I know this bloke was on the best horse in the race, but Cameron Lammas's
ride on Calveen was a real thing of beauty. After a day of all those front
runners hanging on to win, the temptation to press forward on the mare must
have been huge . . . or it was according to those Trackside experts. As the
race unfolded, there were more contenders for the early lead than would
normally have been expected, which put extra pressure on the two natural
front runners, Maroofity and Kristov. Lammas got Calveen away well then,
when the push for the lead proved to be at a stronger tempo than suited him,
quickly allowed her to settle back and run along at her own speed. He
improved through the field at exactly the right time to be in a challenging
position when they straightened and then fought out the finish with another
runner who'd been allowed to run at its natural tempo. Racing like this is a
joy to watch.
Now to luck.
I'm a great believer in it and acknowledge when it comes my way. I've got no
time for people, especially people who've done well in business, who get
lucky then claim that it's all a product of hard work. "Good luck happens
when preparation meets opportunity" is the type of homily they trot out.
Yeah, maybe. But definitely not every time. Sometimes good fortune really is
dumb blind luck.
I've watched a lot of golf over the past ten years and while Tiger Woods was
definitely head and shoulders above his opposition for most of that time, he
more often than not seemed to get the rub of the green . . . especially in
that golden period four and five years ago. He'd mishit a drive into a clump
of trees, for example, and see the ball ricochet out onto the fairway; or if
he did miss the fairway, he find his ball with a perfect lie in the rough.
He's not getting those lucky breaks these days, it seems. In the first round
of the Masters, at the second hole (his 11th), he hit as sweet an approach
as you'd ever see . . . straight at the flag, perfect length. Except that it
was too good . . . it hit the flag stick about a foot above the ground and
bounced into a bunker, turning what had looked like a surefire birdie into a
bogey.
I immediately thought tough break, but couldn't help also thinking "Welcome
to the sort of luck the rest of us have, pal".
Gil
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