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I don't think @Thomass is too worried about counting number of strikes. The stipes seem to have that reasonably under control. What he seems to be concerned about is that flank and head strikes go unattended. Any good reason why Matt should not have got the same penalty as Angela -50% of the winning riding fee- for the below breach? -
billy. I will just stick to your question and not the intent of it. i use the editing in about 90% of posts My normal practice is to type out my reply,have a quick read,then push submit,then use the 5 minutes available after posting that reply to edit any spelling mistakes or add anything that i may think relevant. So everyone has 5 minutes to edit their posts. i do not have spell check on my computer and 3/4 of my keyboard has the letters missing. I did twink them on one time,but the twink disappeared pretty quick anyway. So i often have typing errors in my posts for a start and edit them when i read them. And because my posts can be rather long winded ,i sometimes still have the odd spelling mistake or words joined together. being billy connolly i will throw in the first scottish joke that comes to mind. did you hear about the scotsman. He was that tight he only breathed in. oh,i've re read this post a couple of times first,so as to avoid the edits for you. -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
By Jonny Turner Craig Ferguson hopes playing chess rather than checkers with Wag Star will pay winning dividends in today’s Group 3 Central Otago Cup. Ferguson heads to Omakau knowing he has a horse to match it with any of his rivals in the 2000m feature. So the trainer-driver has been doing everything he can to encourage his stable star to show it to the big crowd that will be watching at Central Otago’s biggest annual race meeting. “He can be a moody horse and when he is on the job he can keep rolling at high speed and be very hard to get past.” “Other times he can be a bit casual about everything and he doesn’t give you the same feeling.” “We have been working on a few things lately to keep him happy and bring the best out in him.” “We had a few troubles with his feet but we seem to be on top of them now.” “We’ve changed his feed around and changed his work around and he seems to be in a good place at the moment.” “He is the sort of horse where it can depend what sort of mood he is in on the day but everything is looking pretty positive going into Omakau.” Wag Star brings the best possible form reference into the Central Otago Cup with his third behind Republican Party in the Group 1 Invercargill Cup. The six-year-old sat parked early before slotting into the one-one and going a nice race. “I was quite happy with his run it was his first run with the galloping hood on and he travelled well,” Ferguson said. “If he could go as well from the good draw (3) he has on Friday he would have to be a pretty good chance.” Ferguson starts a strong team at the Omakau meeting including Turn N Burn who ran second on her debut on Invercargill Cup Day. While that looks strong form Ferguson wasn’t thrilled with the filly that he races himself. “On the sectionals she ran she was a little bit average.” “The occasion of her first start may have got to her a little bit because it wasn’t up to her trials.” “She has improved with the run and her work has been quite sharp so hopefully she will be harder to beat this time.” Babe On The Beach has been the big improver in the Ferguson camp this summer and she heads to Omakau in strong form. “I reckon she has improved about three seconds this year.” “She’s doing a bit of work and showing plenty of fight – she’s stepped up.” “This week it will be a bit hard from the draw (12) but hopefully she can get a bit of luck and go another nice race.” Ferguson also has Beluga and Franco Seb going head to head at Omakau. “Beluga has been consistent lately and his work has stepped up a bit.” “He’s got the draw and gate speed but he has made a mistake early so we will have to play it by ear.” “Franco Seb has been an improver his last run was handy enough.” “He probably just needs a bit of luck from his draw (12).” Ferguson drives most of his team with Mark Hurrell to partner Franco Seb and Riley Harrison to drive Babe On The Beach. Pinseeker looking to slingshot them late in Central Otago Cup By Michael Guerin Jonny Cox is hoping his rivals go crazy in today’s $40,000 Ranfurly Transport Central Otago Cup. Because the Canterbury trainer-driver believes that could set the race up for his speedster Pinseeker in the signature race at Omakau’s popular annual meeting. Pinseeker is one of the best pacers in the 2000m mobile but had an interesting 2025, starting with a placing in this race last year, a Group 3 win in March, competing at the Inter Dominions and then choking down to finish last in the New Zealand Cup. One thing which isn’t in doubt is his speed and once he learns to control that he will sit comfortably in any elite class field in this country. That being the case he can win today but his fortunes may be dictated by what those drawn inside him do as he starts from the outside of the front line. “The draw obviously isn’t ideal but it could work out okay,” says Cox. “There is a lot of speed drawn inside him so we can’t go forward at the start so we will have to try and sneak into the running line somewhere. “Then his chances might depend on what the others do. “If they all get stuck into each other the we might get the chance to slingshot them late. “What we don’t want is a horse like Wag Star or Franco Sinatra to get an easy lead and enjoy an easy time in front.” Cox says he has had to put the dreadful New Zealand Cup experience behind Pinseeker and is looking forward. “I spoke to Mark Purdon after the race as I was following him and he said he could hear our horse’s breathing wasn’t right between the 1400m and the 1000m mark and then I felt him just stop. “So we are