GOOD NEWS FOR ASTRONOMER ROYAL

It might have been the last day of the racing season, but Astronomer Royal 2YO, Caribbean Blue, showed his true colours over 1500m at Ballarat on Wednesday, taking out the Porter Plant Handicap with a well timed run.

And what colours they are! The lightly raced youngster carried some of the most popular silks in racing – that of Moonee Valley chairman, Bob Scarborough and his wife Rosemary.

Now, while Caribbean Blue has a long way to go to catch up with other Scarborough luminaries such as Sleek Chassis, Marble Halls, Gallica, Gold Ace, Final Card and Light Fantastic, the Ballarat score was full of merit.

With his oldest Australian runners just 2YOs – actually three as of tomorrow – Astronomer Royal’s European runners include the stakes winner Table Ronde and the multiple black type placed, Sir Patrick Moore, while Gourmet Night won impressively at Geelong at the end of June.

Bred at the Scarboroughs’ Wood Nook Farm, Caribbean Blue is out of the Don’t Forget Me mare, Good News and is a half brother to another of the couple’s headliners in Victoria Derby winner Hit The Roof and stakes winner War Ends.

A bit of Caribbean blue ...