|
Better Loosen Up was a horse from modest beginnings who raced in the late 1980s, a golden era of Australian racing. In 1990 he beat the world's best horses in the world's richest race. He excited race goers with his trademark last to first bursts down the home straight.
Initially bought and trained under Les Theodore, his racing career began in 1987 in small country races. For the bigger city races he was briefly trained by Bart Cummings and achieved some limited success in Sydney and Melbourne in 1988 and early 1989. Transferred to Colin/David Hayes' stable, Better Loosen Up began a dramatic sequence of wins in the spring of 1989 with victory in the Group 1 Honda Stakes, Winfield and Railway Stakes.
In his prime the next season, Better Loosen Up won his next seven races including a phenomenal win in the Australasian Championship, the Cox Plate in record time where he came from 30 lengths behind at the halfway point to beat a strong field boasting horses such as Sydeston, The Phantom, Stylish Century and former Japan Cup Winner Horlicks.
On a winning streak of four he was invited to run in Tokyo against the worlds best in the Japan Cup and was the early favourite. A notoriously lazy track worker he fell out of favour with punters after running the slowest sectionals during practice. He then created history when he became the first Australian horse to win the Japan Cup, coming from the rear of the field with a barnstorming burst to win in a three way photo finish.
Soon after defeating Vo Rogue in the 1991 Australian Cup by six lengths, Better Loosen Up broke a tendon at the notorious crossing at the Randwick course during trackwork. It was at the same crossing where later another outstanding horse, Shaftsbury Avenue was tragically killed.
He returned to racing briefly after a years rest from the ensuing operation but never won again. In the 1992 Cox Plate, regarded as the strongest field ever, he was robbed of a certain victory when severely checked by Melbourne Cup winner Lets Elope near the winning post (who was subsequently demoted), leaving his great rival Super Impose to run past him and win the great race. It was the first and only time ever that Super Impose would beat him.
Slowly returning back to his best, he came second in an unsuitable 1100 m race against specialist sprinters but later damaged the same tendon and was retired.
To date, Better Loosen Up remains the only Australian horse to win the Japan Cup. He raced and beat the best of a golden era and easily beat Melbourne Cup winners such as Kingston Rule and Tawriffic. His performance in Tokyo is Australias greatest achievement in international racing.
| 
