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Showbiz Extra ■ From Page 70
Top 10 Lists THE CRIMSON PIRATE [Action/Adventure/ Burt Lancaster, Eva Bartok]. BUCK ROGERS [1939/Serial/Buster Crabbe]. NEW RELEASE TELEVISION, DOCUMENTARY AND MUSIC DVD HIGHLIGHTS: KING: Season Two. ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: The Complete Seventh Season. BERGERAC: Season Six. THIS IS ROLLER DERBY. JOAN RIVERS: Don't Start With Me. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Doomsday Preppers - The Final Countdown. HORIZON IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE: Season One. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TITTIN [Documentary]. LORD PETER IMSEY: Series Two. TOP BLU-RAY RENTAL & SELLERS: 1. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD [Drama/Dwight Henry, Quvenzhane Wallis]. 2. KILLING THEM SOFTLY [Crime/Drama/ Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini]. 3. THE EXPENDABLES 2 [Action/Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis]. 4. LAWLESS [Drama/Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce]. 5. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES [Action/Crime/ Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy]. 6. LOOPER [Action/Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt]. 7. TED: Extended Edition [Comedy/Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane]. 8. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3D + 2D Blu Ray [Animated/Comedy]. 9. ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTIAL DRIFT 3D [Animated/Comedy/Ray Romano, Denis Leary]. 10. MADAGASCAR 3: Europe's Most Wanted [Family/Animated]. Also: The Words, Brave, Mental, The Possession, The Watch, Resident Evil: Retribution 3D + 2D, Lockout, Moonrise Kingdom, Avatar 3D+DVD, Finding Nemo 3D. NEW RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK: ON THE ROAD [Drama/Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart]. TO ROME WITH LOVE [Comedy/Romance/ Woody Allen, Judy Davis, Alec Baldwin]. WHAT WOMEN WANT [Comedy/Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt]. STRUCK BY LIGHTNING [Comedy/Rebel Wilson, Dermot Mulroney]. THERE BE DRAGONS: Blood and Country [Drama/Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott]. - James Sherlock
Nicole Denton ■ Our Melbourne Observer report (Feb. 6) incorrectly named 3AW Deputy Content Director Nicole Denton as Nicole Bland. Our apologies for this error made in production.
A Murder Is Announced ■ Another of Agatha Christie’s ‘whodunits’, A Murder Is Announced, will tour Melbourne later this year. This follows the success of the 60th Anniversary tour of The Mousetrap The show will be presented by Michael Coppel, Louise Withers and Linda Bewick in association with Mousetrap Productions Ltd, London. The show will be presented at The Comedy Theatre from October 30-December 4. Tickets go on sale in May. Casting will commence in May with the announcement of the full company and creative team will follow, says publicist J P Bolton. A Murder Is Announced was the fourth of 12 novels to feature the character of Miss Marple and the first of Christie’s works featuring the “sensibly heeled” sleuth on stage or screen. This 1977 adaptation is by Leslie Darbon who also adapted Christie’s Cards On The Table for the stage. - Terry Radford
Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - Page 75
Melbourne
Observer Victorian Sport
BLUE DIAMOND TUSSLE
■ The money has come for the two favourites over the past week in Saturday's Patinack Farm Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. The flying filly from South Australia, Miracles of Life, is just favourite in front of the big filly from the Peter Snowden camp, Guelph. The name Guelph certainly got to me, to the extent that I bailed up Paul Snowden, Peter's son, near the scales at Caulfield and asked him what the name meant. He explained a lady is employed by the Darley Camp to name their horses and they like to keep them to one name. Would you believe Guelph is a place in Canada? When I queried him why a place in Canada, he just shrugged his shoulders. If your are at Caulfield this Saturday for the Blue Diamond, have a look at Guelph in the mounting yard; she is a big rangy filly. Then have a look at Miracles of Life, who is a midget with great speed and a big heart. There is nothing between them in the betting with the stablemate of Guelph, Metastasio, on the third line of betting. All have been impressive in their wins. Miracles Of Life, ran a second quicker than the colt's when she scored over1000 metres in her Diamond Preview win, prior to that she had won her two previous starts by a total of 15 lengths. On top of this if Miracles of Life can win the Classic it will be the first time that a
Ted Ryan
female rider has booted home the winner. Lauren Stokovic has been on her in all her wins, and the owners and trainer have stuck with the two fillies to get the chocolates. It is one of the first times I can recall where the fillies have dominated the betting on the Blue Diamond. They all appear to be the ones to beat come Saturday. My query about Miracles of Life is like most of them she hasn't won over more than 1050 metres, and I feel the stronger runners may get her in the final 150 metres. As I mentioned earlier, Guelph is a bit strong filly and she won over 1100 metres at Caulfield and impresses me greatly. Also she is the top tip of the Darley horses participating. Of the colts Thermal Current from the Moody camp, ran a great third in his Preview when he nearly fell at the turn, while
Crack A Roadie is strong and will have no trouble with the 1200metres. I am going to stick with Guelph; she was most impressive and is getting stronger.
