Chief Stipe

She is worth $3.4m but Alcohol Free isn't in the same ball park as Montefilia.

Can't wait for the movie!

Can someone explain why you would pay $10m for this mare?

Mitch Cohen's Blackbook: Yulong reveal ‘likely' Everest runner Alcohol Free is favourite to run in Yulong’s Everest slot. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts By Mitch Cohen 09:03am • 09 October 2023 0 Comments Yulong are set to wait until the eleventh hour to lock in their $20m TAB Everest runner with connections poised to confirm as late as Tuesday if $10m mare Alcohol Free will run in the Royal Randwick showpiece this Saturday. While every other Everest slot has been filled, Yulong have been in no rush to declare a runner for their slot however Alcohol Free is the ‘likely' candidate. Alcohol Free has been considered a potential Everest contender since the high-priced mare was purchased for an eight figure sum and given to trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott last December. The daughter of No Nay Never ran a creditable fourth in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes first up from a spell with Bott declaring Alcohol Free was ready to take on Australia‘s best sprinters in The Everest. Tulloch Lodge has been sending details of Alcohol Free's subsequent work to Yulong and believe the mare has improved since her Premiere Stakes run. But Yulong, owned by mining magnate Yuesheng Zhang, have weighed up their options and won't be rushed into a decision. "Mr Zhang wants to leave it until the last minute so it probably won‘t be decided until Tuesday morning to make a final decision, so that's the plan," Yulong's chief operating officer Sam Fairgray said. "Alcohol Free is right up there and has worked really well. It was a nice effort first-up so she is a likely candidate at this stage but we won‘t finalise anything." Alcohol Free is a $34 chance in The Everest betting with TAB where Waterhouse and Bott currently already have Hawaii Five Oh ($13) ready to run in the Aquis slot. There has been speculation that top Kiwi mare Imperatriz, still $4.40 second elect for The Everest, could run in the richest race on turf but her owners Te Akau Racing have been adamant the Moir Stakes winner will remain in Melbourne for the Group 1 Manikato Stakes. Yulong had a successful weekend with their relatively new addition Montefilia justifying her $3.4m purchase with a terrific win in the $2m Group 2 Hill Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens. "It was good to see Montefilia win and it is great for Mr Zhang, who has invested so much in the industry so to get a result like that is great," Fairgray said. "We will talk to Chris (Waller) to see if he heads to Melbourne or stays in Sydney but there‘s plenty of options."

Was that around the time Phar Lap was shot at?

Not that it seems to help much. I saw a photo of them dressed up before an INCA raid. They were wearing Poilice clothing, flak jackets and radios. All that evidence has worked out well for them.....NOT! Basically the culture created by hiring ex-Cops is that they believe the racing industry is a cesspit of crime.

I think the worst I've seen is someone called an RIB Investigator a "F...ing idiot".

What do you find wrong with it?

Why not just use your smart phone app?

They do. Every terminal has a camera.

I thought it was about a HGTV Ad and the promotion of racing to the general/wider public?

The RIB ready for Addington.

https://www.hrnz.co.nz/news/cameras-to-be-worn-by-rib-investigators-from-today/ 2 October 2023 , News Body worn cameras (BWCs) are being introduced by the RIB from 2 October 2023, primarily to protect the safety of our investigators, while also providing evidential benefits. A BWC is a small camera worn on the clothing or attached to a vest worn by an investigator, used to gather audio and video. Research shows these cameras, commonly worn by people in compliance roles, will be a deterrent against anti-social and obstructive behaviour such as verbal or physical abuse, which may occur while Investigators are making enquiries in the course of their work. A camera will only be activated where an Investigator has concerns for their safety and / or those around them, or in an investigative capacity to gather evidence. To ensure the correct operation of these devices, the RIB has completed a privacy impact assessment, implemented new Standard Operating Procedures, along with each Investigator receiving training.

Won't they have to get prior approval from all licensees before they use them? Or a rule change? I'm not sure there is any legislation that allows them to do this without prior approval.

They are probably under instruction from their managers. There is stuff all profit in having a pub TAB. The additional costs that the pub has to cough up makes them unprofitable. The TAB doesn't pay enough. That said I don't understand why the TAB doesn't leverage off its network to each location and allow free internet access thereby promoting their phone app.

Wouldn't it be interesting if the Thoroughbred code followed the same approach. Riccarton would be out for a year.

I'm really looking forward to the Racing.com streaming service showing the following on the same day at Caulfield: The Caulfield Guineas Group 1 (some nice future stallions have won that race); The Toorak Handicap Grp 1; The Might and Power Grp 1 (amazing history); Schillaci Stakes Grp 2; The Herbert Power Grp 2; Not to forget the two Grp 3's and Listed races on the card. No raffle tickets in sight for those races nor do you need to run a glorified Calcutta to get into them. Just be the best in your grade.

Two weeks later will be better. The Cox Plate and the Manikato.