sure he choked down.” Pinseeker spent two weeks at the beach in the care of fellow trainer Bob Butt soon after and pleased Cox by bouncing back with a third in the Green Mile at Methven. “He has had his joints treated since then and has been working really well so he gets his chance here but so much will depend on how the race will be run. “Not only do you have those speedsters drawn inside us but a good horse in Alta Meteor drawing one on the second line by himself so he should be able to get away from the markers and into a nice spot pretty quickly.” Wag Star opened the $2.90 Cup favourite and was quickly backed in but while he has the best draw of the favourites it has been a long time since he won a race, albeit he has produced some smart performances in top class fields. While the Pacing Cup has a number of tempo-related scenarios the $40,000 Trotting Cup looks perfect for I Dream Of Jeannie (R11, No.5), who is in career-best form and finds herself in a field with plenty who are struggling to find their best at the moment. Earlier in the meeting Cox brings his talented trotter Prestigious (R8, No.9) to the lower grade trot and runs into a daunting rival in He Aint Fakin. The latter, a converted pacer, has won twice in three starts as a trotter and will be extremely hard to beat if his manners hold up in his first standing start. “He will take some beating but we really like our trotter long term,” says Cox. “Our boy is still a work in progress the win two starts ago showed he has a good motor so he could be in for a good year.” Racing journalist Jonny Turner’s Five To Follow at Omakau. Turn N Burn – Race 3 This filly looks to hold a key tactical advantage over her key rivals. Every year it is vital that horses race close to the pace at Omakau as getting too far back can be disastrous. Draws are an essential part of the equation, with barrier 2 looking a perfect spot for Turn N Burn. While her key rival Cinderella Franco has also drawn well in barrier 3, Turn N Burn holds a clear advantage. If Turn N Burn can hold the lead it could prove too much of a task for Cinderella Franco to come from behind her or outside her to beat her. Sonofamistery – Race 4 He’s simply better than his rivals and it is going to take a big slice of bad luck for him to get beaten. Sonofamistery’s luck is surely due to turn after he had to be pulled up at his last start at Ascot Park due to a gear malfunction. The three-year-old was impressive in his prior outing at Addington, running to an easy win. At $1.14 he’s no win betting proposition but Sonofamistery’s race is part of the early quaddie, and there are Trifectas and First4s to consider. He Aint Fakin – Race 8 This pacer turned trotter will traverse Australasia to have his first standing start at Omakau. While the newcomer to the trotting gait brings all the right form, he hasn’t seen the standing start tapes once in his 51 starts. It is certainly something for punters to ponder and it would be bold to think he is going to ping away quickly and settle right up on the pace. But there is one man that tips the scales of probability into the positive – the old master Phil Williamson. Knowing Phil, he’s put the time into teaching He Aint Fakin the standing start ropes and will have him prepped to make a safe getaway if circumstances allow. While some of his rivals are handy types, the eight-year-old should take plenty of holding out if he trots safely. One Over Da Line – Race 10 There aren’t the same concerns over One Over Da Line’s standing start prowess, though there are some similarities between him and He Aint Fakin. Both trotters are out to secure penalty-free wins for their junior drivers. One clear advantage One Over Da Line has is that his driver Riley Harrison knows him well. The trotter brings strong form in stronger company than he meets at Omakau and looks one of the stronger winning threats on the card Palladium – Race 12 He’s another whose winning price isn’t inspiring but that’s beyond punters’ control. Palladium was excellent in his last-start second at Ascot Park among a quality field of two-year-olds. He hadn’t been sighted at the races since early October and that run is sure to have tightened him up for his Omakau mission. In that October win, Palladium handled older horses in style suggesting that stepping out of age-group company and back in amongst hardy types won’t be a problem. After being a touch unlucky in his last-start second, chances are he will be in front and out of trouble this time. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
An exciting eight-race card brings in the New Year at Meydan Racecourse Jan. 2, when group 1 winners Audience and Dark Saffron are among those who will be in action.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
On the surface, hiring people who have battled substance abuse issues, some of whom have criminal records, might not seem like a good idea. But Elliott Walden, the president and CEO of racing operations for WinStar Farm, felt otherwise. His family had dealt with these issues for years. His son, Will, now a successful trainer who is sober, had dealt with addiction for years before turning his life around thanks to the Stable Recovery program, which was co-founded by Taylor Made's Frank Taylor and Christian Countzler. Stable Recovery helps addicts overcome their substance abuse issues and then helps find them jobs in the horse racing industry. The success of the program has been nothing short of remarkable. “I had seen things firsthand how well this worked through my son, Will, and his working through addiction and into sobriety and seeing his friendship with Christian Countzler, who started Stable Recovery with Frank Taylor,” Walden said. “He was very close to them. We knew they were going about it the right way. If Christian said these guys were solid, that's all I needed to hear.” So Walden got involved. WinStar is now one of a group of about 20 farms and racetracks that