Chief Stipe

No they still feel something when the whip touches but not extreme pain. Hell their lungs, heart and brains are experiencing that as does any athlete. Blinkers - my opinion on Blinkers is they are used initially to overcome a behavioural issue. Sometimes that is a perceived behavioural issue. For example I don't believe that Melody Belle would perform any less without them BUT for the fact there is now a Pavolv Dog scenario going on. You put them on and she goes shit today is race day! My best horse was always asleep in the stall until you put a saddle on her back. Then she went from being a friendly pony to being a full on racehorse. The trainer would throw the saddle over her then walk back. She'd shake her head and then stretch every limb of her body. Then he'd go back and finish putting the saddle on.

Gavin who? As for the "personal issues" if you are going to say something then say it! I'm really over the innuendo and in your words insinuations.

Great horse. I was at Uni during that time. I backed him at good odds one night at Addington early in his career. My flat mates were impressed as I picked and backed 8 winners in a row.

Pavlov's Dog's. It is the action not the pain.

If you had a soft arse and had just finished your lunch then yeah a cane across the backside hurt. If you had just run 2000m and given it your all and pumped on adrenaline then your lungs and heart would take precedence over any welts on your arse. When you cooled down your muscles and joints with all the lactic acid and wear and tear would still surpass a few welts on your arse.

I think he was the favourite.

Royden Glen?

Galah - I think the biggest difference we have is around how the RIU have been operating. I dont believe that "the ends justify the means".

We've actually agreed many times.

They post really good stuff here too!

They are absolute crap. Stuff is a poor NZ version of CNN. It isn't journalism it is purely biased opinion masquerading as journalism.

Is Lamb the starter at Wingatui today?

All I'll add Gammalite is that the appearance of welts (I wouldn't give much credence to Thomas's selective photo editing) doesnt constitute pain experienced by a horse.

At the end of the day Thomass you are banging on about Going Sticks when the real issue is the lack of work done on rejuvenating our main Turf Tracks. Reviewing the Oaks Day racing from Trentham it looks like they have gone down the sand slitting route with the track. I'm not sure what they have done but if they have gone down that path then it's a repetition of the same old same old that they have done elsewhere. All it does is stuff the track more. We have the usual suspects blaming irrigation. I see you and the Comic Dog have joined that chorus. No doubt Pitty and Reefton feel vindicated by the growing number that think that that is the problem. However the problem is much more fundamental than that. Spending $50m on three AWT tracks isn't going to change anything. Probably make it worse as more money is sacked out to maintain them. Where is the plan to address the problem? Trentham should be sold off (the Wellington populous is not supporting it) and the capital invested in a Strathayr in the CD. WRC meetings could be run at Foxton in the meantime.

I was being facetious. You quoted the media as a source. I was just pointing out how can you actually believe anything they write?

But the "evidence" doesn't stack up because it isn't adjusted for population or other factors. It is BS. Subsequently you cannot say that Amarelinha would not have won that race if she had been only whipped 19 or 10 or 6 or any other number of times. Even your own theories support that. Maybe it was the penalty free strikes in the last 100m that gave her the advantage. Who knows? Certainly you don't.

So you DON'T want Trentham to do it like the other Clubs because they aren't doing it right either. Can you post a protocol for us? Then explain how it will be useful to us amateur punters by providing some examples. The latter shouldn't be too hard for you given you can do it retrospectively just like your tipping "service"!

But she didn't say it. That's the point however you attribute that quote you made up to her.

How was the late scratching of Jonny Nevits "ammo"? At the end of the day based on past cases Jones will get a $400 fine at most. Of course that's if they can find evidence that Jones knew the horse was lame before getting to the track. Perhaps they don't want Jonny Nevits to come out and win in light of the outstanding case. As for providing "ammo" as far as The Press goes I'd say if a horse sneezed out of turn you would hear about it. Along with another complete rehash of the last three years! I always thought "News" was as per its implicit definition - it is of interest because it is new and current. Repeating old news is nothing more than publishing propaganda in the pursuit of an agenda.

Wouldn't worry about it Karrots. I don't even though I find him bloody annoying. The good thing about JJ Flash is he is consistent and transparent. You can always see through him!

LOL are you sure they got that right? Wouldn't want real facts to get in the way of the beat up now would we?

OK my bad missed that. In saying that how many charges have been laid under Rule 863? I can only find two so far searching the JCA database. Low level fines. There were some charges under Rule 305. Three cases resulting in low level fines. But very rare. How would you prove that Jones knew the horse was lame? Or that it didn't happen after the horse arrived on course? When was the horse inspected? In the stables, birdcage or on the track? If in the stables why was the horse pre-selected for inspection?

Come on Woodham - DO YOUR JOB! You represent ALL trainers including Jones. If Jones hasn't been charged as accused then you should be onto the Press now clarifying the situation. We know the RIU won't because it isn't part of their agenda!

Really? Although we can't expect anything better from you Flash but where has it been publicly notified by the RIU or HRNZ that Jones has been charged? Are the RIU feeding the Press this information BEFORE making it public? There is nothing in the Stewards report saying Jones has been charged. If he hasn't been charged and I was Jones I'd be seeking a full public retraction otherwise I'd sue the shyte journalist. JOHNNY NEVITS - acting on the advice of the on-course Veterinarian Stewards spoke with trainer C Jones regarding their intention to scratch the gelding due to soreness in the off front leg after examination. Mr Jones subsequently filed a Request for a Ruling disputing the Stewards decision, and after consideration of the evidence from the Stewards, Mr Jones and the on-course Veterinarian Ms Williamson, the JCA declared JOHNNY NEVITS to be a late scratching at 12.45 pm. A veterinary clearance is required prior to the gelding resuming. Trainer C Jones defended a charge under Rule 863 that he attempted to start an unsound horse in a race with the matter being adjourned to a later date. CORRECTION: I got this wrong. But all the same something doesn't seem right about this. That said I'd still be challenging the Journalist over the article. Why associate Jones and this charge with all the other crap? There is ZERO balance in this article. Godber hasn't explained the situation and no comment from Woodham!

This is an absolute shyte article full of inaccuracies. WOOODHAM WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?