Chief Stipe

Rule Number(s): Rule 638(1)(d)Following the running of Race 8 (Bostock NZ Spring Carnival Tickets on Sale Now 1400m), an Information was lodged by Mr A Coles alleging a breach of Rule 638 (1) (d) in that R Elliott angled his mount BEAUTY STAR outwards when not clear of VALHEXA near the 350m. Mr Coles asked Mr Balcombe to explain ...View the full article

No Change and Aaron Kuru return to the Hastings birdcage after their victory in the Te Whangai Romneys Hawke’s Bay Hurdle A patient ride from Aaron Kuru paved the way for local runner No Change to take out the feature hurdle race at Hastings on Saturday, the Te Whangai Romneys Hawke’s Bay Hurdle (3100m). The Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal-trained ten-year-old had been narrowly defeated in the 2018 edition of the race but went one better this season after Kuru timed his run to perfection on him. Settled beautifully by Kuru in a trailing position, No Change jumped efficiently throughout as the pair tracked race favourite Woodsman who set a solid pace out in front. Kuru angled No Change off the trail with two fences to clear before issuing an irresistible challenge in the final stages to down Woodsman with topweight Laekeeper fighting on bravely for third. Nelson was quick to pay tribute to the ride of Kuru who has been associated with the Nelson stable over many years. “It was a beautiful ride,” Nelson said. “He had him in the right place and got out at the right time. “It just gets better and better as he (Kuru) looks after me and I look after him, so we are thrilled to have him.” Nelson also believed the prevailing Slow7 track conditions had played in No Change’s favour as he has struggled in the past on the deepest of winter tracks. “I think he (No Change) is very good but he is limited on really bad ground,” he said. “We’ll pick our way through the winter, but I don’t think Wellington (Wellington Hurdle July 13) is the place for him, but we will work something out.” A useful performer on the flat with seven wins, No Change has now added a further four victories from 12 starts over fences, to his career record. Race favourite Woodsman tried hard to pull his backers through at just his second start over hurdles and wasn’t disgraced in finishing second while Laekeeper signalled he was on target for the major jumping races later in the year after finishing amongst the placegetters in both the Grand National Hurdles (4200m) and Great Northern Hurdle (4200m) in 2018. View the full article

My Boss races away to his first win My Boss franked his recent improved form to open his account in the $20,000 Open Maiden race over 1400m on Friday night. The Rock ‘N’ Pop three-year-old has been knocking on the door of late, missing the money by a pimple at his last start in a similar Open Maiden race, but over 1200m three weeks ago. The extra 200m probably helped his cause even if jockey Joseph Azzopardi was worried they might have headed the 12-horse field too soon. “I thought we went to the front too early. He started to stargaze around,” said the Perth jockey. “But he kept finding and just made it (from the fast-finishing Lim’s Honour). I didn’t think we could beat the favourite, but we did. “I thought the 1400m would suit him better. I’m not sure if he can win in higher grade than Class 5, but he will definitely take a lot of confidence from that win tonight.” Winning trainer Mok Zhan Lun, who was visiting the winner’s enclosure only for the fourth time this year, said he had a silent hope the $37 chance could salute, especially after his last encouraging run. “I think coming back to Open Maiden company, he would have a chance tonight,” said the Singaporean handler. “Joey rode him very well. From the wide barrier (13), I told him to try and get some cover and ride him for luck.” Azzopardi followed the instructions to the letter, and when My Boss started to improve from the 600m after travelling outside Bangkok Girl in seventh place, that elusive maiden win at his ninth start looked in the bag when he swept to the front at the 250m. The winning time was 1min 23.95secs for the 1400m on the Long Course. -STC View the full article

