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I would have led him in.

Multiple Group One winner Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto) will have a light autumn in preparation for a spring campaign aimed at The Everest.  The Ciaron Maher-trained galloper will kick off in Melbourne with the Gr.1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield before venturing north where he will contest the Gr.1 T J Smith (1200m) and the Gr.1 All-Aged Stakes (1400m), both at Randwick, in April.  After that it will be off to the paddock to prepare for the Gr.1 The Everest (1200m) at Randwick in October, a race he finished third in behind Ka Ying Rising last year.  Maher took advantage of taking Jimmysstar to Caulfield on Tuesday morning in preparation for the William Reid, which will this year be run at Caulfield on March 21.  Jimmysstar has an excellent Caulfield record, winning the Gr.1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) first-up last autumn while at his most recent racetrack appearance he took out the Gr.1 C F Orr Stakes (1400m) in November.  “He spelled well and I’ve just been ticking him over,” Maher said.  “He hasn’t done a lot, but I thought we could bring him away to a nice surface today and warm the cockles up a little bit.  “He seems great. His condition is really good, his action, I’m happy with it.  “I don’t want to give him too taxing an autumn with a view to having him pretty right for a shot at The Everest again.”  Maher concedes Jimmysstar is more effective at 1400m than over the shorter sprint trips, but has a devastating turn of foot, especially fresh.  After finishing third in The Everest, Jimmysstar went on to win the Russell Balding (1300m) at Randwick before making his way to Melbourne to take out the C F Orr.  “He got better as he went along and as the distances slowly increased, winning the Russell Balding and then down here,” Maher said.  “The 1400 metres is probably his pet distance, and we keep him fresher for the ones shorter.  “He likes coming here to Caulfield, he’s got a good record here, and the William Reid, being run here, the conditions suit him and the track suits him.  “So far, so good.”  View the full article

A Tuesday morning trip across to Te Rapa has Cambridge trainer Andrew Forsman in a positive frame of mind with his quartet of feature race candidates at Waikato Thoroughbred Racing headquarters on Saturday. Heading the contingent is Hinekaha (NZ) (Savabeel), who had raceday rider Craig Grylls in the saddle for a solo hitout on the Te Rapa course proper as she prepared for her Group One debut in the $700,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m). “The track was lovely after a bit of rain overnight and it was good to get across there for a nice hitout ahead of the weekend,” Forsman said. “Hinekaha worked over 1400m and picked up the tempo from the 800. She got home in around 36.5, which was great work, she did it very well. “Craig was very happy with her too, so she looks all set for Saturday.” The Savabeel mare completed a hat-trick when winning the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes over the same 2000m as Saturday’s weight-for-age feature at Te Rapa in December. In her only start since she closed late for a short-neck second to Tuxedo in the Gr.3 Aotearoa Classic (1600m) on the Karaka Millions card and will be more suited to the additional distance on Saturday. While having some reservations at the step up to Group One weight-for-age company, Forsman counters that by the physical improvement Hinekaha has made in her four-year-old season, combined with what is shaping as less challenging opposition than originally anticipated. “She’s a completely different proposition to this time last year, she’s so much bigger and stronger. There’s still a little way to go, but the way this track plays for her it really suits, and with the field not quite as strong as it looked originally, we’ve decided to run. “Put it this way, I think she’s going well enough to do it.” Forsman is also looking forward to testing some of the rising talent in his team, two of them against age-group opposition in the Gr.2 David &Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2100m), Gr.2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas (2000m) and the other in the special conditions Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m). Single Red (NZ) (Vanbrugh), the winner of her last two starts, is entered for both three-year-old features, Chilling Out (NZ) (Savabeel), who finished fifth in the Listed Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), is in the Ellis Classic, while Rambling On (NZ) (Almanzor), a winner at Te Rapa in December, prepared for the Karapiro Classic with a recent trial win at Pukekohe. “They’re all in good shape and worked well this morning,” Forsman said. “I’ve yet to make up my mind with Single Red as to which race she runs in, but it might get down to whether they ballot her in one of them. “Chilling Out is also a filly I really like but she’s a bit like Hinekaha a year ago, so we’ll take her one race at a time. “Rambling On is a four-year-old that I’ve been able to bring along quietly but he’s come to hand well lately and the ($350,000) stake on Saturday is definitely worth a crack at.”  View the full article

I bet the staff were lining up to lead that bloke in!

Regardless of how it was funded it was never enough.  Clubs needed to get alternative revenue. The whole Club funding model is crap.  Make the stakes portion of the wagering revenue contestable based on a number of key metrics. However a Club still needs other sources of revenue. Your model would only fund less than 10 racecourses IF they didnt have other sources of funding.

Bit of hurdle practice maybe

Well it used to be funded by clubs themselves from their wagering revenue. Since bulk funding came in, NZTR now distribute that to clubs, however they have dictated that funding be used almost entirely for stakes, thus removing clubs' funding for infrastructure.

Why is it incumbent?  If it is then NZTR have the option of choosing WHO they fund using the limited amount of funds they have. Next you will be saying it is incumbent on the NZ Taxpayer to fund your hobby.

When was the last competitive sport you competed in @Thomass aka @bono ?  Let me guess tiddlewinks at the local RSA?  Sorry I meant indoor bowls.  I tell you now in my sporting career I had my elbows out and so did everyone else.