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In more than three decades’ training Bill Thurlow has yet to race a horse at Matamata, but that’s about to change with two stable members entered for the eastern Waikato venue’s biggest ever race meeting on Saturday. The Waverley horseman, who since the start of the season has been training in partnership with former heavyweight jockey Sam O’Malley, is scheduled to head north with stable members Frank The Tank (NZ) (Burgundy) and Wire Rope (NZ) (Darci Brahma). Both are entered for the $350,000 Comag Wairere Falls Classic (1500m), while Wire Rope has a contingency nomination for the Rating 75 1600m on the undercard. This will be the second year the Wairere Falls Classic has been contested at Matamata and the first time on the same programme as the two-year-old double-header of the Gr.2 J Swap Contractors Matamata Breeders’ Stakes and Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper. That also means the for the first time total stakes at the Matamata Racing Club’s marquee raceday will exceed $1 million. Off his rating of 79, Frank The Tank will safely make the 14-horse cut for the Wairere Falls Classic, however with two less rating points Wire Rope is just outside the limit. “I’d love them both to get a start, but we might need a bit of luck with Wire Rope,” Thurlow said. “It’s not often you get the chance to race for this sort of money with mid-grade horses, so we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed there. “The forecast for a bit of rain later in the week should play into their hands, as they both like a bit of cut in the ground. “Frank The Tank had some issues with his feet in the spring and that held him up, and he needed the run when he finished fifth at Waverley last week. “He was a bit burly for that but his work since has been good, so I figure he’s about where he needs to be. “Wire Rope has been racing very well (for two wins and second from his last three starts), so it would be good to see him get his chance. “The other race is still worth a crack, so I’m looking forward to heading up there. From memory I took a jumper up to Matamata years ago but I think they ended up calling the races off, so this will be my first try there.” Meanwhile, Thurlow reports that stable star Whangaehu (NZ) (Proisir) has made all the right moves since finishing third at Ellerslie 10 days ago and is on target for the Gr.3 Avondale Cup (2400m) on Saturday week. It’s coming up seven years since Thurlow won the Avondale Cup with Glory Days, and he’s looking forward to another shot at that race and the ultimate prize, the Gr.2 Auckland Cup, that the Red Giant mare added at her next start. “It was a big relief to see him run so well last time,” Thurlow said. “We still haven’t been able to work out why his form was so poor earlier in the season, all we can assume is he’s one of those horses that for some reason won’t come up in the spring. “But the main thing is that was more like him at Ellerslie to see him finishing off so well and we’ve been really happy with him since, so everything’s on target. “We’ve got Craig Grylls booked to ride him in the Avondale Cup and all going well he’ll be on him in the Auckland Cup too.” View the full article

The world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress), will face nine rivals when he attempts to break Silent Witness’ seventeen race winning streak in the Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup on February 22. The David Hayes-trained and Zac Purton-ridden five-year-old will tackle familiar foes Helios Express and Lucky Sweynesse in the 1400m Group One event, which he prevailed in last year. Former Aussies Copartner Prance, Galaxy Patch and Packing Hermod, last start winner Patch Of Theta, Hong Kong sprint runner up Raging Blizzard, Champions Mile victor Red Lion and classy performer Sunlight Power are the others whose connections are game enough to challenge Ka Ying Rising. Since his triumph in The Everest during the spring, Ka Ying Rising has been in dominant form in Hong Kong, effortlessly winning his three subsequent starts at Sha Tin. Ka Ying Rising was back at the barrier trials at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning and while he had to cover ground in the 1200m dirt heat, he still pulled away to win comfortably for Purton. “He broke one (minute) eight (seconds) and I don’t think Zac was doing too much on him; he had a nice, healthy blow,” Hayes told the South China Morning Post. “We just let him relax in the first part of the trial, practicing for 1400m in a couple of weeks. I like the way he responded, he just took a sit, easy, and then Zac strode up and he won as you’d expect.” After suffering narrow defeats to Wunderbar at his second and third starts, Ka Ying Rising’s winning streak dates back to February 2024 as he rapidly rose through the grades before landing his first Group 1 at the end of that year. View the full article

Your logic. If for medical reasons it would be to make them fit (or more fit) to ride wouldn't it?

Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has urged racing officials worldwide to work together to help the sport prosper and grow a new fan base. Speaking at the Asian Racing Conference in Riyadh on Tuesday, Engelbrecht-Bresges highlighted several challenges the industry was facing, including the threat of illegal betting on integrity. The conference’s three-day business programme started on Tuesday with the opening session ‘The Evolving Global Racing and Sporting...View the full article

If someone needed to take cannabis for medical reasons logic says they wouldn't be fit to ride.

Does anyone know how racing now deals with cannabis use,  it any  positive reading  comes via a medical prescription? would a rider or stable hand or track rider etc have to declare so use? would the test be made public?

So are people not really interested in the quality of the racing just looking for a good day out.

It would be interesting to compare and contrast how Waikouaiti  which used to have Jan 1st,  Now Riverton on that day.  Waikouaiti moved to Wingatui (was it Jan 9th?) with good fields and stakes, but didn't seem like that many on course!  The old Waikouaiti is gone,  a few jockeys have mentioned it was never that safe!

Yes, they have had that date for many years but in the past they have shared it with other clubs. The most recent was Te Rapa  up to about 10 years ago and from memory Riccarton has also raced on that day in the past. Holidays are no longer the guaranteed windfall as many years ago. Trentham and Awapuni used to race on the Wellington Anniversary Day and they both dropped this day some time ago. On 3 January this year Trentham raced in front of very small crowd even though they were part of "The Grand Tour" On 2 January many thousands drove up the Hutt Valley past Trentham to attend Tauherenikau and had no intention of attending Trentham the next day. Hawkes bay used to race on 1 January, and their crowds dropped off so they moved to an earlier day.