A Shepherd's Sling And Five Stones In Our Hands.

So, the Austral is this weekend. It's a race I have ambiguous feelings about, even though - or probably because - I've never raced it before. Still, in these serious wheelraces with serious money attached, the outcome has usually been determined before the race has begun, and due to the distance the Austral is run over - two kilometres - there is even less chance for the middle-and-limitmarker punks to come crashing in and spoil the party. The best thing about racing handicaps is that anyone has a chance to take them out (something WW seems to instinctively understand), but all of CSV's efforts over the past month or so have focussed on the 'stars' appearing. I'm starting to feel like pack fill and I haven't even strapped on my shoes yet.

So I'm down to race, but don't expect much. I'll probably get B grade, will probably ride off somewhere in the neighbourhood of 100 metres in the big race, probably have odds of around 25 to 1, and probably do fuck all. The saving grace, for me, is that the Bendigo Madison weekend isn't far away, and that this year I'll be there with bells on. Hopefully in some decent form to boot.