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mando-lore · 3 years

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"A bird... or something...": The story of Mothman and other 'flying men'

Certainly Strange: A Podcast About The Unexplainable, episode 7

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"It was a bird... or something."

It was the 15th of November, 1966, and Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette were joyriding through a maze of dirt roads that connected abandoned world war two bunkers, late at night in Point Pleasant West Virginia. They had just driven past an abandoned generator plant when they saw… something. A huge figure in the darkness, just off the side of the road. And it was watching them. With huge, blood red eyes.

"I'm a hard guy to scare" Scarberry later said to the local newspaper, "but last night I was getting out of there." He slammed the gas and tried to manoeuvre his car out of the dump area as quickly as possible, away from the strange creature that watched them. And as they fled, they all saw the creature, something that looked like the hybrid between a man and a bird, standing on a hill by the side of the road.

And then, it started following them. It hoovered above the car, chasing them. “We were driving one hundred miles per hour and that bird kept right up with us. It wasn’t even flapping its wings.” The women started crying. The creature followed them until the couples reached the National Guard Armory on Route 62. They thought they had finally lost the strange man-bird, but once they turned the car around, there it was again. It seemed to be waiting on them.

The creature was over six foot tall, grey, with a wingspan of 10 feet. "It was like a man with wings," Mallette said. "It wasn't like anything you'd see on TV or in a monster movie..."

The Scarberries and the Mallettes gave a statement to the police. "If I had seen it while by myself I wouldn't have said anything," Scarberry commented, "but there were four of us who saw it."

At first, the four witnesses were the laughingstock of the town. But soon, stories started to surface, old and new. They were definitely not the only ones who had witnessed the creature that is now known as the Mothman.

On that very same day, on November the 15th 1966, the Mothman had been spotted by a farmer about 90 miles away in Salem. Newell Partridge was watching television when at 10:30pm he heard his German shepherd named Bandit howling. The farmer went out to check on his dog with a flashlight, when he was met with two large red eyes, like red reflectors, staring at him.

Bandit took off towards the creature that threatened his master, into the night. Then, the farmer could hear his dog screech and whine. And he never saw him again.

The strange thing? In their eyewitness report, The Scarberries and the Mallettes told the police that, while they were being chased by the Mothman, they had seen something, lying on the side of the road. It had been a carcass. The carcass of a dead dog.

The very next day, the Mothman was spotted by one Mr and Mrs Wamsley and their friend Mrs Bennett, who were driving through the world war two bunker area on their way to visit a friend. They parked the car in a darkened area several feet from the residence, and knocked on their friend’s door. When they found him not at home, they headed back to the car. This is where they saw it. In the darkness, a shadowy figure lurked behind the automobile.

“It rose up slowly from the ground. A big, grey thing. Bigger than a man, with terrible, glowing red eyes.” Said Bennett. According to her own statement, when Bennett saw the creature, she was so horrified she fell on her baby whom she had been holding in her arms.

There were dozens of Mothman sightings during the next several weeks. One witness, Mrs. Roy Grose, saw the creature through her kitchen window, early in the morning when her barking dog had awakened her. She say a large multicoloured object hovering over the treetop in a field across the road. That same day a local teenager encountered a huge birdlike creature with his car, and claimed that it had followed him for more than a mile.

Tom Ury, a young shoe salesman, was driving down route 62 at 7:15 in the morning on his way to work, when he spotted a towering figure standing by the road in an adjacent field. Suddenly it had spread its wings and took off straight up. The figure then started circling his car like a bird, and kept flying over the car even at the speed of seventy-five miles per hour, much like as he had done to the Scarberries and the Mallettes. Tom was apparently so frightened by this encounter, he did not get into work that day.

In total, there were around 200 sightings of the Mothman in the year 1966 to 1967. But it was not the first time something like a bird-man was spotted near Point Pleasant.

In 1961, 5 years prior, a woman was driving down route 2 along the Ohio river with her father when she spotted a winged figure. She had just passed by a park when a tall figure suddenly appeared in the road ahead of her. It was a grey figure with folded wings across its back, like how one would describe an angel. Startled by the car, the creature unfolded its wings, which “practically filled the whole road”, and then the mysterious creature took off.

However, the woman and her father were not the first to ever witness the creature that would become known as “The Mothman”. In 1948, the Army officials at McChord Field in Washington state were approached by the 61-year-old Mrs Bernice Aikowski, who claimed that she had seen a man-bird in her backyard in nearby Chehalis.

