Chief Stipe

I stuck with her @Gammalite and picked the trifecta in 3.

Bump.

Bump.

Get a life! Verry Elleegant in its last 3 or 4 starts has behaved completely different. I suggest that 90% of that has been a change in training.

To be fair BOAY traversed these issues at some length when the report came out which was spruiked by the TAB cheerleader @JJ Flash. The money was kept back to pay down debt to enable the renegotiation of the Overdraft facility. Winston's bailout only covered the immediate debt crisis and forestalled litigation. It didn't cover the complete amount of debt owing. Anyone with some degree of knowledge around corporate accounts would have seen that.

What TAB NZ doesn’t want its stakeholders to know The TAB is ignoring its statutory obligation to maximise profits for the benefit of the racing codes by Brian de Lore Published 2nd November 2021 So much deceit, woke politics, and cancel culture exists in the world today that it came as no surprise to discover TAB NZ had joined the fray and, although not yet telling lies, they’ve instead withheld information over the past few months that would raise serious stakeholder questions. But the stakeholders of New Zealand racing and the true owner of the TAB, the thoroughbred and harness racing clubs that started the TAB in 1951, are used to poor treatment, getting asset-stripped and trampled over while barely offering a murmur of protest. This year, the new TAB board under government control came into existence on August 1st, taking over after 18 to 20 months of RITA (Racing Industry Transition Authority) and before that the infamous NZRB (Racing Board), which presided over a series of expensive industry misdemeanours for over a dozen years. In 2020 when RITA was in the middle of its reign of control, several weblogs appeared on this platform complaining bitterly of RITA’s refusal to post a Half-Year Report. Every year since 2006, the TAB website (https://www.tabnz.org/annual-reports?page=0) had published a Half Year Report, but in 2020, RITA, in its infinite wisdom, decided the tradition would cease. Cover up of mounting debt Why did they suddenly stop? Well, for no other reason than to cover up mounting debt (reaching $45 million by mid-2020) and poor TAB performance. Rather than baffle brains with a deceptive report as NZRB had regularly produced, RITA elected to pull the wool over all racing’s eyes with no report at all. COVID-19 came along and helped save the TAB to a certain extent when racing ceased for a period, resulting in non-payment of prizemoney while punters remained in lockdown. With little else to do, punting turnover increased and improved the books. Even so, Minister of Racing Winston Peters had to negotiate a $50 million bailout from the coalition government in the 2020 budget to stop the TAB from going into receivership – the TAB had operated illegally as insolvent for as long as a year with the Minister’s knowledge. In April 2021, RITA published a Half Year Report, but a couple of months later decided to join the cancel culture movement and remove it. Why? The half-year version isn’t audited, so perhaps it would contradict the Annual Report when eventually published or possibly contain information considered best kept from eyes racing’s stakeholders and participants. The latter applied. From a copy saved to The Optimist’s hard drive before its removal from the website, it showed dubious financial management of TAB earnings – $13 million for the half-year kept by the TAB in term deposits instead of transferring to the codes to bolster prizemoney. Minimum stakes would rise to $20,000 overnight Thirteen million dollars injected into prizemoney at ground level would take the minimum stake from $12,000 to $20,000 – a paradigm shift that would inject life into New Zealand racing and enable trainers to retain their shrinking band of presently disillusioned owners. The TAB is a service provider to the racing industry with a duty to provide funding to sustain racing. It’s not a corporation that invests its profits elsewhere for a rainy day and/or for use for its own expansion. But on page 13 of the now-deleted report, the note of explanation to the $13 million refers explicitly to ‘the TAB NZ’s normal investment strategy.’ Bollocks, there is no investment strategy (the term made up for their own convenience). It also mentions money for ‘working capital at any point in time,’ which can only be interpreted as adding a further carriage to the gravy train. From page 13 of the deleted report: TAB NZ did well in the first full COVID year and made a profit of $160 million (shown in the table below. In the 2020-21 season, it reduced bank debt by $20 million (from $45 million to $25 million). Take the $20 million off the TAB undistributed betting profits (table below), and it still had $18 million left. So, why did it retain that cash and invest it rather than distributing it to the codes? It wasn’t withheld to repay more debt because the TAB Statement of Intent 2022-2024 says the remaining $25 million of debt will not be repaid until the year 2025. In the previous two TAB financial years, the full accounted-for profit figure got distributed to the codes, but not this year. Did the TAB look at the new funding going directly to the codes from BIUC (Betting Information User Charges) and the Betting Levy, which totalled $25 million, and reduce the distribution accordingly so that the codes could only maintain or marginally increase prizemoney? No other explanation could exist. Racing is getting shafted and suffocated at the same time by this intense government control through a Minister of Sport/Racing who has appointed a board top-heavy with non-racing sportspeople. Fifteen months after the Racing Act of 2020 legislation and the three codes still haven’t drawn up a commercial agreement with TAB NZ, and the tail is still wagging the dog, which flies in the face of the legislation. All-round incompetency of the highest order. The codes are no more than the three stooges. Anyone involved in ownership is fully