Darryl Anderson will take up a new position in Hong Kong in the new season. Trackside presenter and jockey agent Darryl Anderson will head to Hong Kong in the new season where he will take up the role as Senior Racing Advisor with The Racing Club, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The Racing Club was established a decade ago to help promote racing, and it holds a special category of membership of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which allows the club to race several horses. “My role will be to help members (of The Racing Club) understand racing a little bit more and help them enjoy the thrill of racing and get them a step further to full membership of the club,” Anderson said. “I host the members on race days, it’s not too dissimilar to what I would do to host a racing club function here. “I will also host forums, track visits, and educational programs for the members. “They have got member horses as well, which start with the prefix Young. It’s up to me to liaise with trainers and jockeys and provide that information to the members and host them in the parade ring before races.” Anderson is looking forward to the new challenge that awaits him in the Asian racing jurisdiction. “I am really excited about it, I think the role is almost tailor-made for me,” he said. “The challenge for me is going to be the cultural difference and the language barrier, but most of the people within The Racing Club speak good English, so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.” While he is excited about the new opportunity, it spells the end of his time being the riding agent for jockeys Samantha Collett and Jason Waddell. “It means that I am not going to renew my jockey managers license and I will be finishing up with Trackside at the end of the season,” he said. “I have had a great time managing them. Jason gave me my first Group One winner as an agent with Kawi in the Otaki WFA Classic in 2017. “I have done Sam’s rides for just about as much time and taken her from 50 wins a season to winning a premiership (last season), and eventually getting her elusive Group One win this season with the Auckland Cup. “I am pretty proud of what I have achieved with them and Trackside. This new opportunity has come at the right time and I can’t wait to get my teeth into it.” View the full article

Loose Cannon (red cap) will look to bookend her season at Ruakaka Connections of lightly raced filly Loose Cannon will be hoping she can bookend her season with victories at Ruakaka when she contests the Montfield Quarry (1200m) at the Northland track on Saturday. The Stephen Marsh-trained runner won on debut at the Northland track last September and backed up later that month to finish a creditable fourth in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings. “Unfortunately she was badly interfered with twice and just about pushed through the fence in the home straight,” Go Racing Manager Albert Bosma said. “To go onto run fourth was a testament to her talent and determination but it should have been a lot closer.” The daughter of Tavistock will cap off her season with a hit-and-run northern mission on Saturday before she is set aside for spring racing. “She’ll just have the one run before we put her away for a month’s winter break,” Marsh said. “The big focus for her is spring and summer racing.” Bosma is confident heading into Saturday with his filly and is eyeing black-type targets with her next season. “We are happy with her draw for Saturday of barrier seven. From there, she should be able to sit in the first half of the field,” he said. “We are starting afresh with her. She’s a smart filly who can go through the grades in the spring and we would like to think she will be ready to tackle black type in the autumn.” View the full article

Seventh Up will have his first run since last October at Ruakaka on Saturday. Shelley Hale is hoping her trip north to Ruakaka on Saturday is less eventful than a fortnight ago. The Cambridge trainer was on her way to the Northland track with stable runners Seventh Up and Go Nicholas, however, a blown tyre on the Auckland Harbour Bridge put paid to those plans. “I just had a blowout right on top of the harbour bridge,” Hale said. “I got off to the side safe and sound, but we were parked on the side of the road for two-and-a-half hours. “It took them (roadside assistance) ages to turn up and then they turned up with the wrong sized tube. “If they had turned me around in an hour I would have had tonnes of time to get up there. “But as frustrating as it was, there are worse problems in the world.” All was not lost, with Hale electing to line-up Go Nicholas at Tauranga last Saturday, where he finished sixth over 1200m on the Heavy 11 tack, and she said he will appreciate the better track conditions (Dead6) at Ruakaka on Saturday. “That track was too heavy for him, but he still tried a bit in the straight, so we thought we would just get him back onto a better surface at Ruakaka and see how we go.” While the seven-year-old gelding will have a week between runs when he contests the Northpine Waipu Cup (1400m) on Saturday, stablemate Seventh Up will be heading into the race in a fresh state. The son of Shinko King hasn’t raced since his unplaced run in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings last October, but he pleased Hale with his 935m trial win last month. “I’ve taken plenty of encouragement out of the 900m trial at Cambridge. It’s hard to get back and come and win, and he did that,” she said. “I don’t know how strong it was, but he did all we could ask of him. He looks really well, so it just proved that he is feeling good. “(The fortnight delay) shouldn’t affect our plans too much. It would have been nice to get a 1200m run into him, but he’s working really nicely and 1400m to a mile is his best trip. I think we have got him fit enough, it’s just he is a clear topweight.” Seventh Up will carry 60kg, five kilograms more than the rest of the field, and Hale said drawing the ace barrier with her charge is no aid. “He hasn’t got a lot of gate speed, so barrier one is not going to be a lot of help to us. He tends to get back a bit, so I can’t see that changing an awful lot. “He’s got a great turn of foot, so we’ll have to go on that.” While Seventh Up is the clear topweight in the field, Go Nicholas is at the opposing end, carrying 51kg, with the aid of apprentice jockey Ashvin Goindasamy’s three kilogram claim. “I just thought it was worth a try to take that extra three kilos off,” she said. “We would like to ride him handier and we will be trying to do that, he has got a good gate (barrier three), so we will try and get him out and get him travelling.” All going to plan both geldings will contest next month’s Listed Opunake Cup (1400m) at New Plymouth, however, Go Nicholas will have to put in a good showing on Saturday to secure his racing future. “We’ll see how we go on Saturday, but that’s the plan, especially with Seventh Up,” Hale said. “Go Nicholas will have to do something on Saturday to warrant him going there (Opunake Cup). “He’s getting to the stage where he has got to recapture some of his form, otherwise we will be thinking about how long we keep going with him. “The horse is working really well, we’re pretty sure he’s just lost interest a little bit because he’s just not getting out of the gates. “He’s running home in good sectionals all the time, he’s just way too far off them. We just need to get him out and travelling.” View the full article

