Standardbred Breeding

yes,thats all true But they have fun doing it. i think thats  the appeal to those that particpate in their betting pools. they are trying to entertain as well as punting.The personalities are the key. They have a good mix. And they have a lot of well known sporting guests on,that are entertaining. i enjoy the banter the out the gate people have with their guests.they even had hamish carter as a guest last night.Seeing those guests and showing said guests can enjoy things related to the racing industry,is sort of refreshing and i think thats part of why it works for me. A one off show once a week is just the right amount of out the gate type format.i wouldn't want any more of it myself,but i like it the way it is.

By Michael Guerin Better Knuckle Up could have a rare experience at Alexandra Park tonight. He might win a race. That might seem a little unfair to point out about a pacer clearly in the top 10 in the country but such are the realities of pacing’s big time.  Better Knuckle Up won the first $500,000 Velocity Slot race at Addington in November 2024 and has been a constant open class force since, including a huge fourth in the New Zealand Cup in November when coming from last. But because of how hard that open grade is, and his own standing start issues, that Velocity win remains Better Knuckle Up’s only victory in the last 18 months. Co-trainer Scott Phelan thinks Better Knuckle Up gets the prime opportunity to end that drought at Alexandra Park tonight albeit with a very difficult stablemate to hold out. Better Knuckle Up has drawn barrier 6 over a mile in Race 2, the IRT.Your Horse.Our Passion Mobile Pace (5.21pm) and he has Queensland Derby winner Rubira next to him at barrier 7 and stablemate Sooner The Bettor at barrier 8. Sooner The Bettor has made a habit of winning these Alexandra Park races just below the absolute best level and is race fit after overcoming a 30m handicap to win an easier race last Friday. Phelan, who trains the pair in partnership with Barry Purdon, says there is so little between the pair the draw could decide the race. “We all know how good Sooner The Bettor is racing and he tends to win these races,” says Phelan. “And he might do that again. But I think the draw really helps Better Knuckle Up. “I think he will go forward and lead and then Tony [Herlihy] has options, he could stay in front or take a trail. “Because of that I think he has more ways he can win and I’d narrowly go him as our best chance.” Phelan also suggests punters give Chanel Noire another chance in the last race tonight. “She is a really nice mare who might have too much speed for most of them in this grade.” Tonight’s meeting contains plenty of young talent who will populate the age group races coming up at The Park, one of the best being Allamericanplayer (R4, No.8). He was one of our elite juvenile pacers last season and if anywhere near his normal racing fitness should win even from his outside barrier draw. Nazare and Alecto are two other smart three-year-olds returning in Race 5 while both the male and female juvenile pacers step out in their respective Young Guns heat. Coal Fire (R7, No.3) was a stunning debut winner but has still opened a $1.85 favourite even from barrier 2 tonight, with support for two debutantes in Layton David and Delany. The two-year-old fillies in Race 8 look even more even but Lady Di has the draw and race experience advantage. View the full article

Yes, very smart horse by light spirits from memory, trained by Jim Melton, witnessed him winning his maiden race, was at Westport though, got well back, and I've never forgotten the turn of foot he showed to pick them up an win very well, knew he went on to top races, a grey horse, then to aussie I think, can't recall how he went over there, but that win, has stuck with me, and Damien Browne did ride, coincidently light spirits sired the last ever winner of the Westport cup, Elad Nova, 1996 from memory was their last hurrah for the throughbred racing there.  

Yeah bit of a shame, can't recall the full story, but knew it was controversial, been to riverton once, 2017 I think, drove to Christchurch, flew to invercargill, plane circling for an hour waiting for break in the fog, just when  we thought we were heading to Dunedin and a bus trip, we landed, grabbed a rental, and headed to riverton, had a share in a cup runner, we didn't win, but enjoyed the  day, an took time out to visit the defunct thoroughbred tracks at Wyndham, Winton, which where nice courses, stopped an checked out gore track, one of our horses favourite tracks, 3 wins there including a gore cup by 10 lengths, no races there at the time, but did talk to a trainer working his horses at the time, Tony Stratford, and an associate was was working a galloper at time time, enjoyed my time there, not quite long enough, and will return one day,

Heck your parents were kind giving you a week off school to to go on holiday and racing, my mum wouldn't give me a day off or a half to go to races, which incidentally the 1200m cute start point right outside my classroom window which made the pain more unbearable, did get over in lunch hour for a race, or after school, those nuns must have been the kind ones, the ones in ours days were harder than Japanese arithmetic, no quater given on any score, and sure knew how to discipline the naughty ones, and the not so naughty, any favourites or good horses you remember from your era, be interested to hear a few.