aware of the continued decline of the sustainability of racing a horse. Yet, TAB NZ and NZTR boards have both displayed little appetite for injecting all available funding into prizemoney to stem the haemorrhaging of owners. Are the boards, and especially TAB NZ, disengaged enough not to care or understand anything about the coalface of the industry, or is this woke-infested world hellbent on the redistribution of wealth commencing its master plan to kill-off racing? Look at the new TAB NZ board that the ‘missing in action’ Minister of Sport/Racing, Grant Robertson, appointed to take over last August: Mark Stewart, MNZM (Chair) Mark Stewart – no relation to horse trainer Ciaron Maher Stewart knows nothing about racing and has never been seen on a racecourse. Professional director with numerous roles. In 2018 honoured for service to the Community and Sport; in 2010 received the Sir Richard Hadlee Sports Trust’s ‘Most Outstanding Voluntary Administrator of the Year’; Sport Canterbury Outstanding Service Award 2010; the New Zealand Rugby League Outstanding Service Award in 2000. Previous roles: Chairman, Mainland Football Federation; Organising Committee for FIFA under 20 World Cup; Chairman, New Zealand Football Foundation. Anna Stove (Deputy Chair) Grew up on a thoroughbred stud farm and former committee person of the Counties Racing Club. Knows racing. William (Bill) Birnie, CNZM Came from NZRB and RITA boards before this appointment. Professional director on various sporting boards. Lives in Sydney, doesn’t bet and lacks racing knowledge. Paul Bittar Australian resident having had various roles in racing governance in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Consulted on wagering for Sportsbet in Australia when Sportsbet made a rejected offer for partnering with the TAB three years ago. Jason Fleming Hawkes Bay resident with racing experience. Currently on NZTR board, former CEO of the Hawkes Bay Racing Club and knows racing thoroughly. Wendie Harvey Professional Director on 15 boards, including the Commissioner on the Gambling Commission, which deals with casino licensing applications and has the powers of a Commission of Inquiry. No racing knowledge or experience. On the TAB NZ website is said to have, ‘strong experience in culture transformation,’ which may be ominous for racing. Raewyn Lovett, ONZM Lawyer and professional director on numerous boards, including deputy chair of Sport NZ, co-chair of the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and former Chair of Netball NZ. She says in her bio: “…have a keen interest in sport and the role that sport and recreation plays in well-being.” (that doesn’t sound like someone planning to increase betting turnover). History says they will not contribute positively Why were Mark Stewart, Wendie Harvey, and Raewyn Lovett appointed? They have no industry knowledge at all, but all are graduates from the NZ Institute of Directors, and all are sitting on this board for the wrong reasons (as far as racing is concerned), and they will offer nothing in the long term. Harvey and Lovett were appointed because they satisfied the Government’s gender equality rules for boards. Shame because so many highly qualified racing women who understand the business could have filled those roles and done a great job. History tells us Harvey and Lovett have no possible chance of making a meaningful contribution, but it also says the same about Robertson, who appointed them. If this board as a collective had the best interests of racing at heart, they would immediately and thoroughly investigate the partnering of the TAB with an international operator. Top-heavy with professional directors from sport But only Jason Fleming and Anna Stove will be passionate about the future of the horse business in New Zealand. Paul Bittar has loads of horse experience. However, the board is top-heavy with professional directors involved in a sport, which is no accident, given that Grant Robertson was the Minister of Sport before he became Minister of Racing. Nothing is more certain that sport will soon have its hand out for a bigger slice of the TAB pie, and although the interests of the racing codes accounts for 80 percent of the betting volume, the 20 percent bet on sport now has a controlling interest on the board and the running of the business. This brings us back to the $13 million put on deposit rather than paid to the codes. Remember, that $13 million represented only half the year – it grew to $18 million for the full year. Where is that money heading with this year’s precedent of withholding funds when racing desperately needs more money injected into prizemoney to retain its diminishing collective of poverty-stricken owners? Sport muscles in on the TAB If you doubt the intention of sport, then consider these facts. Firstly, every sport that returned from the Tokyo Olympics is screaming out for more funding, and the CEO for Sport NZ, Raelene (failed miserably in Australia) Castle, is leading the relentless charge at Grant Robertson for more cash to chase gold in Paris in 2024. Secondly, even if the new board considered partnering the TAB with a betting operator for a much better financial result, and discovered it would be the best outcome for racing, would they proceed? Partnering would eventually make them redundant as directors of the TAB with a personal loss of directors’ fees, and would they consider it to be in the best interests of sport? Whatever way you look at it, racing is now in a deeper hole than it was two years ago, one year ago, or even a month ago. Why have the codes been so uselessly representative of the interests of the people they supposedly represent. Lack of leadership has resulted in a lack of action. The trouble with people working in the horse industry after years of repression and getting fleeced by infiltrators from the corporate world, is contained in this G.K Chesterton quote: “When men choose not to fight, they do not thereafter become incapable of winning; they then become incapable of fighting for anything.”

