Chief Stipe

Well Verry Elleegant won her maiden at Ruakaka so I guess anything is possible. But you're the expert.

Are referring to Ellerslie or Awaphni ? In my opinion the bend is fine just the last part needs cambering until they straighten which means moving the shute. No need to move the finishing post etc.

When I walked the new track there was a camber but it drops off well before the turn. I think that's why you see horses improve positions well before then, glide round the final bit then go for it. Or sit and wait and hope you get some gaps when you hit the straight aka Shinn on Damask Rose. In my opinion you can't recamber that part unless you shift the shute further South West.

No read the article again. The horse picked up an injury during its recent jumpout. Jumpouts in OZ are very much like our trials. So they are pulling back this spring as they can't get him ready before all the spring Grp 1's are finished. Sounds sensible to me not to race a very good colt agains OZ's best when it isn't 100%.

That's easy money. I'll take $50 that they have more OZ wins this season.

Uh? That post doesn't make sense.

I don't think the problem was the grass variety per se. Grow any grass (other than Marram) on pure sand and the roots will matt. You see it on links golf courses all the time. Time is running out for that when you look at the recent building activity up that end of the course. The 2400m shute needs to move before you can recamber. Over time with all the verti-draining, tyning and coring being done the organic matter will increase which will had more structure to the sand - slow process though and doubtful it will be faster than the oxidation processes.

Return To Conquer’s bid for Aussie glory on hold www.nzherald.co.nz https://bitofayarn.com Last season’s superstar colt Return To Conquer won’t race again this year. The Group 1 winner, who was unbeaten in four starts here, has been sidelined with a slight issue after his first Australian appearance in a jump out at Cranbourne two weeks ago. Trainer Mark Walker, who is mostly based in Cranbourne these days, said the injury wasn’t serious but has tipped the scales against Return To Conquer competing in spring. “He did something to himself in his jump out and being such a valuable colt we aren’t going to take any chances with him,” Walker told the Herald. “We could actually race him again this year if we wanted to but he is here to get an Australian Group 1 to add to his stallion credentials and with this issue putting him back even a few weeks he won’t be ready for the races we wanted to aim him at. “They are all finished by November and because he won’t be ready to win a Group 1 by then we will put him aside until next year.” Return To Conquer looked New Zealand’s most talented juvenile last season and won the Group 1 Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie in March. Being a Group 1-winning juvenile son of Snitzel means he already has commercial stallion worth and the only box he needs to tick now is a major Australian win. That means Walker and syndication giants Te Akau will also resist any temptation to head north to the Magic Millions carnival in January because while Return To Conquer could race for huge money there, those races don’t carry Group 1 status. But all going well the colt should be back racing mid-summer. As disappointing as the news is, the reality of Return To Conquer’s career is simple: if he wins any Group 1 in Australia in the next 18 months, preferably this season, he is worth a fortune. But, to that end, this spring is still an opportunity taken away. The news is much better for the two other huge names of New Zealand racing last season, who joined Te Akau’s Cranbourne barn around the same time as Return To Conquer. La Dorada will go head-to-head with Return To Conquer for New Zealand juvenile of the year at the sport’s annual awards in Hamilton on September 7 but has a bigger assignment at The Valley the day before. Walker and assistant trainer Ben Gleeson are setting last season’s Karaka Millions winner for the A$750,000 ($822,000) Moir Stakes on September 6 in which she will clash with Matamata mare Alabama Lass. “She has easier 3-year-old options but they would mean carrying 59kg fresh up, whereas she will carry only 50kg over 1000m in the Moir.” Is La Dorada good enough to win a Group 1 weight-for-age sprint? “Taking a line through [stablemate] Bellatrix Star, who won a good Group 2 race in the Schillaci last October, I’d say La Dorada can be very competitive in the Moir,” said Walker. It has been smooth Australian sailing so far for arguably Te Akau and Walker’s best horse, NZB Kiwi and Karaka Millions 3-Year-Old winner Damask Rose. “She has come up well and will resume in the Cockram Stakes at Caulfield on August 30,” said Walker. “Then, all going well, she will go through the Sir Rupert Clarke [Caulfield, September 20] and the Toorak [Caulfield, October 11] on her way to the Golden Eagle.”https://bitofayarn.com The A$10 million Golden Eagle on November 1 has been moved from Rosehill to Randwick and Walker said that could be a positive for Damask Rose. “It is still a long way off yet and of course things have to go right to get there as a winning chance, but you would think with the big field, the bigger Randwick track will actually suit her better.” There is also promising news around Bellatrix Star, who was sensational last spring and finished second to Switzerland in the A$2m Coolmore at Flemington, one of the hottest 3-year-old races of the year. “She suffered a bad neck injury in January when she flipped over coming back from a pool session and initially we thought she might not race again,” said Walker. “But she is back now and there is no sign of where the injury was so we are hopeful she will be back racing around November.” Meanwhile, one of the most expensive horses in New Zealand, the Te Akau-purchased Avantaggia looked an early race winner with a dominant win at the Avondale trials yesterday. The 3-year-old daughter of Wootton Bassett and Avantage cost A$2.1m as a yearling and beat subsequent seven-length winner Cream Tart in her previous trial in April. She looked sharp in yesterday’s trial and should be racing soon. Avantaggia is the $12 fourth favourite for the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton, which has been moved from New Zealand Cup day to the first day of Cup week on November 8.

