Chief Stipe

Also before you go why don't you retract the statement that you made about Ellis sending a bill for commission and then not buying another horse from that Stud. Or provide proof. We can all only assume that what you wrote was absolute garbage. David Ellis was willing to donate $20k to a charity if you could provide the evidence. That is a fact.

Come on Pitty is quick to put the boot in when he wants to. I don't recall ever calling him an idiot as he is want to do.

You really don't know much about bloodstock do you Pitty. Princess Coup had a better Australian race record than Melody Belle and was better bred. FFS Pitty - how many horses have you successfully campaigned in Australia? Oh that's right you had a successful trip to Ascot! You barely go past Trentham most years. So if it ISN'T $45k a year - what were the costs? $100k a year? That's still over $5m in profit or $250k per 5% share. Yes the whole Te Akau operation seems to work doesn't it. From yearling selection through to racing and then selling. Jamie being but one cog in what seems a very professional operation.

Your estimate is how much and why?

I gather the Stud wasn't a very big one Horace? I just did a quick search through the NZB sales records and can't find any Studs that Ellis has stopped buying from. Actually your story seems more and more to be a fabricated bunch of crap.

No no Horace you can't walk away from this that easily. Either front up with some evidence or retract your statement. It is not up to me to prove anything.

Actually it would be a tad less than that as Fortuna bump the purchase price up which Te Akau doesn't. Still probably clear $250k as a 5% shareholder.

Easy to work out if you are talking about Melody Belle. Stake Earnings plus Sale Price = $4m + $2.6m = $6.6m. Roughly 85% is Syndicate earnings = $5.6m. She raced 4 seasons. Cost each season at $45,000 = $180,000. Less $58,000 purchase price. So $5,600,000 - $180,000 - $58,000 = $5,320,000 profit. 5% = $268,300 for around $2,900 initial outlay. Damn I should have taken that share!!!!

You haven't posted any facts other than hearsay. Either post the facts, retract what you have said or take the bet. Wrong. I've seen Te Akau's Syndicate contracts (I inquired about a share in a couple of yearlings I liked) and for any fillies that are syndicated the contract is quite clear that at the end of their racing career the filly or mare will be sold to dissolve the syndicate and sum sold for less a % to Te Akau will be distributed to the syndicate members. Now back to your accusation. You are making some serious allegations without any proof. My advice to you is to withdraw them promptly or back them up with verifiable evidence of their veracity. I'm happy to take this off-line and you can send me a private message with the details.

FFS Horace there is nothing shady about it. It is a saying "clip the ticket"! Hell every stock agent clips the ticket. Nothing shady when it is written into the syndicate contract! What you are eluding to is a "flick back" as a type of commission. That is illegal. So either front up with proof or retract what you've said or take the bet.

Rule Number(s): 870(4)Following the running of Race 6, Levelhead Insulation Passing Lane Mobile Trot, an Information instigating a protest was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against MICHELLE (S J Ottley), placed 4th by the Judge, on the ground that it broke over the concluding stages and failed to lose ground ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): 869(2)& Whip & Rein RegulationsFollowing the running of Race 1, NZ Amateur Drivers Championship Heat 3 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Ms S L Wigg, alleging that, as the Driver of DREAMINSOVER in the race, she “used her whip free of the rein near ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): 869(2)& Whip & Rein RegulationsFollowing the running of Race 1, NZ Amateur Drivers Championship Heat 3 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Ms C M Wigg, alleging that, as the Driver of FLAMBOYANT in the race, she “used her whip with more than a wrist ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): 869(4)Following the running of Race 3, NZ Amateur Drivers Championship Heat 4 Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr P Williams, against Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Mr F J Phelan, alleging that, as the Driver of REFINE in the race, he “failed to concede his position when being ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

I would have thought that it was placing your horses to optimise the return to your owners. Winning a $15k race is better than running down the track in a $50k race.

Then expect more irrigation.

This is what Pitty calls a "good track": received_127373929229248.mp4 1768306332_received_260115425649253(3).mp4

If you can prove that then I know someone who will donate $10k to charity.