“I know most people don’t believe me, but I have talked to some people in Chehalis that tell me they say the man, too. It was about 3 PM on January 6th, and there were a lot of small children coming home from school at the time. They saw the man, too, and asked me if they could go into my backyard so they could watch him longer as he flew towards the south end of the city.”

According to her, the flying man-bird seemed to be a man equipped with long silver wings fastened over his shoulders with a strap, like one of the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci.

On April 9th, 1948, two Longview Washington state residents named Viola Jonson (a laundry worker) and James Pittman (a janitor) told journalists that they had seen several men with flying suits and goggles, flying through the air, circling the city at a hight of 250 feet. Two similar flying men were sighted near Butte in Oregon, on September 16th that same year.

In 1971, at 2AM in Norton Massachusetts, police sergeant Thomas Downy was driving home along Winter Street in Mansfield. As he approached a place known, ironically, as Bird Hill in Easton, he was confronted by a huge winged creature that was over 6 feet tall with a wingspan of eight to twelve feet. As sergeant Downy drew to a stop at the intersection, the birdman flew straight up, disappearing over the dark trees into the swamp. Downy reported the sighting to the Easton police when he arrived home and a patrol car searched the area, but the man bird was never seen again.

These birdmen are not sighted exclusively in the United States, however. Plato and Homer already wrote about a race of winged men in Ancient Greece. On July 11th, 1908, the Russian explorer VK Arsenyev sighted a winged humanbeing near the mouth of the Gobilli river. Sightings have also been reported in Portugal, England, and Vietnam.

The many sightings of the Mothman came to an end on the 25th of December in 1967, when the Silver Bridge, connecting Point Pleasant with Gallipolis collapsed. 46 people died, and it is still known as the deadliest bridge collapse in the history of the United States. Next to the Mothman sightings, the Silver Bridge collapse was the second terrible and bizarre thing to put Point Pleasant on the map in one year’s time. So it was not hard for people to seek a connection between the two.

Some eyewitnesses claimed that they had seen the Mothman at the bridge that day it collapsed, blaming the creature for the disaster that killed so many. Of course, it is a way of mourning to seek an explanation, someone to blame, for this terrible loss of life.

People did indeed think that the Mothman was a bad omen, a demonic vision that foreshadows a great disaster. The Mothman does bear the resemblance of a demon, the embodiment of fear itself.

A more realistic based explanation for the Mothman comes from Dr. Robert L. Smith, an associate professor of wildlife biology at West Virginia University, who said that the description of the Mothman all fitted the sandhill crane, the second largest American crane, which stands almost as high as a man and has a wingspan of more than seven feet. He said the “red eyes” could be the large red circles around the crane’s eyes. The appearance of the bird could have been moulded into the image of a monstrous creature through mass hysteria.

So, is the Mothman an image of the mind, the demonic embodiment of fear? Is it simply a bird, mistaken for a monster through mass hysteria? Or… is the Mothman real? Whatever he was or whatever he may be now, still, he is certainly strange.

SOURCES

All That’s Interesting. (2017, May 17). The True Story Behind The Legendary Mothman Said To Terrorize West Virginia. Retrieved from https://allthatsinteresting.com/mothman

Coleman, L. (2001). Mothman and other curious encounters. Cosimo, Inc. https://books.google.nl/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KZlavRmNPtkC&oi=fnd&pg=PA8&dq=mothman&ots=KSz4GP-jP7&sig=-WwUOFtlxYvPePGyE-MwpPccj4s#v=onepage&q&f=false

Daly, J. (2020). Narrative Hijacking: Mothman and the Silver Bridge Collapse. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2279&context=researchweek

Gettysburg Times. (1966, December 1). Monster Bird With Red Eyes May Be Crane. p. 12. Retrieved from https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LG0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Rf8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=620,2790721&dq=point+pleasant+roger+scarberry&hl=en

Point Pleasant Register. (1966, November 16). Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230219/http://www.westva.net/mothman/1966-11-16.htm

#certainly strange #nemo #podcast #mothman #urban legend #urban legends #folklore #lore

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incorrectinkheartquotes · 5 years

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Elinor and Cosimo

thank you for the ask!

