Chief Stipe

Uh Oh...I didn't read the fine print. Grass doesn't grow very well on sand. Perhaps we should sow Marram Grass?

I might apply. Happy for BOAY members to post their CV's and I'll withdraw my application.

Not the horses I've been involved in. They'd get on the bit when they sensed it was the final bend.

The best horses I had anything to do with didn't need any head gear. If a horse wants to race it doesn't need it. My understanding is a horse is very aware of those around it - blindfolding it limits that awareness. How many horses with a full set of blinkers have you seen run down because neither the horse nor the Jockey/Driver saw the other horse coming. Perhaps today we tend to want to get them going early and don't give them enough education.

The good ones don't need a whip. Often it has become a signal to them that it's the run home. But even then the good ones know that. If a horse is putting in all it can then the whip is only punishing it for good behaviour. That's a negative.

It would make a difference to @Gammalite he wise under the whip a lap and a half from home!

That's not what I said. The horse may have giving everything it could. The whip would have made no difference.

I note Swayzee got beaten last night the same way Leap To Fame did. A fast finisher sitting on the back of a grinder. Of course there'll be the conspiracy now that the stable money was on the second horse... Amazing this "magic potion" that you can turn on and off like a switch.

"Lost form" is correct the flip side of that is that when in form it is a talented horse. Grimson obviously found what was wrong. Arguably Leap To Fame didn't match his best form. Also I think Dixon drove a soft quarter around 30 in the last lap. He would normally grind out 4 quick quarters in a row. Don't forget he also had to work hard to get to the lead.

That's the key. He picks up one's he can improve and has a good strike rate. I wouldn't be surprised that like a lot of top stables he takes a scientific approach to training including using the latest treatments and customising/fine tuning feeds per horse. Expensive but it works. For example there are legal anti-inflammatory/anti-arthritic drugs that can be legally injected into knee and fetlock joints that last a year or more.

Of there was an illegal drug being used then testing would find it. I've explained that process to both you and the @the galah many times.

We've discussed Swayzee before. It was always a quick horse. A 2% improvement over 2 miles is 5 seconds. 1% is often the difference between being an elite performance and an also ran.

So you think whipping the horse more would have made it go faster? You don't consider that the horse may have been at full speed?

Considering in NZ they only interview the winning Jockeys and Trainers why does the Trackside presenter insist on calling it an AFTERMATH. noun [ U ] /ˈæf·tərˌmæθ/ the period following an event, such as an accident or war, and the effects caused by the event: We all worked together in the aftermath of the earthquake.

There's clearly no "magic" as such just the same modus operandi. Pick up a horse that has had good form in the past and can run a handy sectional but whose form has tailed off slightly. It could be shoeing, could be bloods need a tweak, could be gear change, feed change, change in work method. The horse might have been joint sore or have gut issues which with targeted legitimate therapeutic treatment could work the oracle Even a change in scenery. All could make a difference 2% which would be all that was required. Yeah Na @the galah reckons there is a secret magic potion that escapes pre and post race testing.