Answer mine first: So you have to rely on a broken irrigation pipe to produce what YOU think is a good track? Many trainers wouldn't have called it a "good track"! Pitty that is what really annoys me about you. You are mouth of the south when it comes to racing, you admit that the Riccarton Track is stuffed and yet you are not worried about it! Don't you feel you have some responsibility as the leading south island trainer to lobby for the track to be fixed? Full credit to those North Island trainers that try to hold the CJC to account when they produce tracks that are too hard and unsafe. Be warned now that if more tracks are produced like the ones last spring then watch those Guineas races go north. What's more you promote the AWT which you admit you have very little interest in racing on!!

Go for it. But be advised you won't be able to be anonymous if you make a formal complaint of the type you are suggesting. The irony being of course that it is mainly your posts that are in question. So will you effectively be complaining against yourself? I've put you on moderation AGAIN - which means every post you make will be reviewed before being made public. My apologies to those BOAY'ers that @whiplash smile has had an uncalled for go at.

No chance but disappointing you would even consider abandoning your principles just to score a point! I'll keep hammering away at Riccarton until I see a plan for fixing the Turf Track. But I won't hold my breath waiting. Hell they are spending $16m without a business case/plan and praying for a miracle. Hell Sunday church service must be full with all you South Island Racing stakeholders sitting on the pews waiting for divine assistance!

25 YEARS AGO!!!!!! FFS name ONE metropolitan track in Sydney or Melbourne that hasn't had at least TWO track renovations in the last 25 years!! The irony of your statement is you are agreeing the track is fucked! Arguably for the last 25 years!!! Yet you expect doing nothing is going to fix it!! Lunacy! Do you add a few extra Hail Mary's for the track when doing your penance? Reefton haven't you been looking at the track for the last decade? Interesting how your focus has changed because you have skin in the game and are watching your horse race around a shite track. Bullshit. You know as well as I do that there are Accountants with heaps of letters after their names that are shit at their jobs. Hell some of them have even made it up to high positions in racing administration. Before you jump up and down I'm not referring to you. But you know who I'm talking about because I've seen some of your criticism. Then again there are heaps that do have the letters after their names that are good. Either way it is irrelevant as the fact is the Riccarton Turf Track needs renovating. You, I, and even Pitty agree on that plus a damn sight more!

I could ask you the same question Pitty. If you have stepped on it lately it has been with your eyes closed. Still waiting for answers from the Trainer with the most invested in the Premier South Island Turf Track who won't race on the AWT: When will the Turf Track be renovated? What is the plan and what will be done? When will they purchase or fix the irrigation equipment? Surely you are banging on Mill's door every morning and asking those questions because it is in your self interest to do so.

The classic response. I assure you I know a damn sight more about training race horses than zero. That aside that doesn't stop me from having an objective opinion based on what I see in a sport that I have been involved in for 50 years. The irony is that you agree with my assessment. You "don't see much of a future for your horse" but blame the tracks and one hard race. Whereas my observation is that she isn't competitive, is weak (which might change given time to grow) and could have been better placed relative to her ability. Short sprints over the AWT might suit her and get some of your investment back.

Two causes identified there. If the irrigation gear is not up to scratch and apparently hasn't been for years why hasn't that problem been fixed? When will it be fixed? Why aren't you and Pitty and every other trainer at Riccarton banging on Mill's door demanding action? The lanes are again a symptom of the underlying cause - irregular irrigation would make it worse but the problem is the soil and structure. Her comparative form hasn't been that good Reefton. Her "good" times were on rock hard tracks but every horse was running "good" times on those tracks. But most horses were running "gooder times". What "that day"? The one on the 3rd of October of a very very hard G3? Or the one on an irrigated D4 on the 24th of October? Over 800m early season dashes. Back to name calling I see. My apologies I forgot to put in a comma or an and. She was last and 14 lengths from the winner. Promised what? Did Pitty talk her up?