No Change will be vying to go one better than he did last year in the Te Whangai Romneys Hawke’s Bay Hurdle (3100m). The Te Whangai Romneys Hawke’s Bay Hurdle (3100m) at Hastings on Saturday has attracted a strong line-up and local training partners Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal are hoping they can breakthrough with two previous placegetters. Shinko King gelding No Change finished runner-up in last year’s edition of the race, while stablemate Ooee recorded the same result in 2016. The pair will line-up against 12 other contenders, which include dual Group One winner and last-start Awapuni Hurdles (2900m) winner Gallante, and KS Browne Hurdle (3350m) winner Tommyra. “I would say that it’s the best hurdle field that has lined up this year and probably in the last couple of years. There are a lot of chances in there,” Nelson said. No Change finished fourth in the KS Browne Hurdle at Ellerslie earlier this month on a Heavy10 track and Nelson thinks his 10-year-old will appreciate the better footing (Slow7) on Saturday. “I was pretty happy with his run,” he said. “The track was pretty sticky. He can get through wet and loose, or otherwise a decent track. I think he probably didn’t really like it that much.” Nelson was equally pleased with Ooee’s fourth-placing when fresh-up in the Adama Hurdle (2500) at Hastings last month and is hoping the Ruff Nipper gelding has improved with the run. “He’s been a bit off,” Nelson said. “He got injured and he really wasn’t at full fitness last year when he raced. “We seem to have got it right and he has only had the one run and that was a really good fourth. He hadn’t had a trial or a jumpout or anything (prior to that run), so hopefully he has improved a fair bit.” Meanwhile, Nelson will have two strong chances in the AHD Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase (4800m) later in the card. Both Perry Mason and Zardetto head into Saturday off the back of two runner-up performances last start and Nelson can’t split the pair heading into Hastings this weekend. “Zardetto will probably be more suited to the better track, but Perry Mason might have a little bit more speed than him. “I really can’t pick between the two of them and neither could Aaron (Kuru, jockey). “Hopefully they will both be good chances.” Kuru has elected to ride Perry Mason, while Matthew Gillies will take the mount on Zardetto. All going to plan, Nelson’s quartet of runners are likely to head to Trentham next month to contest the Wellington Steeplechase (5500m) and Wellington Hurdle (3400m). “We’ll see what happens on Saturday and then make a plan, but hopefully we can get to Wellington with them,” Nelson said. View the full article