Yeah I'm not so sure. You know my thoughts on these sand hydroponic tracks. I'm not sure even the Flemington expert can turn them around has he works with a track that is more soil based.

Sorry according to @Newmarket I know nothing about wagering. Perhaps you could set the market?

I was shoulder to shoulder on the embankment!!!

Awapuni's grass track is nearing a return to racing following a positive set of trials on Tuesday. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)https://bitofayarn.com Awapuni grass track passes first test Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk 12 August 2025 A return to racing on Awapuni’s grass track is inching ever closer, and it passed its first test for that return following a successful set of trials on the surface on Tuesday. 30 horses line-up over five heats at the track and RACE’s General Manager of Racing Brad Taylor received positive reports at the conclusion of the trial meeting. “The feedback was very positive from the riders,” he said. “As expected with the surface we have, there was a little bit of the sand kick back, but all-in-all it was very positive today.” Awapuni’s grass track was initially out of commission for 19 months as it underwent an extensive renovation, and it was set to commence racing on ANZAC Day, however, that meeting was abandoned following a slip in the opening race. The track has subsequently undergone further remedial work, and the club has called upon the expertise of Flemington track manager Liam O’Keefe to assist in that process. “We have had Liam O’Keefe, the track manager at Flemington, who has been a big part of the project over the past eight months,” Taylor said. “We have what they would call core and swept the tracks. We have put another sand carpet on top and there has been a lot of verti-draining and a bit more coring. “We had to reseed some of the track because there were a couple of bare patches, which is expected with the works we did. We are now just waiting for the grass to grow.” As part of their return to racing protocol, RACE is set to have one final set of trials on the surface, which will determine whether they can proceed with the planned return to racing on September 6. “It has been a long, slow process and it is just nice to tick that next step off,” Taylor said. “It is tracking in the right direction. At this time of year, the grass growth is minimal and that will only improve as we get into the next month, and further. “We have had just over 100 horses gallop on the course proper over the last four weeks. We had 30 horses trial this morning and then we will have a bigger set of trials of roughly 80-90 horses in a fortnight. We will get that tick of approval and then we will be ready for September 6.” It has been a frustrating process for the club, local trainers, owners and punters, and Taylor is hoping they will be rewarded for their patience in the coming weeks. “A credit to the whole, team, especially the track team, they have put in a lot of hard work to that surface and to see it coming to fruition now is pleasing and exciting for everyone,” he said. “The local trainers have been extremely patient, having to float to every meeting and go elsewhere to trial and gallop. They have done an incredible job and to see the results they have had over that time has been incredible. “It is only going to improve for them over the next wee while and having the course proper back for them on a weekly basis is a positive for everyone.” Mike Breslin was one of the local trainers to utilise the grass trials at Awapuni on Tuesday, and he is looking forward to racing’s return to the surface next month.https://bitofayarn.com “We have all got our fingers crossed to get racing back on the grass at Awapuni, it is essential for our businesses,” he said. “I think the track will be superb, but in my opinion, it is just going to have to be gently-gently until they get some decent spring (grass) growth.”

I suggest you get out more. The Crusaders are still the most successful sporting franchise of the modern era.

Bullshit. Geez you can spin a yarn. When was "a while back"? They didn't import "dozens of great players" either. The did select players that had potential that no one else wanted and turned them into great players. Norm Berryman, Caleb Ralph, Norm Maxwell were the early ones. Auckland and Canterbury both went through periods of being unbeatable - neither held a mortgage on it. Auckland Rugby lost its way when they abandoned club rugby and focussed on senior school rugby. Canterbury focussed on both as well as drawing in the rest of the Crusader franchise. Auckland abandoned their neighbouring Unions as well. Canterbury didn't. I guess in that respect there are parallels with what has happened at Alexandra Park and the ATC. Why bail Auckland out?

I don't know. @Huey tends to write riddles.

I see Erin Leighton rode a couple for Royden Bergerson at the Awapuni trials yesterday. Is she coming back to race riding?

Not sure what you mean "+ or -2"? Perhaps the resident wagering expert @Newmarket can explain for you.

When? What was it last season?

No takers.