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Sure it does but if your horse is aiming for a BM65 or even a maiden does the extra cost to travel to Hawera instead of Woodville really matter?  Some owners gain some lose.  Swings and roundabouts.   The point is everyone is looking for flexibility in shifting meetings to avoid abandoments and when NZTR is proactive in doing so you all still complain!

That cost pales when you can't get a start!  Or as happened to my mate two away trips to see their horse race and two abandonments in three weeks.  Abandoned one week then raced two days later at a different location.  Then two weeks later race abandoned and two days later racing in a different location again! Add to the cost of the duplicate float trips there was travel and accommodation costs for the owner to watch Group races!  What would you rather have a race that is transferred a week or a few days out to a different location or no race at all?

Presenter-driver-trainer Brittany Graham knows a thing or two about racing on both sides of the Tasman and now that the Queenslander is working for Trackside in this country she’s (reluctantly) agreed to write a weekly column. Who wins and why at Addington tonight? By Brittany Graham  The final Group 1 for the first half of 2025 will take place at Addington tonight (Friday) in the Welcome Stakes, alongside a pair of competitive open company features as part of a 10-race card, starting at 5.02pm.    Race 6 7.34pm – Avon City Ford NZ Welcomes Stakes (GR1) Fugitive looks to be in prime position to be an early season dual Group 1 winner when he leaves from gate four as a short-priced favourite in the Welcome Stakes. His Young Guns success showed his immense talent when being forced to breeze throughout in solid time, before holding off a late challenge. Returning to the south last week, he couldn’t have asked for a better prep run when cruising to victory and his gate speed is a big asset. Allamericanplayer fell desperately short of his own elite success when a slashing nose second behind Fugitive three weeks ago after being held up in a peg line pocket to the turn. A beautifully-bred Stonewall trainee, his high speed makes him exceptionally dangerous from this improved gate of 1. He arrived in the South Island barn earlier this week, and despite a positive draw, he is yet to show a lot of early speed and will also racing left-handed for the first time. Freeze Frame and Rakero Maximus both draw wide which have no doubt hindered their chances, however, are both talents in their own right. Freeze Frame would love a genuine tempo as evidenced by his great second in the Diamond Creek Classic at Invercargill, while Rakero Maximus is a work in progress but possesses above average ability. Selections – (4) Fugitive, (1) Allamericanplayer, (5) Freeze Frame and (7) Rakero Maximus   Race 7 8.04pm – Hydroflow NZ Country Championship Final (Listed) A full field of 16 pacers will line up for a $100,000 stake in the fourth edition of the Country Championships final over the New Zealand Cup distance and conditions of the 3200m stand. Pinseeker is currently favoured to clinch his biggest career success to date after running some brilliant recent races, including a slashing fifth in The Race By betcha. Not much has gone right for the 5YO subsequently, getting a long way back in the Rangiora Winter Cup and doing a lot of work when third in the Superstars a fortnight ago. As will be the case for all, a quick beginning will be vital after he shuffled away a fraction at Rangiora. Wag Star has been placed at his last three starts, including back-to-back eye catchers here at Addington in the last fortnight. It appears as though his best pattern presently is to be saved up for one run, but his turn of foot will take him a long way should he land a kind spot off his 10metre handicap. In a race with a multitude of chances, I am going to side with Betterthancash at an each way price from a cosy draw. Very unlucky in recent times, he is a great follower of speed and follows out a quick beginner which should assist him in getting the kind of trip he appreciates. Here’s Herbie has been popular in early markets off the back of his recent return to winning form. Selections –  (11) Betterthancash, (17) Pinseeker, (14) Wag Star, (12) The Surfer   Race 8 8.32pm Haras Des Trotteurs Heather Williams Memorial (GR3) The trotting mares will have their time to shine, and an opportunity for group race success in the final feature of the night. Eurostyle has returned in sparkling form, winning three of her four efforts this preparation including last week’s Uncut Gems Trotters Classic when performing superbly off her 30metre back mark. She was forced to cart the field up off a strong tempo and then did all the work wide to win comprehensively with the ear plugs still in. She has a smart mobile record, even though she was a little tardy behind the gate at her last effort. Nellie Doyle will make her mobile debut after a late mistake last time out, while Julie Jaccka is in super form herself an possesses excellent early pace from behind the mobile. Walkinonsunshine returns from a fairly fruitful northern campaign however has her asset of gate speed taken away with a second-row draw, while Hidden Talent was exceptional without luck last start, though needs some again from position 13. Selections – (9) Eurostyle, (7) Julie Jaccka, (13) Hidden Talent and (11) Walkinonsunshine   View the full article

It matters to the owner paying the float account.