Champion Hong Kong galloper Beauty Generation There will be an air of excitement at Ruakaka on Saturday when Drops of Jupiter makes his debut in the Racing Sunday August 11 (1600m). The three-year-old son of Echoes of Heaven is a half-brother to Kiwi-bred Hong Kong superstar Beauty Generation, who is currently the highest rated active racehorse in the world. A winner of seven Group One races, including the Hong Kong International Mile (1600m) and Champions Mile (1600m) for the past two years, and on a nine-race winning streak, Beauty Generation is considered a formality to defend his crown as Hong Kong Horse of the Year next month. So Drops of Jupiter has big horseshoes to fit into. “He’s got a lot to live up to with his half-brother’s reputation but we’re not going to get carried away,” said Bradley, who co-owns the gelding and trains him in partnership with Chris Gibbs at Ruakaka. “We’d be rapt if he was finishing the race off well and running in the first five.” Bradley has been involved with Drops Of Jupiter’s story right from the beginning. She was working for Donna Logan when the Ruakaka trainer bought Bel Esprit mare Stylish Bel for $110,000 at the Karaka yearling sales in 2007. Unplaced in her only trial and unraced, Logan’s partner Peter Woods and John Brown leased Stylish Bel for two of her first three matings, including the Road To Rock mating which produced Beauty Generation for Christchurch breeder Greg Tomlinson. Woods later bought out Brown’s share and bred Echoes Of Heaven colt Drops Of Jupiter and a Tavistock filly before selling Stylish Bel to Rosemont Stud. Bradley weaned Drops Of Jupiter and did a lot of the early work with the now gelding and Woods rewarded her with a 10 percent share. She’s been delighted with his progress leading up to Saturday’s debut but said he was still not the finished product. “We’ve taken our time with him. We don’t need to be doing too much with him at this stage. He’s still immature and hasn’t shown us a lot at the trials,” Bradley said. “He can really gallop. We’ve seen that in his trackwork but he’s been a horse that has just needed time. Every time we put him out, he gets stronger and bigger. We still have to take our time with him and let him mature.” With six trials under his belt, including a trial win over 1400m at Avondale last month, Drops Of Jupiter gets his chance to shine on raceday this weekend, with instructions for Jonathan Riddell to ride him positively from barrier one. “You watch Beauty Generation’s pattern of racing and he’s the same. He’s always up there but he’s going to take a bit of riding on Jonathan’s part to keep him up to his work,” Bradley said. Bradley and Gibbs will also saddle Chapeau and Mi Sky in the same race as part of 17 runners on their home track on the day. Hello It’s Me and Rikki Tikki Tavi give the stable a strong hand in the feature Northpine Waipu Cup (1400m). “Rikki Tikki Tavi was just a bit slow away here last time so we’ve taken the visor blinkers off and she’s stepping up to 1400m so we’re excited about what she can do,” Bradley said. “Hello It’s Me is in fantastic order. She was down in the Waikato on the water-walker at Kendayla Park for the first part of her preparation. She’s fresh-up in a strong race and 1400m might be a bit sharp for her but she looks magnificent and we couldn’t be happier with her.” View the full article

Terra Sancta. Terra Sancta (NZ) (Pierro) returns to her favourite Australian track as she strives to end a run of outs at the Sunshine Coast. Terra Sancta will be having her fourth start for the winter carnival in Saturday’s Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m). The mare has not won since June last year when successful at the Sunshine Coast but she has been placed several times in New Zealand since. Trainer Tony Pike, who claimed two Group One wins with The Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) during the carnival, felt Terra Sancta was racing well enough for another tilt at Queensland races. She has failed to run a place since arriving but has been solid in all her starts including her last run when sixth in the Ipswich Cup last Saturday week. “She just didn’t seem to get around Ipswich and looked unbalanced for much of the race,” Pike said. “She really didn’t seem to get going until it was too late with the short straight.” Pike believed the run was still good enough for Terra Sancta to continue into the winter. “This will be the first time she has got back on a big track this campaign. She has won both her starts at the Sunshine Coast,” he said. “Both those runs were on wet tracks so the conditions on Saturday should be no problem. “Jim Byrne rode her in the Ipswich Cup and was keen to stick with her.” Pike said if Terra Sancta raced well she would head to next month’s Grafton Cup. “Sacred Day will be in the Grafton Cup and if Terra Sancta pulls up well from Saturday she can go there as well,” Pike said. The trainer has been back in New Zealand overseeing his big team at Cambridge but is already earmarking horses for next winter. “The last few years in Brisbane have been good so we will be back for sure,” he said. -AAP View the full article

