Chief Stipe

Yeah! I was looking through the fields and went WOW 30 horses - where are the ballots? There weren't any!!

Pony race winner's jockey ambitions www.racing.com Don’t be surprised to see the name Lillianna MeyerVale pop up in your form guides over the next few years. MeyerVale took out the 2025 National Pony Race Series Final (Large Ponies Division) on the Gold Coast in fine style late last month, and her tale to victory is quite remarkable. Daughter of trainer Shilleagh MeyerVale and jockey Bradley Vale, 16-year-old Lillianna has long since held ambitions of a career in the saddle herself, and rides work for the family stable as well as honing her craft at the Benella Pony Club. So, when she won her way through to the Pony Race Series Finals with victory at Moonee Valley, the team elected to temporarily shut the stable and make the big road trip north from their Berrigan base. “It was a pretty big effort… we’re not a big stable, it’s all family run, and it’s mostly just Bradley, myself and the kids doing the work,” Shilleagh said. “We had a few extra horses that were meant to be coming to the stables, and we were like, ‘we'll just keep it quiet for the minute,’ knowing that we had to go to Queensland. “So, it's a definitely made things a little bit tighter, but we had to do it. It was a dream of hers to be able to participate in the whole series.” Lillianna took part in the first Pony Race Series, where she rode little Tinkerbell in the Small Ponies Division. Thought Tinkerbell is “not fast” - and that may be the polite way of putting it - Lillianna was hooked, and the requests for another, more serious tilt at the Series wasn’t far behind. “She just rode little Tinkerbell, that she's been riding ever since she was tiny and Tinkerbell is not fast,” Shilleagh said with a laugh. “But she (Lillianna) was so stoked to be part of it - it didn't matter if she went fast or not. After she got that first taste, she begged us to buy her a mechanical horse. “So, we went to Hilltop Saddlery and got her one of those and we called it Chautauqua, because it doesn't leave the shed – it stays there no matter how much she rides it.” Needless to say, that was not Tinkerbell being ridden to victory on the Gold Coast. But what makes Lillianna’s win all the more impressive is the fact that the pony in question, 13.2hh Honey, wasn’t her first choice either. The seven-year-old mare was a late call-up, and an ill-tempered one at that, leaving Lillianna to start from the ground up with only a few months before the trial day at Ballarat and the first round of races at The Valley. “After her first race on Tinkerbell, she said, ‘I need a faster horse’,” Shilleagh said. “We said, ‘well, you know, it’s not all about winning’. And she just said, ‘I need a faster horse.’ “We’ve got another pony here and we started training him for it, but at the same time she was also training him for doing eventing, and he had a little accident on a jump. “It wasn't major, but it was just enough that he needed time off which meant that he wasn't going to be right. “We weren't sure what time of the year they were going to put the next series on, but we thought it'll probably stop her from being able to participate if it's earlier. “Friends of ours said that they just got a pony – it needed a lot of work and education, but they reckoned it would be fast enough.” Honey certainly came as advertised, but before long, Lillianna had the mare much more focused by the time Ballarat’s time trials rolled around. From there the pair went to the Valley, where they won their heat comfortably sporting the Ridgemont colours, and qualified for the final. “Lilliana’s really started from the bottom with this pony – it was quite a