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The decision to bench Luke Ferraris from My Wish ahead of his tilt at the Group One Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) later this month is one that I cannot wrap my head around, but once again highlights the brutal reality riders can face in Hong Kong. Ferraris has been on board My Wish for 13 of his 15 starts, winning on him five times, including a poignant success in the Classic Mile to give himself and trainer Mark Newnham their first feature wins in the city. The pair teamed up for Group Three glory on...View the full article

just to emphasis my point. if you look at the munber of drivers who drove in nz  races in 2019. There were 236. in 2025, there was only 196,and 9 of those were only here for the world drivers champs. so the figure really is 187. so hrnz have introduced all these so called clever penalty junior initiatives to keep people in the sport, yet in just  6 years,there has been a 20% drop in the numbers(49 indivuidual drivers) who drove. hrnz say their concession and penalty free system is designed to keep people in the sport.Who are they fooling?

i see where your coming from.Thats where good programming and handicapping should come into play. Horses whose first win is in a weak non win race and subsequently prove uncompetitive in the 1 win grade,unfortunately are  considered of no value by the handicappers and race programmers. i've made that point myself a few times in the past,but thats the reality. Its a handicapping and programming issue,not a penalty free win issue. also,if they made the manawatu races   penalty free races like you suggest,then theoretically you could have a horse start each week over 2 1/2 months,have a  win in a  junior drivers penalty free race,then the manawatu penalty free race you suggest,as well as win  2 half points junior driver wins  and be given quiet runs in the other 6 races and be  unplaced,and that horse would still be rated the same as it would be had it not started.in other words instead of 3 wins and ending up back at square 1 you are suggesting they get 4 wins and end up back at square 1. HRNZ have already gone totally overboard in how they prioritise the junior drivers over other participants. LIke ,why does hrnz have a policy that will pay for the juniors licences,their gear,give them oopprtunities to get drives due to the penalty free wins and half penalties,yet say to everyone else who battles away to make a living that they are entitled to no help.Also have the dumbos at hrnz not realised that many of the  people  losing their drives to the claiming juniors will be the ones who were juniors up until a year or two prior. The ex juniors who struggled  getting drives receive no support from anyone when they lose their junior driver status. Anyobne who thinks they do is kidding themselves. Why would anyone put them on when they can use a current junior who will get them half points and penalty free wins. Just go look at the juniors who struggled for drives 5 years ago and you will see what i mean.You never hear of  them again. and as i pointed out in a post last year,the juniorsin the bottom half of the premiership are not benefitting fro0 the cureent system one bit. They are not getting any extra drives at all. the stats show that.  neally i think the whole penalty free system is stacked in favour of and against certain sectors of the industry. HRNZ know it,everyone knows it,but they simply don't care about that sector. HRNZ focus is very much on prioritising some sectors of the industry over others. Its very much illustrated in the penalty free,half penalty system ,whetehr it be junior drivers or 2 year olds or 3 year olds. i

Many of those maiden trots with only 6, some only win by default, look at Palmy today, Nelson tomorrow.

Damian Lane will head to New Zealand for the rich Karaka Millions meeting later this month. The star Australian jockey has secured several key bookings and will ride Torture for Lindsay Park in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200 metres) on January 24. He’s also booked to ride Espionage (Zoustar) in the Group 1 Sistema Railway (1200 metres) for Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson. That name will be familiar for plenty of Australian racing fans, with Espionage a former highly-touted galloper in the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable. The horse was last seen in Australia finishing fifth behind the super talented Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) in the Theo Marks over 1300 metres in September. The son of Zoustar finished third in his first run in New Zealand. Lane is also booked to ride Checkmate (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) in the Group 3 Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600 metres) and To Cap It All (Capitalist) in the Group 3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Trophy (1200 metres). View the full article