Shamal will contest the AHD Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase (4800) at Hastings on Saturday. Only Ken Duncan really knows just how tough Shamal is. And that’s not just the courage the Zabeel eight-year-old gelding showed during his recovery from a tendon injury that threatened his career as a four-year-old. Or the tenacity he displayed in grinding out a win over subsequent Manawatu Steeplechase (4200m) winner Gagarin when he claimed the Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) at Te Rapa last month when not fully fit. “They don’t get any tougher,” the Hunterville sheep farmer and trainer said when describing the $2.70 fixed-odds favourite for Saturday’s AHD Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase (4800) at Hastings. “He’ll bite you and kick you as quick as look at you. You’ve got to keep on going down to buy a new Kathmandu jacket because he keeps ripping it off you.” Fortunately though, Shamal is keeping Duncan in new jackets with a string of performances that has resulted in the steeplechaser’s rise to the top echelon of jumpers in the country. In the past 12 months, he has won the Manawatu Steeples (4000m), run later last year at Trentham, the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) at Riccarton, finished third in the Great Northern Steeples (6300m) at Te Aroha, and won both the Ken and Roger Browne Memorial Steeplechase (3900m) and Waikato Steeples (3900m) in two starts back this winter. “It was a huge effort in the Waikato Steeples. I didn’t think he was 100 percent fit that day either and I looked at Gagarin and I knew he was ready to go – and he’s gone on and won the Manawatu Steeples since which tells you something,” Duncan said. “It was massive and it was so exciting because he just dug down so deep. It just shows how tough he is.” A jumper with a preference for a slow track or at least footing on the best side of heavy, Shamal goes into Saturday’s Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase on a Slow7 surface having not raced for six weeks since his prestige Te Rapa win. “I’ve freshened him up. The tracks were never going to suit for those races he missed anyway,” Duncan said. “I really wasn’t going to start at Hastings either but I can’t afford to miss a good track like that. Wellington and Christchurch are coming up and I could have saved him for those and got bog tracks and he won’t go as well. “I’ll give him a go at those races (Wellington Steeples over 5500m at Trentham on July 13 and Grand National Steeples at Riccarton on August 10) anyway because they are big races and we’ll take our chances. “It’s a pretty good field on Saturday but that’s what you expect. We’re in it to win. He’s pretty right so no excuses.” Duncan also has Grandiscoccymelums entered in the maiden steeplechase at Hastings and Eion in the restricted open hurdle at Wingatui on Friday. Duncan said a wither issue has Grandiscoccymelums as a doubtful starter but said Eion had “a touch of class” and would be competitive at the Otago meeting. View the full article

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Rule Number(s): 870(5)This is an uncontested protest arising from the running of race 2 the H R Fisken and Sons Handicap Trot 2700m. Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr Muirhead lodged an Information instigating a protest into the second placed runner MICHELLE which alleged a breach of rule 870(5) in that "MICHELLE (A Herlihy) ...View the full article

Really Heslop? Surely even you can do better than your latest post.

Tried that and it didnt work. Maybe it's coincidence but each time I've complained on BOAY it seems everything gets refreshed.

Woops spoke too soon. Now getting out of sync again.

Thanks TAB now its fixed.

Now 16 minutes.

Make that 12 minutes now.

The field screens are EIGHT MINUTES BEHIND live!

Which member?

?

Rule Number(s): 869(2)An information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr Renault, against Mr Alford, the driver of AY BOY in race 7, the FORBURY PARK JUNIOR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE alleging that he used his whip on more occasions than is permitted by clause (b) of the Use of the Whip Regulations. Rule 869 provides as follows: ...View the full article

But it had no relationship to the topic and NONONE wants to read a thread about Thomaas.

