the galah

The drive looked like it deserved that long,but having said that i think it was just extremely poor judgment. So maybe they will give him what they gave d ferguson at cambridge earlier in the year,for a more questionable drive on that trotter. 3 days is all he got,which seemed ridiculously lenient at the time.. The thing is anyone watching that race who may have backed saginaw would be thinking that fella is dodgy. So there has to be a penalty which maintains the betting publics faith.

You deserved a better result if you had that one. Can't understand why you are trying to justify such a "dumb as" tactical move? Who angles in to a non existent gap,when you can just ease outwards because there is no one outside you. When a horses head is turned inwards after it has been running straight,as ocurred,i believe that means its being steered inwards.Thats the explanation why it went in,and not out. He's never had a problem pulling it out before.

That was sarcasm. i think you know that.. I don't agree with those who say its the lowest form of wit. As to hiding in the bushes. If hiding in the bushes means they are catching a cheat,well they should hide in the bushes more often. You can't deny its got them some good results recently.

One thing i would agree on,and that is the focus and funding on testing TC02 levels is out of proportion to its significance in this day and age.Testing should still be undertaken,but not on the scale it is. Resources could be far better used. For example i have always advocated for on the ground surveillance. And that is a tool which the riu have been using to greater effect in the last couple of years.Look at the results that tactic has achieved as applies to the harness side of things. They have cleaned out a handful who were cheating,and that industry is far better for it.

I'm trying to keep up,but it appears your now not discounting the suggestion that this fellas horse may actually have been milkshaked? Or are you sticking to the spoonful of feed additive he gave it each day as the cause of the inexplicable(to you) one off TC02 level.If this is still your theory then you would have to wonder how unlucky was he for it to happen on raceday? As to the milkshaking not helping performance. How thick are all those trainers who have used it over the last few decades. Its even cost a few their careers,yet it appears you think they risked it all for no benefit. And your still sticking with the modern day testing picking up all performance enhancers.Great that those doing the testing know the latest performance enhancers being used as soon as the very minute % of trainers that would stoop to that level do. All's rosey and everyones honest,and only the misguided are putting their careers on the line to gain nothing anyway. I'm with you,this RIU seems to be an unnecessary organisation.

How long does r cameron get for his strange tactical move at the 200m in race 7 last night.From watching him drive in the past,you would assume he was trying,but what was he thinking?I would guess 2 months,but who knows. On the postive side,as others have pointed out,you had to admire john dunns driving.

So milkshaking is a therapeutic ,and there's conflicting evidence that it makes any difference to race performance.Got it.

I didn't mind speed duels.Adds a bit of excitement to a race. P Ferguson created it. They both still placed but L whittaker did beat him home.,

Its always blamed on the feed source isn't it.Since you believe that can you explain how come it had such a high tco2 level this day,yet not on the other days it was tested.Fed the same each day.And how come others fed the additive don't return high levels.

So you must think the legal representatives of the persons involved here were not up to it. They submitted a fine of $6000 was appropriate ,yet you suggest they should have only been fined $1700. And they accepted the costs figure as being accurate.( 60% was awarded.) I'm not a defender of the jca. They can't even see whats right in front of them sometimes.Some past cases show they are just rubber stampers of sometimes personalized enforcement .But this type of case didn't require much judgment from them as to whether a rule had been broken. And the penalties pretty much are based on what has happened previously.

So everyone seems to be moaning about the penalty.Can they give suggestions as to what you think should have happened? All this thread indicates is many are anti the enforcement of rules. Some making comment may have personal reasons to feel aggrieved in how they may have been dealt with in the past,but whats that got to do with someones horse having a high TC02 level. If people don't like the TC02 rules,then why not lobby to have them removed and let it be a free for all. See how that will impact the number of participants and punters.

They also barred me from posting. Couldn't work out exactly why,but i formed the opinion they only wanted one sided points of view. There was a definite dark side to that forum. People should be aware of that. My guess was those that ran it could easliy be influenced into suppressing peoples points of view,and used their forum to give one sided attacks on those they disagreed with. I have said this once before on here. After i was banned,someone using my actual name as their nom de plume posted a handful of posts,among them a personal attack on a trainer i used which inferred untrue information. Someone who ran the forum had to have given my name to the person making those posts,and after i contacted mr molloy twice the posts continued. In my view molloy deliberately aided and abetted the sinister posting that they were doing. I still occasionally read it,they have some good posters,but if you want a forum where both points of view are expressed,then this is the forum to get it.JJ flash obviously prefers the other site,thats up to him,but personally i think it good he posts here as well,as he has his own points of view,and when you read everyones point of view on here,it sometimes helps get some balance to your own point of view. Thats the way it should be,and i think this forum works pretty good in that respect.

Do you think the older trainers should step aside and let the younger ones take over? Same logic applies there doesn't it?