No different to Chris Waller having stables in two or three states in Australia.

Seems Ozzmosis won't be tackling the Everest.

Yep - more hype, BS and Jellybeans around The Everest. What Imperatriz not starting makes IWIW's chances better? If it wins the Everest why would it make IWIW Australia's best sprinter? Moody says the best sprinter isn't starting. I see Imperatriz is currently rated 9th best horse in the world.

Waterhouse unloads on race clubs: ‘Why not just go to McDonald's' Gai Waterhouse says entry to the races should be free outside of the big days. By Ben Dorries 07:03am • 06 October 2023 Gai Waterhouse has called for race clubs to regularly throw open the gates and let people in for free. The legendary trainer says punters would currently be better off going to McDonald's and then to the pub instead of heading to the track. Racing's first lady has railed against the cost attached to taking a family to the races, saying entry fees and food and drink prices are exorbitant in many cases. "I don't think that the race clubs realise you can go into a pub, you can watch the races on your phone, you can watch them from home," Waterhouse told Racenet. "Why would you come to the track when you are going to be charged for entry, if you take a family it will cost a small fortune? "Then there is the drink and the food, it's expensive. It's $11.50 for a beer, it's ridiculous. "Why not just go to McDonald's — get yourself a burger and then go and watch the races in the pub?" Gai Waterhouse says race clubs should throw open the gates and let people in for free. Picture: Getty Images. Waterhouse can't understand why race clubs charge admission fees at all on rank-and-file race days. She doubled down by suggesting many race clubs were "mean" and "out of touch" with society for charging people to get through the gates. "People who run racing clubs are making so many excuses as to why they should be charging," Waterhouse said. "But it is so mean, it is so out of touch with what is happening in the world. "It should be free entry. People are very cost conscious. People want to get cheap food, cheap drink and be able to get into the place for free. "Just let people walk on the course for free, employ a few security to patrol the place. "Race clubs can make their money through turnover from the bookmakers and the TAB. "We need to educate children that racing is a wonderful thing. But at the moment, you wouldn't take kids to the races because it's too expensive." Waterhouse said Warwick Farm and Sandown were both in "major population zones" but both racecourses were often like ghost towns. She said some of the best racing experiences were at Canterbury on Friday night where there was a targeted focus on families and fun. Recently, more than 400 people roamed freely through 12 participating stables, including that of Waterhouse and co-trainer Adrian Bott, at the inaugural Flemington training centre open day. Waterhouse loved the initiative where Victoria Racing Club and Flemington trainers opened their doors to all comers. Gai Waterhouse showing off Group 1 star Alligator Blood during the Flemington stables tour. Picture: Getty Images. She said there should be more of it and there should be pony racing on race days to attract children who could become the next generation of racing fans. "I think every track should have pony racing on it … from Flemington to Cranbourne to Randwick to Wagga," Waterhouse said. "If you have a pony race or two, it brings families because fathers bring their kids to the races. They do it all over England, it's very popular, they do it in France. "I can‘t understand why it doesn't happen more often in Australia. "It teaches little children about horses and it's really fun. All those children will end up coming back to the races as older people."

I'm not sure a spelling mistake is the biggest issue. The world of sporting contracts is very intriguing.

Moody concedes sprint title | RACING.COM www.racing.com Peter Moody has called Imperatriz 'Australasia's best sprinter', before giving praise that his horse I Wish I Win won't meet her in the upcoming The Everest. During his weekly podcast Moody On The Mic, the champion trainer said he believes Imperatriz's owners Te Akau Racing made the right call by sticking to a trio of Melbourne Group 1s this spring instead of chasing The Everest in Sydney. "I think the best performance for mine was Australasia's best sprinter Imperatriz," Moody said. "I thought she was dynamite. I doubted her having another run at 1000 metres (but), for me she was the one I'd like to take away from that meeting. She was absolutely superb in the Moir. "God help any of those chasing her in the Manikato and thank God she's not going to The Everest is all I can say." I Wish I Win is the current equal Everest favourite at $4 with Think About It, while Imperatriz is the $1.70 favourite to win the G1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at The Valley on October 28. Moody said he understands why Te Akau would bypass the option of racing in The Everest. "The Everest is a $20 million race. When you see a $20,000 race, the winner gets $12,000 or $14,000 and the rest is carved up. The Everest, the winner gets about $7 million I believe or something in that vicinity. "She's going to win that in her Victorian sprint campaign all up and they are not going to have to share it with a slot-holder and she's going to end up with three Group 1s and a Group 2 beside her name, one would suggest. "I suggest David Ellis and the team are probably playing the game where 'We don't have to share with anyone and we will just pick up the spoils here and we will end with nearly the same amount the money and this very valuable mare could become even more valuable'." As for I Wish I Win, Moody said he was pleased with the way the gelding came through his final fast gallop on Tuesday, 11 days out from The Everest. "He had a nice gallop here on Tuesday," he said. "We were very pleased with his work and he looks in great order."