ELINORfavorite thing about them: her absolute refusal to be apologetic about anything she is. she’s so brash and bold and stubborn and :3 i love her. also!!! her character arc. the fact she starts so harsh and independent and steadfast in her belief she doesn’t need anyone, and she slowly starts opening up more and more and becomes this lovable, happy, aunt who adores mo and meggie and darius and resa and everyone. it’s great.least favorite thing about them: hm. the fact she never really contributes to the plot?? besides a few things like hiding the real book in inkheart that makes meggie and her and dustfinger have to take the real one to capricorn, she doesn’t really push the plot forward, she’s more subject to the actions of the plot. plot happens to her, she doesn’t have a part in it. and that makes me sad.favorite line: probably any time she says “good heavens!” something about it is very comforting in-story, like all this bad stuff is happening, but at least we still have elinor being elinor.brOTP: her and darius or resa. they make a good team.OTP: don’t really have one for her.nOTP: same here. not really any ships i can think of involving her other than darius which i’m pleasantly indifferent to.random headcanon: she is a lesbian and i love her song i associate with them: this sounds weird but i tried to think of a song that i think fits her and my first thought was sweet dreams by eurythmics and?? i feel like it fits.favorite picture of them: literally any still from the movie. helen mirren was an amazing casting choice for elinor and she did wonderfully.

COSIMO:favorite thing about them: his character role, being the beloved, blonde Noble Hero Prince, supposedly destined to defeat the evil threatening his kingdom, and the subversion of that trope, since cosimo (2.0) is a) basically a puppet to someone else, and b) fails in his quest to save his kingdom after bravely (rashly) rushing to meet the bad guys. he himself plays a relatively short role as a character, and is…actually the means by which ombra falls into ruin and the hands of the adderhead. wow.least favorite thing about them: the fact we don’t get to meet cosimo, original make. i’d like to see how he differed/differs from the copy fenoglio writes.favorite line: when fenoglio is trying to make cosimo understand that violante hates her father and would never help him, and cosimo says, “You can hate someone and obey him all the same. Isn’t that so?” it’s just very succinct abt the complications of the heart and i like it.brOTP: him and violante. i like the idea of the two of them being good friends.OTP: none.nOTP: cosimo/briannarandom headcanon: i always thought that if fenoglio had just written something to bring back the original cosimo or make it so his death never happened, things would have gone differently. he wouldn’t have been easily manipulated by fenoglio and meggie, but cosimo would have had his own mind and probably planned better for the war to come, since he was supposedly a good strategist.song i associate with them: Warriors by Imagine Dragons. it’s more of a song related to the whole tragic situation of cosimo’s ride to battle than just a song about him, and is actually sort of a duel pov between cosimo and violante, but it’s very good. and i can just see this song playing in the background of a cinematic style montage of cosimo leaving ombra with his men and riding across the land, intercut with images of fenoglio and violante despairing and the adderhead’s men prepared for battle, heavily implying the catastrophe to come.favorite picture of them: n/a

#i have a thing about seeing warriors as a duel pov song abt tragedy #first as a general mcu thor and loki song #then as a merlin&arthur song for the bbc merlin finale #now cosimo and violante for the end of inkspell #oof #ask #cosimo #violante

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worldcup-news-blog · 6 years

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Ron Dufficy tips; Brad Davidson tips; free horse racing tips

#NYGvsWAS #INDvSL http://worldcupnews.info/ron-dufficy-tips-brad-davidson-tips-free-horse-racing-tips/

Ron Dufficy tips; Brad Davidson tips; free horse racing tips

#Ashes #ChampionsLeague

THE Daily Telegraph’s Brad Davidson and Sky Thoroughbred Central’s form expert Ron Dufficy analyse the nine races at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

SUGGESTED BETS

DUFF’S BEST DAVO’S BEST Race 7, No.17 MISS DUBOIS Race 1, No.4 PLAGUE STONE Value bet Value bet Race 6, No.8 UNEQUIVOCAL Race 5, No.11 IMAGE OF LOVE

RACE 1: (12.35pm) GOLDEN GIFT (1100m)

Dufficy: I’m finding it hard to go past Plague Stone. He looked the real professional in his only trial — he flew out, relaxed and raced away in solid time. I thought he would be very hard to beat here. Secret Lady has the race experience and fought on well behind a nice enough type first-up and she will give a bit of cheek again. Wild Planet, I liked the way he moved in his trial, although it was in very slow time but I respect the Hawkes’ horses when they come to the races and they are pretty well educated. I know the form is awful out of the Muswellbrook race but Californiasurprise I think is better than what we saw there and I’m happy to say she is a touch over the odds, although the second horse has come out and been beaten since.