Homebred gelding Tobias (NZ) (Complacent) was a revelation for owner-trainer Tony Dravitzki last winter, and the Stratford horseman is hoping he can find a similar vein of form over the colder months this year. The now seven-year-old son of Complacent won four races on the bounce last winter, including the New Plymouth Interprovincial (1600m), before running fourth in the Gr.3 Metric Mile (1600m) at Wanganui. Dravitzki has been pleased with the way his seven-win gelding has come up this time in and is looking forward to kicking off his preparation in the Seaton Park 1400 at New Plymouth on Saturday. “He has matured a bit more mentally. He is more settled in his work, he is quite an excitable sort of horse,” Dravitzki said. “He is about where I want him, but he is going to take great benefit out of the run. Even though he has got a good fresh record, I don’t think he is 100 percent yet. “The track conditions (rated Heavy8 on Friday morning) won’t be any problem and he has won about four races at New Plymouth, it’s a good place to kick-off his campaign.” Depending on his first couple of outings, Dravitzki is weighing up two different paths for Tobias. “If he is not up to the top grade, I would like to get back to the Interprovincial again, but if he is going alright, he may sneak into the Opunake Cup (Listed, 1400m), which is a bit short of his best distance, he is really a miler,” Dravitzki said. While the winner of the Opunake Cup earns a golden ticket into the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton in August, Dravitzki isn’t entertaining a trip south. “I wouldn’t have any thought of going to Riccarton, it is just too far, and he would be coming to the end of his preparation,” he said. Meanwhile, stablemate More To Be Written (NZ) (Wrote) is unlikely to gain a start on Saturday, being fourth on the ballot for the Landmark Homes 1600, and Dravitzki said he may need to be a bit creative with his targets in order to gain a start. “He’s very well,” Dravitzki said. “His run wasn’t too bad at all at Trentham fresh-up, he was only three lengths off the winner. “He is struggling to get a start. I may have to start looking to run him out of his grade just to keep him up to the mark.” While finding a start is becoming problematic for More To Be Written, Dravitzki is excited about the prospects of his half-brother Inthemickoftime (NZ) (Time Test), who will head to the Foxton trials next week before returning to the races. “He was overawed by his first raceday at Woodville three weeks ago, so I am taking him back to the trials next Tuesday at Foxton to give him a trip away and a bit more education,” he said. “I have got quite a bit of time for him.” View the full article

Wanganui trainer Jo Rathbone has taken a golden opportunity to give a number of her stable a trip away to Ellerslie this weekend. Rathbone had not initially nominated for the Sunday meeting, but after seeing the initial line-up of runners, she has accepted with four horses, including progressive stayer Overdraft (NZ) (Burgundy) and the versatile Billy Boy (So You Think). “I saw that the fields were a little bit weak up there, so as a bit of an afterthought I late nominated all of them,” she said. “Billy Boy has travelled a lot, but the rest not really, so it’s part of my reasoning for going to get them travelling a bit and giving them a trip away. Going right-handed is also good education for them.” A winner in his last two starts, including the Woodville-Pahiatua Cup (2100m), Overdraft is moving swiftly through the grades and will face open-class and Rating 75 gallopers in the Kingmakers Syndication 2200. “This is out of his grade, but he’s been going nice enough races and in a small field up there, it’s worth a try,” Rathbone said. “He’s been doing a bit of work and schooling. “He’s performed on better tracks and wet tracks and doesn’t seem to be bothered either way. There will be a bit of give in that track up there as well, so it should be nice enough for him.” The son of Burgundy will carry just 54kg under Kelly Myers with the weight swing in his favour, while stablemate Billy Boy is among the top-rated runners in the Join TAB Racing Club 2400 for highweight jockeys. “He’s very full of himself so he’s come through his last run really well, he was only a length away there and he’s getting fitter,” Rathbone said. “2400m will definitely suit him.” The least experienced gallopers heading north will be Shinagawa (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) and Thebudgiesmugla (NZ) (Redwood), both with just two starts under their belt. The pair will both have three kilograms off their allocated weight in the Network Visuals 2200m, courtesy of visiting hoops Joshua Parker and Bella Oliver. “Shinagawa has probably had slightly average runs so far, but I think she’s been looking for the 2000m,” Rathbone said. “It’s just whether she can settle a bit more, because she does try to go a bit too hard early. “Hopefully she can do so and get the trip. “I quite like Thebudgiesmugla, I think he’s a really nice horse but is just still learning at this stage. He’s on the green side, but in another six months, he’ll only have improved off what he does now. “I think he’ll be a really nice jumper in the future as well.” View the full article