Former classy youngster Super Photon returned to winning form at Tauranga on Thursday when taking care of a strong line-up in the Dane Crockford Ray White Greerton 1500. The four-year-old son of Super Seth had shown plenty of ability in his formative years, winning both of his starts as a juvenile, including the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1400m). He continued to please as a three-year-old, adding a further two wins to his tally before undergoing a wind operation late last season. He failed to fire in his first three starts as a four-year-old, finishing last in his first two outings before running fifth at Taupo last month, and was unwanted by punters on Thursday, drifting out to a $10.80 outsider in the seven-horse field. Trainer Stephen Marsh wanted to see his charge relax during the running and utilised the services of jockey Sam Weatherley, who did just that when settling off the pace, three back on the rail. He subsequently progressed into the one-one behind Island Life when rounding the turn for home. Weatherley went in search for a run up the rail, but that gap closed inside The Underbelly, and he shifted back out to chase race favourite Dealt With. Super Photon showed glimpses of his former self when displaying a good turn of foot late to reel him in and win by a neck. “I was starting to scratch my head a little bit,” Marsh said. “He had been drawing well, he just hadn’t been settling. I put Sam Weatherley on who is very good at getting a horse to settle, he always has been. I said to him ‘I don’t care where you are in the running, as long as he is relaxed’. “He probably paraded the best I have seen him today too. He was off the bridle and wasn’t on his toes. I loved the fact that he was really nice and relaxed in the running. When he went for that inside run I thought it might have cost him, but he was really good to the line. “It was a nice field of horses and he was really good late, so I am very happy.” Marsh was rapt that Super Photon is back on track to showing the talent he promised as a juvenile. “He has had his fair share of problems along the way, he had a wind operation as a late three-year-old,” Marsh said. “He does have a lot of ability, he has got a great turn of foot, and it was good that he showed it all again today.” Following his pleasing performance, Marsh is now looking towards some feature mile targets with Super Photon, which could include the Gr.3 Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night. “He might have just put his hand up,” Marsh said. Weatherley was just as impressed with Super Photon’s performance and believes he is up to tackling stakes company once more. “Early on as a two and three-year-old it looked like he was one of our better horses going around and he just had a few different issues. He has been doing a few things wrong of late in his races and probably not finishing off like he could,” he said. “Marshy just wanted me to relax him early and if he was anywhere near his best he was going to be finishing off strongly. “It wasn’t just a midweek field. If he can take a bit of confidence out of this, which I expect him to, he will step up to Group level again somewhere.” Super Photon is raced by the Bourbon Lane Stable New Zealand partnership and their colours were to the fore once again later in the day when stable and ownership mate Kiwi Skyhawk won the Ray White Greerton 2100. “He hasn’t been getting a lot of luck,” Marsh said. “I put Warren (Kennedy, jockey) on today, who is a beautiful rider of a stayer. I said ‘use your draw’ (1) and he got him there. I thought he came off the bridle a little bit at about the 700m and I was a little bit worried, but they were going very quick. “It was nice to see him back in the winning groove and to get a couple of winners in the Bourbon Lane colours, especially going into the sales.” Doddle finished well to secure a stable quinella in the race. “Bill (Wiremu Pinn, jockey) got her nice and relaxed and she attacked the line really well,” Marsh said. “She might have been a bit inconvenienced with such a quick speed.” Marsh had a day to remember at Tauranga, also scoring wins with Battle Tycoon in the Ray White Real Estate Maiden 3YO 1300 and Bellarista in the Social Club Greerton 1200. View the full article

Regally-bred gelding Sarti (NZ) (Snitzel) has a long way to go to live up to his breeding, but he made the perfect start to his career when winning impressively on debut at Tauranga on Thursday. A son of champion sire Snitzel and Group One-winning mare Guiseppina, Sarti was bred by Sir Peter Vela, under his Pencarrow Thoroughbreds banner, and races in his familiar blue and white silks for trainers Ken and Bev Kelso. The Matamata couple have taken a patient approach with the four-year-old, who has had three trials prior to his debut, with his latest being a winning performance over 800m at Pukekohe last month. Despite his breeding and promise, there was greater fervour surrounding fellow debutant Pilates (NZ) (Savabeel) in the Keith Stringer Maiden 1200, with the three-year-old filly backed into a $1.40 favourite on the back of two trial victories late last year. From his outside draw, jockey Vinnie Colgan took Sarti straight back to settle at the rear of the field. Turning for home, Colgan was able to extricate his charge off the rail and work their way to clear running room out wide where Sarti unleashed a good turn of foot to run over the top of his rivals to win by a length over Deep Pursuit (Deep Field), with a further length back to Pilates in third. “He drew a bit niggly (8) and we elected to go back,” Colgan said. “We were going to be happy with him punching through the line, and he did a bit more than that, so it was pretty impressive.” Ken Kelso was also impressed with Sarti’s debut display. “I wouldn’t say it is a surprise. His trials have been okay, but trials are trials,” he said. “We have just had to wait for him, he is a big, lean machine and has taken time, but he has always shown ability. “I told Vinnie to let him find his feet, get him balanced up and hopefully he can find the line, and that is what he did.” Kelso has tasted plenty of success with horses he has trained for Sir Peter Vela, most recently Group One performer Supera (NZ) (Savabeel), and he is hoping Sarti can reach similar lofty heights. “We have had a lot of luck for Sir Peter and it is good to get another one,” Kelso said. “Hopefully he can go on and be as good as some of the others.” While he holds high hopes for Sarti, Kelso said he will continue his patient approach with the gelding. “He is a four-year-old and a gelding, so we will just take our time with him and he will go through the grades,” he said. “Hopefully he will keep developing as we go along.” View the full article

why?

Tony Cruz’s bid for a remarkable eighth victory in the Classic Mile will ramp up on Sunday and the legendary horseman is confident Beauty Bolt can stamp his credentials as a leading contender. Seeking his first Classic Mile in 11 years, Cruz won the first leg of the four-year-old series three times as a jockey in the 1980s and 1990s before tasting success as a trainer with Floral Pegasus (2007), Helene Mascot (2008), Beauty Flash (2010) and Beauty Only (2015). Irish import Beauty Bolt, an...View the full article