With A Dream

The ATC put out an update yesterday on the property sale to Mt Hope.  Apparently Mt Hope have the money but are not sure if they can move it out of China in order to settle.    I must say I’m not impressed with the tone of the statement by Jamie MacKinnon, in these situations it is better to stick to the facts & not indulge in sarcasm. 

On 29/08/2024 at 12:35 AM, Brodie said:

Has this supposed Chinese buyer actually confirmed and paid a deposit?

Jamie MacKinnon stated clearly in an interview with Paul Campbell that the club had received a $10m deposit from the buyer.  It appears that if they pull out they will forfeit that payment.  I assume the broker & the lawyers have taken their cut & would estimate if the buyer pulls out the ATC would pocket around $6.5million and would then put the property back on the market. 

I wonder if the developers don’t settle on time at what stage could the ATC pull the plug on the sale, pocket the deposit & re list?  As I write this it just occurred to me that the listing agent for the sale would pocket a fair wack of the deposit. 

20 hours ago, Brodie said:

The interesting thing to Brodie’s mind is that the one that seems to be the biggest promoter of harness racing in New Zealand Nigel Armstrong/ Harness Racing Unhinged is actually NOT EMPLOYED BY HRNZ!!!

Very good point.  It leads me to ask how many people at HRNZ are employed in the marketing/ social media department and what are they actually achieving?   HRNZ would be better contracting Nigel to do more & then have a serious look at how much they are spending on wages in marketing.  We don’t want to end up like Victoria. 

On 24/08/2024 at 5:57 PM, Westview said:

The big syndicate in Dalton Shard were a great advert to ownership if only we got to see them, better still we could even talk to them.

Completely agree.  After Addington they cut away to a greyhound race, undercutting their whole premise that Harness owns Friday nights.  Let’s see the fun winning owners are having on Trackside. 

18 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Haven't seen anything in there advertising for people to bet (which you CONSTANTLY say is the vital component of the industry) , or horses for sale, or anything like that Brodster. His

Westview & other syndicator get people into ownership who otherwise wouldn’t be involved, that in itself promotes betting. 

6 hours ago, Gammalite said:

I suggest On-course Jackpots should come back in.???  People seem to love the idea of a BIG win

Absolutely needs to happen, though doesn’t necessarily need to be restricted to on course only. 

Did anyone else read a while back that DSD was going to Hayden Cullen. I thought I read it somewhere but I see he’s still with All Stars

Another thing I have noticed lately is that Bruce Negus has ownership in a couple of horses trained by other trainers. 

2 hours ago, Nowornever said:

Black type means nothing these days. Every horse can run 1.58 at Ashburton and most of them better than 1:56. The stud book needs an overhaul as well.

I think we’re all agreed on that.  Amazing that it hasn’t happened. 

Just won a race at The Meadowlands today. 

15 hours ago, Rangatira said:

Yeah 1400m at Addington or the much preferred 1980m but never a mile.

I don’t like the idea of races shorter than a mile. 

16 hours ago, Nowornever said:

The odd race now and then but if all races turned into mile racing like the states

There’s very frw mile races at the moment.  All mile racing will never come in because there are only a few tracks mile racing is suitable for.  I would like to see a few on every card at Ashburton & Nelson & Winton.   I agree one of the strengths of NZ Harness is the variety of distances. 

I like mile racing personally. Especially at Ashburton, Nelson & the bigger tracks in Southland.   Addington is a no go. 

Carter won today on a son of Lazarus at 11-1 on his first day of driving in actual races. 

1 hour ago, Newmarket said:

Me thinks Forbury lost his milk money on the trots last night….

Either that or he was just finishing off the bottle of whiskey he had opened half an hour earlier. 

3 hours ago, Forbury said:

No future what's so ever

Possibly the most absurd statement ever made on this site.

3 hours ago, Forbury said:

No future what's so ever he's displaying he's a worse driver than Ben hope and Sam ottley and that's saying something Carter is a laughing stock so predictable and Dumb He's well into the double figures with absolute gasing dumb stupid drives where his horse finishes last

Carter has always showed talent,  horses run for him & that can’t be argued.  In the past I think he’s been a bit aggressive on occasions but watching him drive over the past couple of weeks & particularly tonight it occurred to me he is driving with a bit more patience and finesse.   He’s already good but I think he’s gone too another level now. 

20 hours ago, the galah said:

So what did you expect the police or whoever to do. The evidence they gathered on that day cleary kept the wheels turning for their investigation.

No one has a problem with crooks being outed , it’s charging people that they have no evidence against that is the problem.  Imagine for instance you had a horse that  performed poorly in a race & as a result of someone over hearing you asking the trainer to get blood tests done you are accused & charged with race fixing.  It’s pure nonsense but that’s what was going on.  It’s not investigation people are against, it’s the charging of innocent people of crimes for which there is no evidence. 

26 minutes ago, the galah said:

But how about use ads that possible customers can relate to and promotes nz racing.

I like the way you think.  

13 hours ago, Brodie said:

To be fair Merlin had a great run, if the roles were reversed I would say Dont Stop Dreaming wouldve won

DSD led on a leaders bias track.  Merlin sat parked for part of the race & then had to come 3 wide on the turn.  Reverse the runs & Merlin wins by a couple of lengths.  Right now you would have to say Merlin is number 1 in NZ

22 hours ago, Gammalite said:

that the first Group 1 win for Carter do you know Brodster? or Ranga might know. think Blair was driving Krug all the time ? and TonyH won the GN Derby driving it (when it bolted that

Carter drove Krug to win the Invercargill Cup in 2022 or 2023.  It was the first year the Invercargill Cup had G1 status. 

19 minutes ago, Rangatira said:

It is a really decent website and amongst the best in racing, but yes it needs to work as close to 100% as possible and if not the issues need to be resolved promptly. Yesterday was really poor.

19 minutes ago, Rangatira said:

It is a really decent website and amongst the best in racing, but yes it needs to work as close to 100% as possible and if not the issues need to be resolved promptly. Yesterday was really poor.

Absolutely right.  11 am and still not working.  😖

21 hours ago, Brodie said:

Someone with a track record of success rather than just having been in management or corporates!

Dead right Brodie.  The hard part is finding the right person.  Is there anyone with the experience you describe that wants the job?

35 minutes ago, Walt said:

Trevor had some superb horses in his day. $120 buy Stormy Morn won 32 races including a Dominion and Rowe Cup. He was a beauty. I can still picture him doing his thing. He didn't have the same tool box as some of the big stars over the years but what he had, he used magnificently. 

Canis Minor was another good one 

23 hours ago, Gammalite said:

What a great win 🏆. thats a Good one Goldilcks . Sheree just 19 years old winning the Group 1 $300,000 Dominion Handicap in just her second season of driving.

Ameretto Sun 2017.  I think Sheree the only female (and possibly only Junior ) to win that Very Hard to Win race. 

 

I suspect it was the largest outsider in the history of the race 

I know this doesn’t count, but Maurice Holmes I think was 22 or 23 when he won the NZ Cup.