Mornington Cup tops ■ The Mornington Racing Club was certainly on a winner when a good crowd of racegoers and families attended their Centrebet Cup meeting. Although the attendance figures weren't the greatest, I am sure that the Club would be very happy with the day. I hosted on the day and there didn't appear to be any trouble of any nature and everyone, especially families, enjoyed the day soaked in brilliant sunshine and first class racing. The Club was thrilled to have the big betting agency, Centrebet, sponsor their Cup.
Observer Racing
As each patron entered they were given the option of picking up a free Centrebet stubby holder, which was a nice thought. I recall at the last Geelong Cup back in October, the Centrebet people did a similar thing in all the marquees. Someone mentioned to me, that it cost the betting agency something like $30,000 for the gesture. The racing was keen with the jumper, come top flat performer, Tuscan Fire , ridden brilliantly by the Cups king Glen Boss, continuing on his merry way. From his past six runs, he has won three and been placed second on two occasions. Ballarat trainer Dan O'Sullivan, has done a marvellous job with the six year-old. Over the jumps, he has had six starts for two wins and two thirds and with the
● Guelph Photo by SLICKPIX, phone 9354 5754 Cup win took his stake cost of $ 2.8 million. earnings to over $½The synthetic surmillion. face contains particles Mornington's next each molecularly meeting will be on bonded with a wax Easter Sunday March coating; the track af31, which is always a fords trainers at big day. Caulfield the ability to For the first time on work horses on a cliCup Day I tried the mate-tolerant surface new freeway and all I that's mimics turf, can say it is a beauty, courtesy of its unique it only took me 45- root structure and verminutess when I got tical drainage system. Polytrack differs onto the Eastlink at Ringwood, before I greatly from synthetic got off at Bungower tracks previously laid Rd, even quicker in Australia through its composition and coming back. One thing though, drainage system, you get zapped a few making it the first actimes with the tolls tual climate-tolerant, along Eastlink until turf mimicking suryou hit the Peninsula face. Although this is the Freeway turn-off which is, Thank God, first Polytrack to be installed in Australia, free. But try it, it is mag- the company has more than 30 years' nificent. experience in the synthetic surface industry and has used every bit of that experience in producing a suitable ■ Caulfield has be- training surface which come the first Austra- is consistent, safe and lian racecourse to in- sympathetic to the stall a Polytrack at a working racehorse.
Caulfield’s polytrack
● Tuscan Fire Photo by SLICKPIX, phone 9354 5754
Hall of Fame at the Grand Hyatt ● Thermal Current Photo by SLICKPIX, phone 9354 5754
■ The Australian Racing Hall of Fame 2013 induction ceremony will be held at Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt tomorrow night (Thurs., Feb. 21). A capacity crowd will attend the dinner, and it will be broadcast live on Sky Racing World. The one-hour coverage on Channel 520 will span the announcement of the inductees from 8.30pm.