KT's Wikipedia Page updated? Iggy??

Balciano
2013 May 06 22:57:12 
Browsing on the net tonight, looking up some of our champions of yesteryear when I came across that most reputable of sites, Wikipedia. Upon reading through some of our forgotten greats pages, I was intrigued by some rather interesting updates to the page of one Kingston Town.

References to beating small Sydney WFA fields, multiple Caulfield/Melbourne Cup failures, and comment on his 'extraordinary' Timeform rating compared to Cox Plate winners who have won one of the big Cups had me suspicius, but I thought 'surely not...'

Then however came the clincher.

The only real reference to the horses 3 Cox Plates, or in fact any of his triumphs was that his 3rd Cox Plate win was famous for Bill Collins 'gaffe' that the horse couldn't win. The quote 'replays support this view in that KT was within a few lengths of the lead at the time' left me having a quiet chuckle to myself.

I then noticed the page had been updated 2 months ago.

Iggy old son, well done. But I'm almost scared to read the Lohnro page...

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3 Comments

iglesia

2013 May 07 14:02:21

Get real, Balciano, the entry is so crammed with highlights, such as the following, that it could only have been written by someone who was a fan of the horse:

"Kingston Town (31 August 1976 - March 1991) was an outstanding Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won a record three Cox Plates and 11 other Group One races in a career spanning from 1979 to 1982. In 1980 he was awarded the honour of being the Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year."

"returned as a gelding in the final weeks of the season to win the Round Table Handicap at Rosehill at odds of 33/1. This was the beginning of a six-race winning run, which culminated in his first Group One win, the Spring Champion Stakes"

"In the autumn of his three-year-old season, Kingston Town won six races in a row, including the Rosehill Guineas, the Tancred Stakes, the AJC Derby, and the Sydney Cup. At the Brisbane winter carnival, he extended his winning run to eight races by winning twice more, including the Queensland Derby. At season's end, his record stood at 14 wins from 18 starts, and he was named Australia's champion racehorse."

"The final 23 starts of Kingston Town's career, which produced a further 16 wins, were unusual in that he only raced at the spring carnivals of 1980, 1981, and 1982, and injury prevented him from campaigning at the 1981, 1982, or 1983 autumn carnivals. Each of the three preparations consisted of winning weight-for-age races in Sydney, such as the Warwick Stakes and the George Main Stakes, often against small fields, before racing in Melbourne. In each of the three years, he won the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, and recorded back-to-back wins in the Caulfield Stakes in 1981 and 1982"

"Kingston Town's win in the 1982 Cox Plate was marked by Bill Collins's famously incorrect prognostication that 'Kingston Town can't win', which was hastily revised to '... he might win yet the champ ... Kingston Town's swamping them ... Kingston Town...' According to The Age's Glenn Lester,[3] 'the call is so intricately woven into the "King's" history-making third Cox Plate win that it's difficult to decide which was the most memorable element of the race: the broadcast or the victory itself'."

"Along with Carbine, Phar Lap, Bernborough, and Tulloch, Kingston Town was one of five inaugural inductees into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. From 30 wins and seven placings from 41 starts, Kingston Town won $1,605,790 in prize money, and was the first horse in Australia to pass the million-dollar barrier. He was given the extraordinary Timeform Rating of 137 - the second highest of any Australian horse in the period (1950s onward)."

Balciano

2013 May 07 17:17:08

Fair enough Iglesia, if I'm wrong and you didn't contribute to the page I stand corrected and apologise.

Just some of the wording and thoughts on there reminded me strikingly of you. I presume each page would have a number of contributors, so openly wondered if some of the above quotes were from yourself. The page is not exactly a glowing testament to the horse compared to some of the other terrific write-ups on there.

Again if Im wrong, my bad.

Cheers.

iglesia

2013 May 08 14:13:31

I can understand why you're disappointed with the Kingston Town page, but perhaps you'll be happier with the Lonhro page because whoever came up with these gems hasn't missed a beat - putting the boot into him at every possible opportunity (even referencing small fields!):

"Lonhro came wide in the straight making ground on the leaders but unable to catch the eventual winner True Jewels, finishing 1½ lengths fourth."

"Settling last in a field of nine, Lonhro was beaten, finishing 7.3 lengths behind Northerly. It was a disappointing effort."

"Lonhro was the raging favourite for the Doncaster Handicap ... This was Lonhro's third and final unplaced run in a race"

"So for the second year running, Lonhro had failed to run as well as expected in the Cox Plate. Critics claimed that the horse was a fair weather champion, dominant in small weight-for-age fields but unable to cope with the pressure of a larger field. Whatever the case, it is doubtlessly true that Lonhro had the necessary talent to win a genuine championship race, such as the Cox Plate, or Doncaster Handicap, but never actually did so. The reasons for this are particularly puzzling given his incredible consistency in races just a shade lower in rank."

"the gap was to prove too great for Lonhro and Grand Armee ran out the winner by six lengths. Grand Armee had spoiled Lonhro's farewell party."

Balciano

2013 May 08 18:02:44

Yeah fair points Iglesia, I guess it all depends on how you read a page. Maybe I was looking for the negatives only...

Lesson learnt.



Mr Grieves

2013 May 07 11:09:03

Haha he's obsessed. Sad really.

Balciano

2013 May 07 17:19:18

Cheers Tonto, perhaps something I should have checked first!!

Tontonan

2013 May 07 10:44:17

Balciano,

If it was Iglesia who rewote the entry (nad he'll tell us soon enough)he did so three and a half years ago.

Unless Iglesia is Pittsburghpenguin who wrote the revision of 22 October 2009 he cannot be held responsible for what is a pretty dreadful Wikipedia entry.

Previously the entry read,

"The 1982 victory was marked by caller Bill Collins famous words:

"Kingston Town can't win........he might win yet the champ..Kingston Town's swamping them...Kingston Town...".


In my opinion this is a legitimate cite, and value neutral. That's what Collins famously said. The rest of the fluff that has since been added to that paragraph is just bad Wiki.

The same author added the Timeform reference on 29 October 2009.

The last edit, in March this year was just a minor updating of links to the page by a 'bot'

All Wiki edits can be accessed by clicking the History tag on each page.

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