have signed on with Stable Recovery as Strategic Partners. What that means is that they are willing to hire, train and look after graduates of the program. Walden said WinStar currently employs eight individuals who have graduated from the program. “There are probably about 20 of what we call Strategic Partners,” Taylor said. “To be a Strategic Partner, all you need to do is to hire people that graduate from Stable Recovery and support them and pay them well. It's been miraculous. When we started Stable Recovery, the first two years, Taylor Made hired everybody and that's because we were that short of help. After that, we were fully staffed or overstaffed. Out of the blue people started calling me and said, 'Can I get some help?' We started sending people to different farms to work. That's when we coined the name Strategic Partners. That list has really grown and the quality of people and farms that we work with is just unbelievable. They are benefitting from our people and our people are benefitting a lot from them.” Walden admits that when he first approached WinStar owners Kenny and Lisa Troutt about hiring recovering addicts, it took some convincing for them to agree to do so. “We have had a great experience,” Walden said. “We started a little bit over a year and a half ago. I wouldn't call it a leap of faith, but it took some encouragement on my part with the Troutts to have them gain a comfort level when it came to employing these guys. Some of them have records. Many of them have checkered pasts. I am grateful to them for their Christian beliefs and their willingness to take a chance on these men.” Not only do the graduates work at WinStar, they live in a house on the farm. It is Ann Hayes who oversees the Stable Recovery program for the WinStar employees. “We dedicated a house that they live in and they support each other,” Walden said. “Ann Hayes has helped us look after the Stable Recovery guys and give them support. She's the one that just saw the good in each one of them and the men they were becoming. It's been really exciting to see their growth and development.” Walden says that he has had one person who didn't make it once hired by WinStar, but said that was an unusual situation. “Sometimes things happen, but it happens very rarely,” he said. “The great thing about it is that most of these guys have stayed sober from the time they have been there. We might have lost one that didn't work out. But those are great statistics when it comes to people in recovery.” Most have been exemplary. “That's part of the beauty of this program,” Walden said. “They are still accountable to Stable Recovery, even though they are working at WinStar and are living at WinStar. They still go over there for meetings once a week. They have touch points with other guys in the program. They are helping the younger guys in the program continue to develop. It's truly what recovery is all about. It's not about yourself; it's about helping the next man.” Several of the Stable Recovery grads work directly with the horses at WinStar. Walden said that it's no coincidence that the men have thrived once connected with the horses. “There is a connection point where the horses love these guys right from the start,” he said. “Quite honestly, they probably haven't felt that in a long time. They've burned a lot of bridges, not only with their families, but in the workplace as well. The horses come in and they are able to love them exactly where they are and they love the horse back. It's a beautiful thing to see. Recovery, if done well, it's done through a spiritual lens. The connection they develop with the horses brings about something outside of themselves and can help them in that spiritual plane. They are caring for something besides themselves. It's not about themselves. It's helping others and it's about helping a horse, and that gives them a responsibility. I think it is part of the secret sauce.” The Strategic Partners program now includes some of the biggest names in the industry, giants like Coolmore, Denali, Godolphin, Juddmonte and Keeneland. Spy Coast Farm has started a program that specializes in taking in female graduates of the Stable Recovery Taylor said his experiences with Keeneland have been typical of the type of cooperation he has gotten from within the industry. “The Keeneland team has been fantastic,” he said. “We've got guys working out there and thriving. I see that continuing to grow and they have been a great partner. Some of the guys work at sales time with the horses, but their main jobs have been doing maintenance. Keeneland has been a big supporter and they believe in what we are doing, they built a house out there for some of our guys to live in. We have something like eight people living on the Keeneland property that are Stable Recovery graduates. They were willing to give them a chance.” Taylor added that the Strategic Partners program has done more than just help recovering addicts. It has helped to fill what has become a huge need for an industry that has struggled to maintain a suitable workforce. “You're helping in two ways,” he said. “You're not only saving a life and the extended families of these men and women who have battled addiction. You're also helping to create a workforce. How many people in this country are addicted? This is a way to just start helping and to be part of the solution instead of the problem.” With the Strategic Partner initiative having taken off, Taylor is justifiably proud of the program, what he and Countzler have helped accomplish and the progress the graduates have made. “It doesn't work perfectly every time, but, overall we are having great success,” he said. “I get more out of this than anybody. It's so much fun to see these guys change their lives and enjoy success.” The post Stable Recovery Graduates Are Thriving at WinStar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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