handful,” Shilleagh said. “Didn't like to go forward, didn’t like to do anything. It's a chestnut mare, of course… she’d got it over a couple of her little riders. “So, it's taken quite a long time for her to realise that Lilianna means business and is gonna stay there and keep riding, not hopping off and putting her back out in the paddock.” Following the 1470km road trip to the Gold Coast, and a series of games at the Magic Millions complex to determine the order of the barrier – Lillianna and Honey would end up with gate one. It was a slight concern for Lillianna, with Honey still sometimes a challenge when given the space, but she needn’t have worried. “Lillianna was a bit stressed about drawing one,” Shilleagh said. “She said, ‘oh, she's not very good at going forward on our own and it's a different way of racing’, so she was a little bit sceptical of it. “And of course they had rain, so we were wondering, how the track would be and everything like that, but it worked out for us.” Watching Lillianna’s success on the Gold Coast – which ended up being a two-horse war with a good 35 lengths back to third – it is clear that a potential jockey of the future is in the saddle. Shilleagh, who watched with stewards as Lillianna went for her track-work certification as soon as she could, said there have been few doubts about her daughter’s career paths, and even less so since she hit the pony racing scene. And despite winning, a harsh post-race self-critique provides further proof that this was far from the last time Lillianna plans to race-ride. https://bitofayarn.com “She is deadset determined that she wants to be a jockey,” Shilleagh said. “As soon as she could get a trackwork licence, she was up on up on a horse for the first time in front of three stewards watching her, making sure that she was okay to ride track work. “She pulled herself up on looking down to her side in the actual race on the Gold Coast. She said she didn't even realise she’s doing it at the time because, she was just so excited and pumped, and concentrating too. “And then she's looked up and she's like, ‘oh my gosh, I've just ran like it out a bit’ so she tried to straighten her out, but it was all right. “The kids only have two chances to do it a year, so it's not like they get a lot of training like an apprentice jockey. There’s a lot of rules they have to follow as well, with space and steering.” Shilleagh and Brad, who has had no shortage of exciting opportunities through his successful riding career, are perfectly content operating their small family stable. But Lillianna, who will naturally be applying for an apprenticeship spot as soon as she can, is determined to mix it with the best. “She has high aims,” Shilleagh said. “Brad and I never really aim to be really big. We come from South Australia originally, but Brad had plenty of opportunities to ride overseas, in America and Macau, and for us to stay in those big cities there too. “But we chose to live in the country and raise a family and just be happy doing what we're doing because we love the sport, but Lilianna has aims of being at the top. “Her drive to do it, what she picks up on and everything like that will be awesome. She just needs to be able to get a few more horses underneath her to get more practice and the right people around her. “The pony races, I suppose, have the added incentive of being able to encourage the next generation into our industry, and of all parts of it. “Because it’s not just being a jockey, but they see different parts of horse racing as well, so it’s great.” But again, this won’t be the case with Lillianna, who at present is firmly on track to join the riding ranks in the next few years. Lillianna MeyerVale – remember the name.