Davidson: I can’t go past Plague Stone as well. They don’t trial much better than he did and the time was there to back up the visually impressive performance. He should sit in the first few and be too strong at the finish. Secret Lady will keep him honest and I thought she did a good job on debut when second to Dynamited in solid time. Plenty and Cosimo both found the line in recent trials, while Californiasurprise should be up in the firing line early and can run top four. Wild Planet trialled well but as you mentioned, it was in slow time.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Cosimo $6 — $5.50, Orcein $26 — $31 — $26 ($1000 @ $31), Plague Stone $2.10 — $1.80 ($1500 @ $2.10, $1000 @ $2, $1000 @ $1.90, $15000, $2500 and $1000 @ $1.85), Plenty $11 — $12, Wild Planet $8 — $10 — $9.50 — $10 — $9.50, Secret Lady $3.50 — $4 ($500 @ $4), Californiasurprise $15 — $14.

RACE 2: (1.15pm) THE HQ OF INSURANCE HCP (1400m)

Dufficy: I keep coming back to the top weight Star Sensation. I know she is up 5kg but I think she is a nice enough filly heading in the right direction. She actually drops in class here and I think she can carry the big weight and prove hard to beat. Poetic Charmer broke his maiden pretty well at Newcastle and considering he was beaten by Unforgotten the start prior, that form reads pretty well now. I thought Up Trumpz had a chance here and he backs up quickly here. Second-up he was 900m to 1400m last week and I would have thought the drier track would suit this horse and he could be a good long shot. Sparky Lad was OK without raving last start but he is better than that.

Davidson: I’m with Poetic Charmer and he won well last start with the blinkers on and he maps well here just behind the speed. I think Bull Market is the big improver back on a firm surface and I think this is D-Day for him. His runs on good tracks have been good and he can surprise a few here. I agree with you about Up Trumpz and he is a great roughie. His lack of fitness told second-up and he is a tremendous place chance. Maid Marilyn and Star Sensation are in the mix as well.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Star Sensation $3 — $3.20, Sparky Lad $6 — $5 — $5.50, Poetic Charmer $8 — $6, Maid Marilyn $4 — $4.80 — $4.60, Radiant Choice $11 — $13, Bezzina $11 — $13, Bull Market $15 — $13.

RACE 3: (1.50pm) LUNA PARK HCP (1800m)

Dufficy: Tricky race. I just think he did enough at his Australian debut, Mornington to suggest he has got something. I can’t see him doing anything bar improving and he has a lovely draw to map nicely. If he is firm in the market, he is the one I want to be on. Hogmanay is racing consistently without winning this prep and he was a touch unlucky at Flemington last time and has to be in the mix again. Intueri is coming off a track and distance win and I still think there is a bit of upside with him and he has taken a while to come to hand. Zahspeed is a bit of a watch after stepping up in distance and running his rivals ragged last start.

Davidson: I found this one of the toughest races of the day. I went with Zahspeed just at the odds even though a few good judges up north assure me there was an on-pace bias last start and he was flattered by the win. I just thought he might be hard to catch and he goes on top purely because of the juicy odds. I loved the way Hogmanay attacked the line at Flemington last start but he can miss the start. Mornington was good at his Australian debut and my little concern is whether he is looking for longer now but the market should tell us more there. Be Like Dad blew the start the other day and can improve.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Hogmanay $6 — $6.50 — $6 ($1000, $600 and $400 @ $6.50), Zahspeed $15 — $12, Mortar Platoon $8 — $8.50 — $8, Dagny $4.60 — $4.40 — $4.60, Intueri $6 — $5.50, Gambler’s Blues $8 — $7.50 ($400 @ $7.50), Mornington $4.60 — $4.40, Be Like Dad $11 — $12.

RACE 4: (2.25pm) BEDFORD CA HCP (1200m)

Dufficy: I think Mark Newnham can have a good day and I like Anatola here. If she has any luck from the wide draw, she is right in a race like this. She was just outsprinted at the top of the straight last time and I thought she stuck on well. The 1200m suits better. I think Zonk is the obvious danger and she is fairly genuine and has a lovely racing style, I just thought she was short enough but she is sure to be in the finish again. Vigilance, I like the blinkers going on here and I’m expecting more from her here. I didn’t mind Picardy Rose’s first-up run and she was doing good work late in that Slow Burn race and 1200m suits much better.

