Chief Stipe

Yep and they went to a studio guy in NZ who just said all the cliches. Meanwhile the Ozzie commentators were available! There is zero understanding at TAB NZ of the local market. Just pump out more races from nowhere land and hope some recidivist losing punter keeps punting. That's no way to create a sustainable market.

So only the winning dog gets put up on the podium and the photographer pitches up pushing a zimmer frame?

So you disagree with @Brodie who reckons they shouldn't race?

But do you care that the Cup meeting should go ahead?

Why move? As for the AWT they wouldn't race this meeting on it anyway. @curious would probably say why not race at Foxton instead of Awapuni?

Can you get back on Topic? @Brodie has made an effort.

But how stupid is this lot? How many of those BS races from unknown places had refunded betting or abandoned races because no one was interested? Quality still holds court in my opinion anyway over BS dross from some AWT racing Quarter Horses in bogan USA. No race programmers left at TAB NZ just a computer system rolling out races and computer generated races. Yet they still have a bunch of overpaid executives the only difference now is they are just IT supervisors!

Yes Cup Day will not earn as much revenue as in the past. But Ozzie Thoroughbred Racing is being staunch and keeping on running events. AND making money!! What do you expect the Met and HRNZ do? Cancel the 117th edition of the NZ Trotting Cup? What does that achieve?

They don't. Seems to me there is another undisclosed reason for this change.

You really think NZTR could think and react quicker than a team of netballers?

Thankfully @Thomass is still sulking as we would get a repeat diatribe on how good German racing is!

Torquator Tasso at 80-1 pulls off one of biggest shocks in Arc history Outsider beats fancied Taranwa and Hurricane Lane Remarkable victory for German trainer in only second year Greg Wood at Longchamp @Greg_Wood_ Sun 3 Oct 2021 15.28 BST For just the third time in 100 runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, a horse trained in Germany was first across the line on Sunday, to the great surprise of almost every racegoer at Longchamp, and punters across Europe and beyond. Torquator Tasso and Rene Piechulek were 69-1 shots on the French Tote and 80-1 with British bookmakers to win one of the strongest Arcs for many years, but chased down the better-fancied Tarnawa and Hurricane Lane well inside the final furlong to win by three-quarters of a length. Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe: Torquator Tasso wins in huge shock – as it happened Read more This was an Arc that confounded expectations from start to finish. Adayar, the Derby winner, and Japan’s big hope, Chrono Genesis were drawn wide in 11 and 14 respectively, but somehow found their way to the front with a mile still to run, in Chrono Genesis’s case after racing alone in the middle of the track for the first three furlongs under Oisin Murphy. They were still first and second on the final turn, and William Buick soon kicked Adayar into a useful lead, challenging the field to pick up and catch him on heavy, holding ground. He was just in front with a furlong to run but Hurricane Lane, the St Leger winner, and Dermot Weld’s mare Tarnawa were closing and finally got to him half a furlong from the post. All the while, though, the yellow colours of Torquator Tasso had been staying on steadily on their outside, and just as it seemed two of the favourites would fight out the finish, Piechulek swamped the pair of them with an irresistible final drive for the line. The result was met with stunned silence in the grandstand, and Piechulek and Marcel Weiss – Torquator Tasso’s trainer, who is only in his second year with a licence – were struggling to absorb their achievement in the moments after the race. “I still can’t put it into words,” Weiss said, a few minutes after securing only the third Arc success for Germany after Star Appeal in 1975 and Danedream in 2011. “I can’t really digest it, I’m stumbling for words. We started to plan for the Arc last winter. Before the Arc, he had produced some very good performances, he was a Group One winner, and even though I thought this was the strongest Arc of the last few years, I thought he deserved to start. We would have been very happy if he had finished third, fourth, fifth or sixth, that would have been a success. The ground came in our favour, and then the race went as we wanted.” Piechulek was riding in the Arc for the first time and could not have wished for a smoother debut. “I’m very honoured that I was able to ride in such a race,” he said. “I think it’s going to be tomorrow before I realise what it really means. There was not a lot of pace in the race and I tried to get a position towards the leading horses so that when we got to the final straight I could really launch my horse. He’s a horse that gets better and faster the longer the straight, so I wanted to make use of it.” This was the third Group One success of Torquator Tasso’s career but his first outside Germany, which gave punters very little to go on beforehand in terms of form to tie him in with horses such as Adayar, Hurricane Lane and Tarnawa. After more than 20mm of rain in less than 24 hours at Longchamp, though, a handful of backers at least may have taken a chance on his stout German pedigree, as the stallion Adlerflug – also the sire of last year’s German-trained Arc runner‑up, In Swoop – is as strong an influence for stamina as you could find. This was still one of the biggest surprises in Arc history, however, and Charlie Appleby, the trainer of both Hurricane Lane and Adayar, was among those trying to make sense of it all afterwards. “William said unfortunately his horse has jumped and he had to go on the front end because he was never going to get any cover,” Appleby said. “He didn’t like that ground but it was another brave performance by the horse, and he showed his class there travelling into the straight when he was trying to pick up. “At one stage it looked like [Hurricane Lane] was going to produce a run that was potentially going to win an Arc but full credit to the winner, we knew it was going to be a gruelling race at the finish, and that’s what it was.”