I thought the spoils were spread around a bit today. Certainly not an All Stars domination.

She has drawn bad although no unheard if to won from there. Prefer a bit more give in the track and I have a nagging feeling that she may be starting to think about the breeding barn.

ColumnistMelbourne Cup Corey Brown column: Why they can’t beat Incentivise in Cup Brett Prebble riding Incentivise to a dominant win in the Caulfield Cup. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images) By Racenet 09:57am • 31 October 2021 Comments DUAL MELBOURNE CUP-WINNING JOCKEY COREY BROWN HAS PENNED HIS THOUGHTS AHEAD OF TUESDAY’S GREAT RACE Melbourne Cup Day is like no other for a jockey. I know they are now comparing it to The Everest, but as a jockey you use all the tools in a Melbourne Cup – patience, timing, judgment, nerve, fitness – it all comes into play in the Melbourne Cup. The pressure on Incentivise’s jockey Brett Prebble is going to be huge on Tuesday because this horse is the shortest-priced favourite in the Cup for a long, long time. Brett’s ability to deal with pressure is one of his great strengths. I used to watch Luke Nolen when he rode Black Caviar and you could see the pressure in him but Brett is similar to Hugh Bowman … ice cold. He’s a lot more aggressive than Hughie but as far as dealing with pressure that’s the style of bloke that he is. He’s the right rider in the room to deal with the situation that he’ll be faced with on Tuesday, without a doubt. As a jockey in the Melbourne Cup, the moment I was able to relax was when my horse put foot to grass after stepping out of the roses and cantering down to the start. The pressure is still there but all the build up is behind you. Corey Brown after winning the Melbourne Cup on Rekindling in 2017 It’s just you and your horse and the 23 others. The focus is all about the horse relaxing. You want to give them a nice warm up going to the start because you are going two miles, but you don’t want them too wound up. The first 1000m is definitely the hardest part of the race for the jockey. Twenty of the 24 jockeys all want to be in a similar position so you really need to have your wits about you. There’s a lot of screaming and yelling at each other in the run to the post the first time. It’s very intense. In a perfect world, Brett’s going to have Incentivise away from the rail, up near the speed and he won’t want any bumping or pushing. He looks to me to be a horse that needs a bit of room to get him going. Leaving the straight and out to the seven furlongs, along the Maribyrnong River, if everything is going to plan and the horse is rolling along with the flow, this will be the most enjoyable part of the race for Brett but it won’t be long until things start to hot up again at around the 1000m. From when they turn off the back straight to the 1000m, the whole contest changes. Brett’s probably going to be up in the first few pairs and pressure that comes into the race from the 1000m is like a wave that comes up behind you. Corey Brown celebrates after winning the Melbourne Cup on Shocking in 2009. He’ll be ready and that’s when his nerve is really going to be tested – that’s when he’ll get down and dirty. If everything has gone to plan, at the half-mile, Brett and Incentivise are going to be like a coiled spring, ready to explode. At the point of the home turn, let’s say the horse has got four gears, he’s going to be at the top of third and given what I’ve seen of Incentivise, Brett knows him like the back of his hand and there’s no waiting for the Clock Tower. He’s a different type of horse, you’ve got to cut him loose. I’d say Brett will go full bore around the 400-350m mark, it will be on and I reckon it will be over by the time he gets to the 300-250m mark. The more I look at the race, the easier I think it gets for Brett and I can’t see how they will beat him. Corey Brown won the Melbourne Cup on Shocking in 2009 and Rekindling in 2017.

