The Lightning Stakes may be the shortest Group 1 event in Australia but like all good races it has spawned a huge number of media reports. So what makes the better stories stand out from the crowd?

To me it is the stories that include the extra threads that add lustre and depth to the final 'material'. You don't need to be a Pulitzer prize writer to do it - you just need to remember to look for the detail before you start writing.

Case in point - simple review of yesterday's Lightning Stakes in The Thoroughbred Times but even within the first sentence there's that lovely reference to the fact that the winner is not owned or trained by your usual high flyer to add extra appeal. Further down this thread is enhanced by explaining the trainer's unwillingness to travel to the UK:

"Takeover Target, trained by a part-time cab driver, blitzed the field in the first Australian Group 1 race of 2006 when he won the Victoria Racing Club's $378,984 Lightning Stakes, down Flemington's famous straight stretch.

"Asked if he would be taking Takeover Target to Royal Ascot, which host's two legs of the Global Sprint Challenge: the King's Stand Stakes (Eng-G2) on June 20 and the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Eng-G1) on June 24, Janiak said: "He's going, but I don't know about me, but he's earned his chance."

"Janiak's apparent doubts about his making the trip were sparked by his discomfort at wearing the morning suit and top hat expected at Royal Ascot."

Full story at the following URL.