Davidson: I’m with Zonk, although I do agree she is short enough. I just think she maps well to get a soft run on speed. Blowing Kisses has attacked the line well in two runs this preparation but 1200m is a slight query with her. Vienna Romance continues to run well and Picardy Rose caught the eye first-up.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Vigilance $11 — $12 — $11, Anatola $6 — $5 ($400 @ $6), Conchita $8 — $9 — $8 — $9 ($400 @ $9), Zonk $3.10 — $2.80 — $2.90, Vienna Romance $11 — $10, Blowing Kisses $8 — $7 — $7.50, Miss Ballantine $11 — $14 — $13 — $14, Picardy Rose $11 — $12 — $11.

RACE 5: (3pm) TAB HIGHWAY HCP (1500m)

Dufficy: I’ve got to stay at the top of the weights here and I think Gitan has needed a few runs and is ready to tough it out here with the claim. He goes forward and makes his own luck and I just think he might tough a few of these out of it. I think he can beat Realing, who was very good after getting a bad check at the start the other day and I don’t see too many issues 1200m to 1500m with a horse like him. Schedule is a nice, big strong horse and he gets a claim and I thought Salesman was pretty good after a freshen and over an unsuitable distance the other day and could get his name in the frame somewhere.

Davidson: I’m happy to back Image Of Love each-way and she went super first-up at Grafton in a good form race (second horse has won since and a further four minor placings have come out of the race). The lack of tempo didn’t suit her second-up and I love the fact Peter Graham comes here for one ride. Realing is the horse to beat and that first-up effort suggests he is back to the form he was showing in his first racing preparation. Pahruli and Schedule might be next best but I’m also respecting Gitan up on speed as well.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Realing $3.50 — $3.60 — $3.40, Schedule $6 — $5.50 ($600 @ $6), Gitan $4.60 — $4.40, Athonis $8 — $8.50 — $8, Only Choice $8 — $8.50 — $8, Pahruli $11 — $10.

RACE 6: (3.40pm) THOROUGHBREDS BREEDERS NSW HCP (1400m)

Dufficy: I know she hasn’t won for a while but I’m happy to speck Unequivocal at $21. I don’t mind the race she comes out of at Hawkesbury behind Duca Valentinois and she has drawn quite nicely. I think Just Dreaming is the obvious danger and she gets on-pace favours here and loves the track. Zumbelina, it’s hard to knock her and her form this prep has been great. Up to 1400m is no issue at all and she just has a lot of extra weight here. Zenalicious can improve from a softer draw and could race closer but I’m hoping to speck Unequivocal.

Davidson: I’ve got to stick with Just Dreaming and she was a good winner third-up albeit that the leaders overdid it that day. She maps to get a soft run on speed and is still on the way up. I thought Zumbelina was the danger and she has won the five from six at this track and she will flash home. Zenalicious has some really good form behind Daysee Doom and Dixie Blossoms earlier this preparation and that reads well for this. Time To Torque was held up at a crucial stage last start and that was a forgive run.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Zumbelina $4.60 — $4.20 — $4.40 — $4.20, Grunderzeit $11 — $12, Morton’s Fork $6 — $7, Just Dreaming $3.50 — $3.70 — $3.40 — $3.60 — $3.40 — $3.50, Zenalicious $11 — $10 — $11, Wayanka $8 — $8.50, Star Fortune $51 — $21 ($400 e/w @ $31/$6.85, $1100 @ $26).

RACE 7: (4.20pm) THE COUNTRY CLASSIC (2000m)

Dufficy: I think Miss Dubois is thrown in at the weights here and I thought she was one of the better gambles of the day. She is crying out for the distance and I think she will be chiming in late here and can get over the top of them. I thought her stablemate, Zamex could be the main danger and I don’t think he has had a bad prep leading into this race and obviously it’s been a mission for him. He will be running on with his stablemate for sure. If there is an upset, I think it is Cogliere. He is a query at the distance but I like the race he comes out of it. Allzin put in a good effort first-up and did win second-up last preparation and should run well.

Davidson: I thought Matt Dunn had a stranglehold on this race with Miss Dubois and Zamex. I don’t think there is a lot between them and I have Miss Dubois just slightly on top. Both looked well placed here coming through stronger races. Bronzed Venom’s run was a lot better than it looked last start and he will go forward and will be tough late. I thought Charlie Royale and Overdue were the best roughies in the race.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Dalmatia Prince $11 — $12 — $11, Bronzed Venom $8 — $6 — $6.50, Zamex $6 — $4.60 — $4.80, D’Beak $26 — $23 ($400 @ $23), Miss Dubois $3.40 — $3.20 — $3.40, Madame De Ban $11 — $10.