FeatureMelbourne Cup Cassidy: Incentivise could win Cup by 100 yards Two-time Melbourne Cup winner Jim Cassidy is predicting a big win by Incentivise on Tuesday. Picture: AAP By Ray Thomas 08:06pm • 31 October 2021 Comments Staying sensation Incentivise’s front-running, take-no-prisoners style of racing has drawn inevitable comparisons with the great Might And Power. Incentivise likes to lead or race on-pace and dominate his rivals with a combination of his high-cruising speed, superior stamina and sheer ability. The Peter Moody-trained Incentivise’s extraordinary Caulfield Cup win last month, when he raced wide without cover but still powered away to win by nearly four lengths is the reason he is the shortest priced Melbourne Cup favourite since Phar Lap in 1930. Might And Power had a similar racing pattern to Incentivise in 1997 when he completed the coveted Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double. As a reporter for The Daily Telegraph, I was on assignment in Melbourne for the spring carnival that year and remember watching Might And Power’s Caulfield Cup next to Les Carlyon, one of the nation’s greatest authors and journalists. As the race unfolded, Carlyon mentioned how well Might And Power was travelling in front, how his rivals were under pressure, and marvelled at the gelding’s giant stride. When Might And Power slipped clear around the final turn and straightened up with a huge lead, Carlyon fell silent. Carlyon didn’t utter a word and watched in awe as Might And Power streaked away to win the Caulfield Cup by 7½ lengths. Finally, Carlyon turned to me and said: “Ray, you will never see a Caulfield Cup win like that again.’’ Might And Power and Jim Cassidy destroying their rivals in the 1997 Caulfield Cup. Sadly, Carlyon passed away two years ago but I had reason to remember those words as Incentivise did his demolition job on the Caulfield Cup field last month. I wondered what Carlyon would have thought of racing’s latest staying star? But Carlyon was also an admirer of Might And Power’s jockey, Hall of Famer Jim Cassidy, so I contacted the retired rider for his opinion. Carlyon’s had a way with words – his prose always eloquent, captivating. Cassidy is no wordsmith like Carlyon – who is! – but the jockey also has a way of making his point very succinctly. Brutally honest, Cassidy says it how he sees it. He doesn’t pull any punches, either. “I thought Incentivise’s win in the Caulfield Cup was as good as Might And Power’s win,’’ Cassidy said. “To do what the horse did from 18 alley, roll forward, be four and five wide at the first turn, then three wide and four wide for the rest of the race was outstanding. “Then when (jockey) Brett Prebble took off on Incentivise when he did around the turn, he rode him with arrogance like how I used to ride Might And Power. “The ride of Prebble’s and the training performance of Moody’s was something else. “I’ll say it again, I rate Incentivise’s Caulfield Cup win as one of the greatest mile and a half wins I’ve ever seen.’’ Incentivise was equally impressive in his Caulfield Cup rout, according to Cassidy. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images Incentivise was penalised 1.5kg for his Caulfield Cup win and must shoulder 57kg in the $7.75m Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday. The marathon Cup distance represents a whole new pain barrier for Incentivise. He hasn’t raced beyond 2500m in his 12-start career and the only horse to shoulder 57kg or more and win the Melbourne Cup in more than 40 years was the legendary Makybe Diva with 58kg when she completed her Cup three-peat in 2005. But it could be argued Incentivise covered plenty of extra distance in the Caulfield Cup given the run he overcame during the race and Cassidy is adamant the gelding is better equipped to run the 3200m of the Melbourne Cup than Might And Power. “I’ve always said Might And Power wasn’t a true two-miler,’’ Cassidy said. “At 2400m, there was not a horse in the world that could have beaten him when he was at his best. “He was able to win a Melbourne Cup because he was a champion.’’ Might And Power, for all his power, strength and size, was always a bundle of nervous energy before, during and after a race. He was a handful to ride, often wanting to over-race and go as hard and fast as he could. Cassidy knew Might And Power couldn’t race fiercely and win a Melbourne Cup and his main concern was to get the great stayer to relax during the race. “I think the Melbourne Cup was the one race where I could have ridden him on a piece of cotton,’’ Cassidy said. “Jack (Denham) had Might And Power trained to the minute and the horse listened to me and stayed relaxed. “I got him out of the mounting yard on the pony and I kept talking to him to keep him relaxed. “During the race, he got into a lovely rhythm, he didn’t want to go too fiercely and he held off Doriemus to win the Cup, he was amazing that day.’’ Jim Cassidy after winning the 1997 Melbourne Cup with Might and Power. Cassidy pointed out that Incentivise seems to settle better in his races than Might And Power and is convinced he will have no trouble staying a strong 3200m in the Melbourne Cup. “Incentivise will lead and relax for Prebble – this horse will stay for sure,’’ Cassidy said. “The thing that impressed me about him in the Caulfield Cup was the way he broke away from them in the last 100m. He was so strong through the line. “He gets into a nice rhythm and he loves it, he had his ears pricked the other day, it was amazing to watch. “Put it this way, I wouldn’t want to be riding anything else in the Melbourne Cup than Incentivise.’’ Cassidy was on a roll now and asked this writer what the record winning margin was for the Melbourne Cup. When I replied “eight lengths” – held jointly by Archer (1862) and Rain Lover (1968) – Cassidy predicted Incentivise could break the record on Tuesday. “Whatever beats him will win the Melbourne Cup but what can beat him?’’ Cassidy said. “I made a statement to the boys at trackwork this morning that Incentivise could win this by 100 yards! “The further this bloke goes the further he will get away from them. This will be a chase, not a race. “Incentivise first, daylight second. He will lead and sh– in!”