J-Mac gets his Royal Ascot win www.racing.com Crimson Advocate swooped late to land the Duke of Cambridge Stakes for James McDonald and Wathnan Racing.https://bitofayarn.com The filly, who won the Queen Mary for previous trainer George Weaver in 2023, showcased an impressive turn of foot to gain back-to-back wins in the race for John and Thady Gosden, who struck with Running Lion last year. Hot favourite Cinderella's Dream had to settle for second and was beaten by a length and three-quarters. Sent off at 5-4, the Godolphin filly was forced to switch to the outside as they turned for home and looked to threaten approaching the two-furlong pole. However, James McDonald's mount proved too quick, surging past the rest of the field. Wathnan’s first-choice jockey, James Doyle, finished third on the Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel, who travelled well before being outpaced in the final furlong. "I’m absolutely delighted. She gave me an absolutely beautiful ride. I’m very honoured to be wearing the Wathnan silks,” McDonald said. "It’s so special riding at Royal Ascot, I can’t really put it into words. I just can’t thank enough people for the opportunities to be here on the big stage. Even when you don’t have a chance and you’re riding here, it's such a huge thrill."

www.racing.com Snitzel with Arrowfield Stud manager Joe Hickey (Image: Joan Faras/Arrowfield Stud)Https://bitofayarn.com Arrowfield Group Chairman John Messara has reflected on the career of Snitzel, following the news of his passing on Wednesday. On the track, Snitzel's greatest achievement was his success in the 2006 Group 1 Oakleigh Plate. He also won five other Stakes races and was placed in races like the Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic, the Newmarket Handicap and the T.J. Smith Stakes. Snitzel then joined the stallion roster at Arrowfield in 2006 and enjoyed a remarkable career at stud. "He was a lovely horse with a wonderful temperament, a bit of a pocket rocket, he was not a big horse but by golly, he passed on his genes, those great Danehill genes, on through him to his produce," Messara told Andrew Bensley on RSN. "A lot of people had a lot of success with him and we're just the lucky ones to stand him." LISTEN: Messara pays tribute to Snitzel Https://bitofayarn.com As a stallion, Snitzel produced horses that could perform over a range of distances and overcome different track conditions. "He was a very, very versatile horse and could do anything, could handle the wet, could handle the dry," Messara said. "They had great temperaments, his produce, very much like himself. He was like a big puppy dog, he was a lovely, lovely animal, loved being patted and a great favourite around the farm here. "There are a lot of teary eyes today, I can tell you." Messara then went on to explain Snitzel's recent health issues that ultimately led to him being humanely euthanised. "He had a liver complaint for a few months, which we were able to deal with," Messara said. "Over the last week or so, the liver virtually collapsed on us and the vets determined that there was nothing we could do. He is 23 years of age and it's a fair age for a stallion and they find ways and means of deteriorating around that time. "He'd been wonderfully healthy for the previous 22-and-a-half years, as it turns out, it's just happened over the last six months."

Our stats all round are appalling.

Are you still waiting for your 20 start maiden to win a race?

BTW last season there were 650+ races in the South Island.

But perception doesn't match reality. Sure the South Island programming doesn't provide an ideal pattern for certain types of horses but that doesn't mean that for the horse population there aren't ample opportunities. The 5 trainers in the head post of this topic have had 1500 starts so.far this season. If there is a problem why aren't 4 of them knocking on the door or the 1 that has virtually dominated the South Island Programme Committee for a very long time.

I'm struggling with your logic or more so the point you think you are making. Are you suggesting that we need more trainers with high numbers of starters and low success rates? Or are you saying we need more owners wiling to subsidise South Island racing from a charitable perspective? Put it another way would you rather own a horse tha won a race every 15 starts or one that won every 5? Yes strike rates are important in my opinion for two reasons - one they are a measure of the ability of a trainer to choose the right horse and place it correctly. It is also a measure of the trainers willingness to sack a horse if it isn't good enough. No I'm not saying it doesn't count even though that $300k was earnt by just two horses. However overall it took more than a few more starts to do it - it took at least twice as many on average.

No I'm arguing their owners are. What's more there are some less successful trainers who would have loved to have had the cattle that @Pitman and Carston have had. Carston averages a winner every 19 starts.

Only Trainers would. The Owners paid for that. Te Akau have 8 times that in Stakes winnings for only twice as many starts. But let's not talk about that. Given I'm apparently a TA Idol.

That wasn't the point. They trainers listed are all within 5 wins of each other. @Pitman has had 370 starts - 200 more than Furlong. Both have the same number of wins.

Actually I'll answer my own question. @Pitman is at 12 (11.97 R. Dennis 7.7 Parson's 7.2 Tyler 8.1 Furlong 5.55 Anderton 8.46.

Which one is at 11?

So you'd be quite happy being referred to as a "horsewoman"?

Great promotion and photo.

Yes well it takes another woman to understand a woman.

It would be interesting though.

Perhaps you should also list the strike rates by Trainer.

Obviously not which I also understand. Tracks are going to be all consuming for some time and from my perspective that's the priority rather than virtue signalling. I'd rather have a horse with a sore arse than a stuffed leg.

FFS @Huey it was just a circular notifying that the non-inclusive language had been removed. For example horseman has probably been changed to horseperson or licensed trainer etc. From a legal perspective it makes sense. No big deal. But I guess it is something else for the disenfranchised GOM's to moan about online.

Do they? I doubt you view every race in the world let alone any inside view which very few jurisdictions do or can afford to do. This crusade of yours only feeds the minority. A bigger concern in my opinion is the safety of the tracks and I find it ironic that @Thomass has very little or anything to say on that subject especially his beloved Trenthan. But then who am I other than a narcissistic know all that provides a forum where you can have an anonymous identity to express your views.

@Thomass I've told you I don't want photos like this published as they are misleading at best. It is a bit like slo-mo in High Definition on the Rugby field. In real time the average viewer doesn't see anything. Let alone the anti-racing minority who don't even watch the races because it is so appalling to their senses.

The point is the other Jockey may have as well but it can't be policed. Therefore if the rule can't be enforced evenly it is an arse.