Former Hong Kong galloper Compulsory (No Nay Never) has been a model of consistency for Tim and Margaret Carter since joining their Cambridge barn late last year, and he will be out to score a breakthrough victory in the JRA Trophy 1400 at Ellerslie on Sunday. The six-year-old son of No Nay Never placed in just one of his 20 starts in Hong Kong for trainers Tony Millard and Michael Chang, but has thrived since arriving in New Zealand, placing in four of his five starts for the Carters. The husband-and-wife team, who now share in the ownership of the gelding, have been pleased with his progress and are hoping the 25-start maiden can finally be rewarded for his consistency this weekend. “I am absolutely gobsmacked why he never won races in Hong Kong,” Tim Carter said. “He was sent down by the owners to try (in New Zealand) but they decided not to persevere, they had another horse in Hong Kong, so they gave us the ownership of the horse. “He is quite an impressive looking horse, he is a lovely type of horse. He is very consistent and maybe it’s a change of environment that has helped. “The draw (20) might be a bit of an issue, but his best form is when he gets back in the field and comes home anyway.” While pleased with his current run of form, Carter said they won’t be going too deep into the winter with their charge. “He is a horse that likes good tracks, so we will just keep racing him while the tracks are good. Once we get right into winter, we will have to tip him out,” he said. A day prior at Te Rapa, the Carters will have a sole representative in Pukana (NZ) (Tivaci). The Tivaci gelding was initially on the ballot for the PGG Wrightson Grain 1400, but has made the field due to several scratchings. “We have just made the field,” Carter said. “I have put (four-kilogram claiming apprentice) Hayley Hassman on. He is not a big horse, but he has got some ability the little fella. “There is no reason why he shouldn’t run a decent sort of race.” View the full article

Spot the Clegg hammer! Where are the stones! If you want to comment please comment on this thread:  

In-form filly Belle Tribute (NZ) (Contributer) is the latest rising star from a family that Allan Sharrock has enjoyed a remarkable run of success with. The daughter of Contributer will bid to complete a hat-trick of victories when she heads a sizeable team for the Taranaki trainer at his local meeting at New Plymouth on Saturday. Belle Tribute will run in the AB Electrical 3YO (1400m) and will be shooting for Sharrock’s 40th win with the progeny of Maroof’s daughter Bellaroof. “I bought her as a yearling (for $40,000) and she has just kept leaving winner after winner, she has been a hell of a mare,” he said. Sharrock prepared Bellaroof to win on five occasions and has trained all her offspring, including the multiple Group winners Tavi Mac (NZ) (Tavistock) and Darci La Bella (NZ) (Darci Brahma). “I think the mare has a good talk to them all when they’re young because they all have that will to win,” he said. “Tavi Mac had a sway back and was about 15.1h and they’re all different, but they can all certainly gallop.” Two more youngsters out of Bellaroof are also in the pipeline for Sharrock. “She’s been a great mare to us and we’ve got more to come, a Tarzino two-year-old (Tarzi Mac) and a Sword Of State yearling so long may it continue,” he said. “I’m educating the Tarzino now and I’ll bet my bottom dollar that he’ll run as well.” Belle Tribute has won her last two starts at Wanganui and the form has stood up well as on each occasion, last Saturday’s Trentham winner Coulthard was a minor placegetter. “I really rate her and she’s now won three out of eight and hasn’t done a bad job for a filly that is going to get better and better with time,” Sharrock said. Belle Tribute’s chances will be further enhanced with the booking of an in-form apprentice. “I’ve taken the luxury of having 3kg off with Amber Riddell so it’s going to make it hard for the rest of them when she drops to 53.5kg,” Sharrock said. “I think she’s my best chance, but Malachy (NZ) (Ocean Park) has got to be tough and I Don’t (NZ) (Savabeel) won a jump-out the other day by six lengths. “There’s a few there that will be around about, they are all working well and I’ve been home from America for two weeks and the staff have done a great job. Everything seems to be going well.” Malachy has been sound in his last two appearances and will clash with a fresh I Don’t, a past first-up winner, in the Landmark Homes Handicap (1600m). View the full article