Sacred Elixir. Group One winner Sacred Elixir returned to New Zealand from his former Hong Kong base on Wednesday morning and a scan has revealed positive signs that the injured son of Pour Moi will make a raceday return in his homeland. Formerly trained in New Zealand by Cambridge conditioner Tony Pike, Sacred Elixir won three Group races for owners Raffle Racing, including the Gr.1 JJ Atkins Stakes (1600m), and finished runner-up to Prized Icon in the Gr.1 Victoria Derby (2500m) before joining Tony Cruz’s Hong Kong barn in 2017. He was ridden in all three of his Hong Kong starts by Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton, however, a mishap in his third race spelt the end of his career in the Asian racing jurisdiction. “He injured his right-fore suspensory in his third start and rehabilitation up there was unsuccessful, so they have sent him home,” Raffles Racing Manager Bruce Sherwin said. While his rehabilitation in Hong Kong failed to show any improvement, a scan conducted at Raffles Farm’s Cambridge property on Thursday revealed positive signs for the talented galloper. “Sacred Elixir was inspected by our vet Dave Keenan this (Thursday) morning and he scanned the off-fore suspensory,” Sherwin said. “The prognosis is better than fifty-fifty (of getting back to the races) on what we are seeing at the moment. There has been improvement in the ligament damage from the reports we saw out of Hong Kong. “It’s going to be a long road back but there is some positivity coming out of what we have seen this morning. “He’s a lightly raced horse. He has only had 15 starts, so we can be patient in the rehabilitation, but from what we are seeing he is a chance (of returning to the track).” If successful in his rehabilitation, Sherwin said they are hopeful of getting Sacred Elixir back to the races next year. “He is one of the best horses we have had anything to do with. He’s got phenomenal ability, so it would be lovely if we can get him back, even if we got him back 90 percent he would still have something to give to racing,” he said. “He will have another two to three month spell in restrictions on what he can do, so he will be in a smaller paddock to start with. We will have another scan in two to three months and then put him on a pre-training program. “He will commence walking in about a month’s time and just slowly build things back up and see how we go. “On a perfect recovery and rehabilitation he will return (to the races) possibly next autumn.” While hopeful of a return, Sherwin is keeping his expectations in-check after previous disappointments. “With our experience in the past, some of these horses you can get them back to the races, it’s just whether they still want to be racehorses,” he said. “He looks in tremendous order, he came back from Hong Kong in great condition. From what we are seeing, he is a chance, so fingers crossed at this stage.” Bred by Graham de Gruchy, Sacred Elixir was purchased by Raffles Farm and Mulcaster Bloodstock for $170,000 out of Wentwood Grange’s 2015 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale draft, and Sherwin said he was a standout physical type from day one. “He was an exceptional physical. He was a lovely horse and just looking at him in his paddock this morning he has retained those physical attributes in terms of an ideal athletic type. “He had a terrific dam side. Pour Moir was a relative unknown, but we have always been prepared to take a punt on a horse that looks like an athlete.” View the full article

The clubs and kindred bodies of Harness Racing New Zealand have today voted by an overwhelming majority to make a significant change to the make-up and structure of the board of Harness Racing New Zealand. The current board has been determined for some time, with the support and encouragement of the clubs, to move to a more streamlined board model that is better equipped to deal with the challenges that the industry faces in an increasingly competitive racing and sports environment. Chairman Ken Spicer says, “our collective focus has been to move towards a model that sees the best possible people providing governance to our sport, moving away from the current model that sees representation on a regional and kindred body basis”. The new board of eight (down from 11 currently) will include two independent directors to be appointed by a selection committee. Four directors will be elected by the clubs/kindred bodies, with the two major clubs, Auckland Trotting Club and the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club, appointing one director each. “This is an opportunity to bring new and complementary skillsets to our board. We are committed to improving the diversity of our board and it is pleasing that the industry has embraced the governance changes recommended by the Messara report” says Spicer. The current directors will step down at September’s AGM. The new board will meet for the first time in October. The process of appointing the independent directors will begin once the elected directors are chosen by the clubs/kindred bodies and any skill gaps can be identified. Spicer says, “this is a momentous day for the sport of Harness Racing in New Zealand and I congratulate all involved having the vision to support this change and for putting the interests of the sport first”.