You obviously didn't read this article. He's a half brother to Cruz Bromac and has taken time to mature. Can run a very fast sectional which Leap To Fame can't. The latter has to grind his opponents into the ground. District Attorney "phenomenal" as stunning burst reveals a new star www.thetrots.com.au A star emerged from the relentless drizzle that soaked Melton, where District Attorney displayed top tier talent with a withering sprint to capture victory and affirm there were many more to come. Blake and Ted Caruana’s brilliantly bred four-year-old, a half-brother to million-dollar horse Cruz Bromac, understandably cost a pretty penny but is rewarding that investment and bringing plenty of delight. That was certainly the case Saturday night when in Mick Bellman’s hands he ripped home from last to first to capture the Download The TAB App Pace and zero in on triple-figure stakes earnings. “He really showed his colours tonight,” Bellman told TrotsVision. “He was phenomenal to come that far from behind on a wet track and finish off in 27 and a bit – he’s gone sensational.” District Attorney was three deep in the three-wide train with 800 metres to go and Bellman showed patience before setting him alight off the home turn, briskly demolishing all in his path to score. The widest runner on a rain-soaked track, he got home in a 27.2-second final quarter to win by 1.6 metres from La Captain. “I think if he was on a dry track he would have gotten home in 25 the way he felt,” Bellman said. “He was jogging around the turn. I thought 'I’ve got to go now, there’s no opportune time, I’m going to be wide and deep'. I just had to use that good 200 that I know he’s got in him. He’s as quick as anything over that distance if you can save him up. “It’s a good thrill to be able to back him that he’s going to put you into the race when you need to and be able to use his speed.” WATCH THE WIN: It was also “a good thrill” for connections, with Ted Caruana not only co-trainer with son Blake but also the owner. And according to Bellman their loving every minute of District Attorney’s emergence, with tonight bringing his ninth win from his 19th outing. “They love it. Every win’s like their first and they treat it like their last. They don’t leave anything in the locker with their celebrations and they just make it special,” he said. “(Dstrict Attorney's) starting to round up and look a bit more mature in himself. Great to Blake and Celeste and Ted for giving him that time, you can get fooled into the trap of racing him too much too early, but I think it’s going to pay dividends by not going in everything early days." Also thriving in the wet on Saturday night were trainer Andy Gath and driver Kate Gath, with the pair producing a treble. Two recent Kiwi arrivals impressed for their new stable with Sly Terror winning the Country Clubs Championship Final and Winegum the 1200-metre The Big Screen Company Pace. The latter was having his Australian debut and, like Sly Terror, led all the way to win, but it was perhaps the third leg of their treble that brought the most delight. Veteran pacer Tango Tara made the most of his perfect draw to sweep off the leader's back and score in the Betavet Tiger Tara Free For All, his first win at Melton since November 2021, with only a Mildura success in June last year in between. “It’s been a while since he’s won a metro race, he’s run a lot of placings along the way, it’s good to get that one out of the way,” Andy Gath told TrotsVision. “He had the perfect draw. There was only four or five metres between first and last, they’re pretty even these horses – whoever gets the right run gets the opportunity, but you’ve still got to be good enough to take that opportunity.” Also impressive was brilliant mare Queen Elida, who overcome a significant deficit to Ultimate Stride to produce a stunning 12-metre win that even surprised her reinsman Chris Alford. “A little bit unexpected,” he said. “Talking to (trainer Brent Lilley) during the day, he thought she’d need the run tonight but she would’ve run a cracking half then. Just didn’t think she’d get anywhere near the leader actually.” She was giving Ultimate Stride five lengths after they settled into single file but stormed home in a 27.4-second third quarter and 28.06-second final quarter for a stunning 55.45-second last half, almost two seconds quicker than any of her rivals. “She was super tonight. At the half I thought we are not going to get anywhere near this leader but I better slide up and have a look, and as soon as she got up there she said I’m not dropping in behind it, I want to keep going.” Emma Stewart produced a double on the night, with Our Vinnie (Mark Pitt) and Beach Life (Kerryn Manning) both scoring, while Chris Lang kicked off the night with a win with Dontouch The Duco and trainers Joe Pace (Justalittlesip) and Greg Fleming (Letsgobro) had their horses continue their winning runs. The night then closed with Musztang returning to form with a win over the sprint, the second of two 1200-metre wins on the night.

@Tiger Tiger aren't you a "keyboard warrior" too but just batting for the other side?

Oh...have we dropped the restrictions on Omeprazoles?

But how has it changed? Or has your view changed?

Yet no one criticised it like they did Wanganui. When you review the respective tracks they basically ran on a wider straight at Wanganui than Pukekohe. Maybe we should have the outside rail move in?

When does a 'new boy's network' become an 'old boy's network'?

We've discussed before what often happens when you tap a trotter that is giving its best.