It is amazing what little coincidences life throws up
To put me to sleep each night I have been reading Local Rites by Paul Daffey
It is about his travels to country and suburban football matches in 2000
Each chapter visits a different town
Last night it was 'Land of the Danihers'
I have said run with it when a personality puts their hand up but the following is why it always has to be about the horse
On my left was an expansive pub of golden bricks, of the type favoured in New South Wales but never seen in Victoria, with Tooheys New signs in bold, black letters.
But on my right, smack in the centre of town, was the statue of Paleface Adios, the Temora Tornado, whose distinctive white blaze had failed to cross my mind for two decades.
Now it featured in recollections of Saturday nights at Moonee Valley, when, like many early teenagers around Essendon, I was too young to go to parties but somehow old enough to bet on the horses.
In one of several farewell races, Paleface Adios streamed four-wide down the straight to win in typically dramatic fashion, providing one of my earliest sporting highlights.
I wasn't sure that Ungarie would provide a sporting highlight but, after seeing the likeness of the lairy chestnut, who often seemed to have luck on his side,
I was satisfied that the long journey into a strange land would be worth my while
It could only be about a horse
(For a Vic who loves football, the book is a good read but being a 2001 publication may be hard to find)