It won't be a major loss. The costs for the day will be way down. They just won't make as much oncourse punting and hospitality revenue. Stakes are funded primarily from the greater unwashed pot. In my opinion better for tradition to continue no matter what the situation is. That's a bigger finger to the politicians and bureaucrats than cancelling.

Perhaps it can perhaps it can't afford to run the Cup. The 117th running of the Cup that was still held during two World Wars. Freeman Holmes won it driving Trix Pointer in 1919 during a pandemic. Alan B Holmes won it driving Gold Bar in 1945. Even a burning stand didn't stop the FFA being run on Show Day 1961. The 20,000 crowd on course just moved into the birdcage or the inside field of the track. I imagine Brodie the bookie had a field day in in the infield!

Can you stay on topic please @Brodie!!

He's real good. Great galloping style. Moody said he still has improvement in him!

If you are @Karrotsisback then that is the wrong reason to reduce the size of the field. Any horse that qualifies should be allowed to start within the maximum field size limit.

Are you talking about the NZ Trotting Cup?

Book closes 2021-11-09T17:00:00+13:00 Self Assured2.90 South Coast Arden3.20 Copy That6.00 Pembrook Playboy7.00 Amazing Dream13.00 Di Caprio21.00 Kango21.00 Henry Hubert26.00 Bad To The Bone34.00 Classie Brigade34.00 Robyns Playboy51.00 Belle Of Montana67.00 Stylish Memphis67.00 Triple Eight67.00 Vintage Cheddar67.00 Cranbourne81.00 Laver81.00 Need You Now81.00 Burnham Boy101 Christianshavtime101 Dance Time101 Franco Niven101 Steel The Show101 Taipo101 Plutonium Lady151 Matt Damon201 Memphis Tennessee201 Somekindawonderful201 Terry201 That Alexander Guy201 U May Cullect201 Johnny Mac301 Kruizr301 Mach's Back301 New York Minute301 Santanna Mach301 Warloch301 Willie Go West301

Well this Topic is well and truly stuffed now. I'll filter off the off topic posts shortly. However I would like to make this statement. My advice for what it is worth: ANYONE OVER 65 AND WITH UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS SHOULD GET VACCINATED. I'll resist getting vaccinated for as long as I'm able. My reasons are: the vaccine has not been tested long enough under controlled trials; I am at minimal risk from Covid-19 i.e. I'm willing to take my chance with the disease; I have no control over the vaccination of my children who have no underlying health issues and have negligible risk from Covid-19. There has been inadequate testing of medium and long term effects in children; if you are vaccinated and I am not my vaccination status is none of your business nor does it affect your health risk; I believe the freedoms that have been taken away from New Zealanders is an important issue and my resisting of vaccination is the last thing I can do to defend those freedoms; I am not anti-vax for those that are aged and have underlying health conditions.

I didn't realise you were the driver.

It's not true the way Hunter portrays it. Far from it. A bit like his guesses on the real identities of posters. He is batting zero at the moment in that regard.

@Karrotsisback Hunter is referring to the fact that one individual was using a set of colours that someone was using as their avatar. That is it was in the posters personal profile. I contacted that person and they were unaware that they were anyone's colours. I left it up to them to change if they wanted as for me to change them would require me editing their profile. So Hunter is being a bit loose with the truth.

Victoria will be the only state to host jumps racing from 2022 after Racing SA announced that the sport would cease immediately in South Australia. In a statement, Racing SA said declining participation levels and dwindling local horse numbers had made the local jumping industry unsustainable and unworkable. Racing SA chief executive Nick Redin pointed to data that indicated there are fewer than 10 jumps horses currently in South Australia, while only a handful of local trainers hold a jumps license. Due to the impacts of COVID, including border closures that restricted participation by Victorian riders, only 12 jumps races were held in South Australia last season with field sizes falling to, on average, less than five horses per race. Redin conceded that, although many traditionalists would be opposed to the decision, it was the best move for the future of thoroughbred racing in South Australia. “Jumps racing has been an important part of the thoroughbred industry for almost 150 years,” Redin said. “However, participation levels in jumps racing in South Australia, particularly from within our State, have been declining for some time and it has become clear that we no longer have a sustainable jumps industry. “While this will undoubtedly be sad news for some, we believe it creates some very exciting opportunities for the future. “Thoroughbred racing in South Australia is on a growth trajectory, and this decision is in the best interests for the future of our industry.” Redin confirmed that the iconic Oakbank Racing Carnival will continue with the traditional Easter Saturday and Easter Monday racedays, although all races – including the iconic Great Eastern, Von Doussa and Harry D. Young jumping features - will now be run as flat events.

@Brodie we have a separate section for the Covid-19 subject. Stop hijacking threads. I'll move these posts to the appropriate forum. As for graphene oxide who are the scientists? It is more likely to be iron oxide or a type of magnetite. However you miss the elephant in the room by ignoring the two named nano lipids that have not had pharmcokinetic testing. So last post on this Topic in this Topic.