Thursday, 28 October 2021 INDUSTRY VACCINATION UPDATE T This update follows the Government’s recent announcements on the transition to a traffic light system and the associated vaccination mandates. There is a twofold impact on the industry requiring different approaches for each. Racecourses as event venues under the traffic light system may require those present at their meetings to be vaccinated and provide proof of this. In addition, racing workplaces – including race day, trial day, or trackwork mornings – are also required to provide safe conditions for those working there. It is clear to NZTR that participants who want to secure their sport’s future and their ability to participate in it, but are yet to be vaccinated, should do so as soon as possible. While vaccination is a personal choice, thoroughbred participants need to understand that choosing not to get vaccinated will have significant consequences in terms of their ongoing ability to participate in our sport. To ensure that we can welcome as many people as possible on course in the future, and to enable thoroughbred racing to operate with fewer restrictions and more certainty, we will be requiring all racing clubs to use vaccination certificates wherever possible at all levels. Given the Government’s announcements this week, this is likely to also mean that anybody who wishes to enter a racecourse to work (including trainers and jockeys) will need to produce a vaccination certificate. Critically, vaccination certificates will only be available to those who are fully vaccinated or medically exempt. As it takes a minimum of three weeks to become fully vaccinated, industry participants who want to ensure that they can get a vaccination certificate when they need one should book their vaccinations immediately. NZTR is not ruling out an additional industry-wide vaccination mandate through the Rules of Racing to protect our participants and our sport and is taking advice on this subject. A further announcement and advice can be expected once the Government’s framework is confirmed, and we will work with clubs and sector groups to ensure a consistent approach across the sport.

Won't worry Incentivise. He can roll forward into the race building momentum.

He was for a period but the Flemington track and its condition today suits his preferred style. I'm getting a bit wary of Rosehill and Randwick. They are cutting out for some reason and often lately there is a bias.

Call it my peculiar little system. I didn't see 10's as value in the end.

Didn't back her. Certainly not at 10's.

The moment you starting picking her I knew she was stuffed. That said I'd say something is not right with her.

I don't want to be negative but..... I'm struggling to bother watching NZ racing today. Flemington track is in ace order.

Flemington suits his style. Good surface long straight.

It was his certainty of today's rides.

You're a follower of fashion!

You might be better to lay this horse. A fair assessment of the race. Extreme Warrior(Race 7, No 9) 9. Extreme Warrior (9) J: Jye McNeil (57kg) Flucs:$4.2, $4.6, $4.2 $4.4 EXTREME WARRIOR (Flemington Race 7 No 9 – 4.30pm AEST) The Sydney colts look like the superior bunch so we’re taking on Extreme Warrior. He was highly impressive time out in the Blue Sapphire, but what did he beat? Horses like In The Congo come here beating the likes of Anamoe while Home Affairs comes out of The Everest. Wide open race, Extreme Warriors looks unders as favourite.

Which public? Joe Punter? Joe "expert" Armchair driver? The rules should be more black and white.

You're back tracking now faster than a snake in a wagon rut! The beautiful thing is everyone can see it!

So it's relevant when it's In The Congo but irrelevant when it's Kallos?