RACE 8: (5pm) GOLDNERS HORSE TRANSPORT HCP (1100m)

Dufficy: I thought Test The World was outstanding last preparation showing good courage and desire. She was always going to be better this prep and she has had a couple of trials. She has drawn well and I think she is the best value in the race. In Times Of War has a chance of breaking back through as well just back to 1100m here with a bit of speed in this race with Don’t Tease Me engaged. No knock on Bon Amis and we will find out how good he really is here. He just looks under the odds and it looks very awkward on the map for him here. Secret Trail is another mare that could really sprint well fresh here.

Davidson: Same top four for me just in a different order. I’ve got stick with Bon Amis and I just don’t know where his ceiling is. I think he will get across to sit outside the leader and he runs really well again if that eventuates. I agree he is under the odds though and that Test The World and In Times Of War are both terrific chances. Secret Trail can also run a bottler here first-up and I’m inclined to play those four horses in exotics rather than take the short odds about Bon Amis.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: Secret Trail $11 — $13 ($400 @ $13), In Times Of War $4.60 — $4.20 — $4.40, Test The World $6 — $5 — $6 ($600 @ $6), The Pharoah $11 — $10 — $11, Bon Amis $2.80 — $2.50 — $2.60 ($1000 @ $2.50).

RACE 9: (5.40pm) ANZ BLOODSTOCK NEWS HCP (1500m)

Dufficy: I think he is short enough for a horse that hasn’t won in over a year but I just have to give Dreamforce one more chance. I thought he ran into a fitter horse first-up in Redouble who has franked that form in winning again since. I just see him getting no pressure up near the lead and I just lean his way. I’m terrified of Istria and it’s a typical case of an in-form mare who has been so dominant winning her past two, just they have been on soft tracks with the jar out. Our Belisa is another in-form mare absolutely flying through her classes this prep and she maps well again here. I’ve got a big, big watch on High Opinion first-up.

Davidson: I like Dreamforce as well and I think he just knocked up fresh and should get a nice run in front. I agree entirely with High Opinion and he could be the knockout here. His fresh form is good and I liked one of his recent trials. I’m respecting Istria and Our Belisa but I just think they are coming out of weaker form races than Dreamforce and I just query whether Istria is better on soft ground.

TAB MARKET MOVERS: King Darci $4.60 — $5, Our Belisa $8 — $4.80 ($550 @ $6.50, $500 @ $6), Dreamforce $3.50 — $3.90, Istria $6 — $3.40 ($750 @ $5, $750 @ $4.60, $750 @ $4, $800 @ $3.80), After All That $10 — $14, High Mist $10 — $13.

SATURDAY EXTRA

SHAYNE O’CASS’S BEST BETS

GOSFORD

BEST BET: AUERBACH (Race 5, No. 1) Won both of his lead-up trials before his return to racing in a Hawkesbury maiden. The Chris Waller-trained gelding did a good job to finish third in what could be a very strong maiden race for the future. Drawn one, fitter again and will be harder to hold out this time.

NEXT BEST: PLAY (Race 6, No. 11) Is another of the Waller crew, this one a filly owned by the historic Newhaven Park. Waller, and the Kelly family, would have been heartened with the debut when 5th to Siege of Quebec at Beaumont. Spelled after that and trialled exceedingly nicely at Canterbury on Nov 3. Has talent.

VALUE: LET ME SLEEP ON IT (Race 1, No. 8) First starter from the Waterhouse/Bott yard and traditionally, the camp is dead on with their debutantes. This filly has only trialled once but she was very impressive. Market watch advised.

JOCKEY TO FOLLOW

BLAKE SPRIGGS has a gun book of rides, none more interesting than Let Me Sleep On It. Spriggs could bookend the meeting aboard Vinnie Power in the last.

SUGGESTED BETS

Quinella — Race 1, Nos. 5,8

Exacta — Race 1, No. 8 to beat No. 5

Exacta — Race 5, No. 1 to beat No. 13

QUADDIE

Race 5: 1,6,13; Race 6: 1,9,11; Race 7: 4; Race 8: 1,9,13.

CASINO

BEST BET: WICKED HEIGHTS (Race 1, No. 3) Strikes a wafer thin maiden here and surely gets no better chance to get on the board. The son of Melbourne Cup winner Shocking’s form is better than anything else in the race.

NEXT BEST: MEXICAN MOUNTAIN (Race 3, No. 7) Has some compelling numbers to win this, not least that he is 12s 2-3-3 at the trip and was runner-up at his only previous track and distance run.

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