So you appear to be linking some of the older drivers still driving to having an impact on current junior driver numbers. If that were the case then why do the junior drivers of this era get more drives,as compared to those of say 30-40 years ago?And we know there was far more younger people employed in the industry 30-40 years ago than now. I don't agree there is a link.Other factors are of far more signifcance. Some drivers do seem to lose the desire and enjoyment,and reduce driving.its up to the individual. Some no doubt voice the opinion they need to give younger drivers a go.But they do so on the basis that what they have done is reinforcement that they have made the right decision. Ask yourself are they any happier? Also take the likes of ricky may. He doesn't train. The reason he drives is because people believe his current driving skills will assist them in getting the best outcome for them in races they have starters in.Why deny them.And of course maybe they like interacting with people like May.

I agree it is a major factor as far as early positioning goes,but personally think the tempo of the race is a more important factor. Obviously horse ability is the most important. Also maintaining momentum is important.What is notable is how the passing lane is not that big a factor over there,unless the leader has forward momentum.

i was referring to age in the context you had used it,i.e. as relates to older drivers. And i never said grant dixon is not good tactically. I said d graham wasn't.But i did say t dixon and c petroff are better drivers at the moment than g dixon. As an example I got a vey nice collect off the horse midnight queen at redcliffe mid week. The reason i backed it was because g dixon sacked himself and gave petroff the drive. The horse had clearly been resenting the way dixon had been restraining it during the running,and turned its form around for petroff. at very good odds. Credit to dixon though,he recognised his style didn't suit and gave the drive to someone better suited. I agree mangos not as good as he used to be,mckendry still as good but not with the same desire,Stormont and May still very good drivers.These fellas should keep going as long as they want. Enjoying what you do doesn't stop when you get older,so why should they stop?

I think age doesn't make any difference.Its just whether they are up to it tactically, and still have the desire.It would make a difference if they had a crash. The mcmullens do drive well. I have noticed pete mcmullen is very good overall,and narissa mcmullen very good in front in sprint races. Shes not as good in the longer races,as her horses over race too much,and not as good if not in front.Those other 2 don't seem to have driven much lately. I did think taleh mcmullen drives well,but Trent lethaby seems to be doing most of the driving for the J mcmullen stable at the moment. As to Grant dixon,i think his wife drives better,and chris petroff the best from that stable,but he doesn't get that many opportunities.Grant dixon drives conservatively most of the time,but does drive them well when he knows he is on a top chance.Maybe the conservative drives are because he also trains them.

Brittany graham one of those drivers who horses run for,and also has a very good tactical brian.A lot cleverer than her father when driving. He should leave the driving to her.

North island harness need to develop a proper business model which sees the sustainability of racing. For a start,stakes need reduced,and the bigger trainers up there should reduce their training fees accordingly.Auckland still has an asset than can be cashed up and racing continue elsewhere in the region.Thats just one of the most obvious is it not?

You have to laugh when you look at those bets.I guess its not their money,it would be like an imaginary game. Good on the TAB for giving the losses back. Its a good PR decision. They are a business, and it will help the tab long term. Anyone participating in the BGP syndicate should realise that. The TAB of course play the long game,and know the overall figures.

You refer to the auckland trotting club confirming a loss of $90,000,000(thats a lot of zero's),for the previous financial year. Money that could have been spent in areas which would have ensured a future for those in the industry up there,has gone,never to be seen again. It will ripple out to those who make a living from the sport. All rather sad. But the reality of today has to be faced. And are those who run the ATC living in the real world. Heres a quote from rod croon,president of the atc. Its the last sentence in last years Annual report on the clubs finances. Of note this was made only 10 months ago. "In 12 months time,as a result of the hard work and energy we have all brought to the club,i believe we will be able to look out from our new facilities and look forward to a prosperous future". Delusional is the word that comes to mind. So what conclusion could you come to. Well i would have thought the obvious one is those leading the ATC are either really stupid,or have been deliberately deceptive, i guess so as not to be seen as incompetent. What else could you conclude. Did they really think anyone with any sense would believe them.Why don't they face reality,tell it how it is.

and the winner was ....doug

I do have one driver that is only good for raising the blood pressure,and that is B barnes. He seems to get a lot of drives for unknown reasons to me,and drives the odd winner,but he drives an awful lot of very poorly judged drives.

I also think its a combination of faster tracks,and g dixon the trainer gets his horses to run consistently,which it lacked here. That may be partly due to when it first ran in australia it was against horses of slightly less ability than it raced in nz ,but the last couple of runs its been able to maintain its form.If you look at the horses it beat last night when they went 1.53,they included skippys delight,franco nandor and sense of occasion, all ex nz horses. Skippys delight still is the same skippys delight from nz. Near the end of his nz career he always ran here like he had some type of issue holding him back,and over there hes pretty much the same. Horses like him who pointlessly are asked to chase round horses that run forever in fast times in age group 1 and 2 races generally pay a price.Having said that hes getting to run in many 1 mile races now which should suit him,and surely he may get a win one day soon there. I've been following the queensland races recently,and i don't think it is the state where any improvement in a nz horse can be put down to something illegal going on.

someone who wants to make an informed comment on it.