [inconvenienced him] which probably cost him about two lengths in running, Laing told ESPN.His last 100 metres was very quick and was beaten a length-and-a-half. Thats probably the one that got away.The Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase [2040m] last Saturday saw So Si Bon finish third behind $2.80 Derby favourite Sacred Elixir.Last week he went better than expected because I dont think he can handle soft ground, and I thought his run was terrific. Should he have won? No.So Si Bon is rated a $9 chance with UBET for the Derby. While Bowman has a 100 percent strike rate in the Derby when riding for Laing, he will be shooting for a fourth win of his own in this classic.On Saturday therell be similar horses and Bowman [now] takes the reins. Hughies got the Derby record on the board and, who knows? Hes a guy that doesnt get his knickers in a knot and hopefully that transfers to the horse. They [horses] can definitely feel it [when a jockey is relaxed].After the Caulfield Guineas, his management team thought that he might be the horse to ride in the Derby.Robbie Laings father, Eddie, was a successful jockey and trainer himself. When Robbie took out his trainers license in his early 20s, he quickly enjoyed success at Group 1 level in the 1983 Thousand Guineas. Despite consistently training winners at all ages and distances, it is as a trainer of jumpers that has become a label which has proven hard to shake and, in reality, is somewhat of a misnomer.Its hard to lose the jumping tag, Laing laughed.Laing was one of the top trainer of jumpers in Victoria throughout the latter part of the 1990s and 2000s. With wins in races like the Grand Annual Steeplechase, and other majors, he was fast becoming pigeonholed as such with that success. But as the dwindling situation and politics around jumps racing in Australia has become headline news in the past decade, the perception of this specialty required reversing as much for Laings career progression as for any other reason.I had to [diversify]. With the amount jumpers that I had in my stable and with the depletion of jumps racing in Victoria, it was silly being top-heavy with jumpers in the yard. Weve tried to re-invent ourselves and were pretty happy.Laing said he really put my head down into training jumpers to try and save jumps racing, noting that Jim Houlahan [legendary trainer of jumpers] was in his 90s, Eric [Musgrove, another notable jumps trainer] was entering two or three horses in races to keep it buoyant.I thought, gee, if I could win -- and I love the jumping, obviously - its no good just sitting on my hands if they wind it down and I shouldve done something about it, so I ended up with a team of jumpers.Probably the thing that was detrimental was that I had so many good ones. If I had average jumpers then not too many people wouldve labelled me as a jumping trainer, but my name was up in lights as just that.But it is horse racing overall that is a passion for people such as Robbie Laing. His upbringing determined that, but it is the Winx-like moments can create an impression on a child wherever and whenever they might occur.I was at Caulfield when Tobin Bronze won the Caulfield Cup, Laing said of the Hall of Famers famous victory in 1967.It was huge. I dont know how many people jammed into Caulfield that day but ladies were taking little bits and pieces of his tail as souvenirs because he was heading to America soon after. Most of the women in the crowd were crying. He was just such a magnificent looking horse, and if he was racing today he probably couldnt get enough accolades.Laing also has a candidate for the fillies middle-distance classic, the Crown Oaks, at Flemington next week. The Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) on Saturday is often the most reliable guide to the Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) run on Thursday, and the Laing-trained Missrock is rated a $7 chance for the trial and $19 for the classic.Most positively, Hugh Bowman will also take the ride on this three-year-old filly.Weve trained her like a stayer and her work [on Thursday] morning with So Si Bon looked good, Laing said.Hes had the one ride on her when she won the Percy Sykes (Stakes, 1200m at Randwick in April). Going on her run in the Thousand Guineas Prelude (Sep. 24), youd want to be on her. She was a little bit flat in the Thousand Guineas [1600m, Oct. 8] itself but I put that down to it being just one of those runs.Further proving his versatility with horse across all ages and distances, Laing has been successful in the Melbourne Cup-week events for two-year-olds on at least seven occasions in as many years. He hopes the opening race on Tuesday will add to that tally.Ive got a very good chance. Ive got a filly by [sire] Written Tycoon called Herrera. A couple of Mondays back she trialed with another colt of mine called Destinys Own, and she put pay to him beating him by five lengths. He then came out and finished a length behind Azazel who won at Moonee Valley last Saturday.So taking a line through that formline, and that she had impressed us greatly, shell be hard to beat.It might just pay to take the tip. Cheap Nike Jerseys . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. China Jerseys . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. https://www.fakejerseyswholesale.com/ . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Stitched Jerseys . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Fake Jerseys From China . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. British & Irish Lions tour manager John Spencer says the tourists will right the wrongs of the 2005 crop who slumped to a 3-0 defeat against the All Blacks.The Lions last series win against New Zealand was in 1971 and Spencer was part of that victorious group. Since then, the Lions have been on four ill-fated tours against the All Blacks but Spencer feels the tourists are best-placed to end the drought.Back in 2005 Sir Clive Woodward took a large playing squad, something Gatland feels was the correct approach, but decided to split the group into two teams.They fell to a 3-0 series defeat which caused some to quesstion the worth of the Lions.dddddddddddd. Following the 2005 tour, and 2001 before it, there was a perception that the Lions had a limited future, said Spencer.The tour had its difficulties in 2005. And so we have changed quite a lot of things.Players have gone back to sharing rooms and the coaches will coach the midweek as well as the Saturday team and not have separate coaching groups. We learned a lot from that tour. And, yes, absolutely, we have got to give more than we did then. ' ' '