Next Monday December 28th I will be off to Bathurst for their annual Carnival Of Cup meeting. The club has pumped a lot of resources into the meeting and it will be the first leg of a $50,000 trainer's bonus. Bathurst, Young and Parkes decided to put on a special incentive for any horse that can win the three feature Carnival Of Cup events and I think there should be more co-operation between the clubs to promote the sport.

$50,000 will attract interstate interest and with Barry Lew suggesting he will target the three events with Karloo Mick it should ensure strong fields for the three races.

I can remember when the Canberra and Fairfield clubs used to put on a special bonus for horses that competed in the Canberra Cup and JD Watts Memorial. It isn't a cheap exercise to put on such prizes but it does ensure strong fields and plenty of media interest.

The Bathurst Carnival Of Cup meeting will be the first of a number over the traditional holiday period. I am looking forward to getting out to the country again and while I won't be able to attend all of them due to my work commitments with Sky Racing, i will get to as many as possible.

Next week I will be concentrating on the Carnival Of Cup meetings being run so this week I am going to hand out my 2009 awards. There have been a number of great performances in the last 12 months and there are some that we would all like to forget as well.

BEST HORSE IN AUSTRALASIA – Monkey King. I don't think there is any argument that based on what Monkey King has done recently he is clearly the best in this part of the world. Yes, he needs things to go his way in races and he got conditions to suit in the New Zealand Cup and the New Zealand Free For All but his efforts here in Australia in the Miracle Mile and his unplaced performance in the Victoria Cup cemented his spot on top of the Australasian pile.

BEST 4 YEAR OLD IN AUSTRALIA - ????. I was ready to declare Captain Joy's reign over at the end of his three year old season, especially after the Breeders Crown but the four year old carnival in Western Australia has created more questions than it has answered. There is very little between Bonavista Bay and Captain Joy and while Bonavista Bay might be a little tougher, Captain Joy proved he has the ability to match it with anything his rivals can throw at him. I hope the connections of Bonavista Bay don't ask too much of him for the remainder of the season and there is something left in the tank for the rest of his career. It's my award and everyone knows that I love Captain Joy so I am going to give him the nod... but only just!

WILL HE EVER WIN A BIG RACE TROPHY AWARD – Smoken Up. On what we have seen in the past two months, the Lance Justice trained gelding is destined never to win a big one. He has now been placed in the Inter Dominion, the Victoria Cup, the Hunter Cup, the New Zealand Cup and the Miracle Mile. There aren't too many more big ones that he can be narrowly defeated in and I guess to some extent the way he races leaves him vulnerable. Sure he has won a SA Cup and a Len Smith Mile but he hasn't won a big one!

BIGGEST FIGHTBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD – Cuttheattitude. This tough little fella wins this category on two counts. Firstly he produced the biggest fight back of the season when he got up off the canvas to beat Renaissance Man in the Breeders Challenge at Menangle. The Felicity Gallagher trained two year old was a beaten conveyance at the top of the straight but fought back to win another group one. The second part of the award is for his fight back from the brink of death. After travelling to Victoria for the Breeders Crown, Cuttheattitude was diagnosed with colitis and he was given very little chance of surviving but as he showed on the track he is no quitter and he fought back. He was put back into work on December 1 and fingers crossed he can make it back to the races.

I MISS YOU AWARD – Davey J. Trained by Paul Fitzpatrick he looked set for all of the feature races this season only to be struck down with injury. He underwent stem cell therapy but it wasn't as successful as hoped. Fingers crossed he can come back as good as he was.

THE BRAVE SOLDIER AWARD – Blacks A Fake. Natalie Rasmussen is tossing up what to do with her champion gelding. The three time Inter Dominion winner finished down the track in the Miracle Mile and finished a credible third in the Victoria Cup but to be fair, Blacks A Fake at his best would have won. He got a dream run in transit and Nat was able to make her run when she wanted but Blacky couldn't reel in Bettors Strike and Smoken Up. Always gracious in defeat, Nat said the right things but it has since been revealed that Nat is considering her options. Normally you wouldn't be disappointed with a third in the Victoria Cup but when you reflect on what he has done in his career, I wouldn't be surprised to see Natalie pull the pin.

2009 BEST DRIVER IN NEW SOUTH WALES – Blake Fitzpatrick. This is very subjective and NSW has so many talented drivers. Greg Bennett continually racks up the winners each season, Josh Willick is a true magician at his best and Glen McElhinney always drives more than his fair share of winners but I am going to give the nod to Blake Fitzpatrick. He has plenty of drives every season and some would argue he drives the best horses for the best stable but he is the driver that makes the right decision the most times. I wouldn't be afraid to use the services of the top 15 drivers in NSW.

Anyway, it is all a bit of fun. Have a great Christmas and I look forward to giving you a report from Bathurst next Monday. Catch you next week.