the galah

The main trotting and pacing races today would have to be a couple of the most uncompetitive races seen recently. Just like the J dunn drive on the $1.20 fav Need you now at auckland on friday,at oamaru we had sam ottley and ricky may on the hot favorites in both races, happy to position their horses where it gave their horses no chance of winning. All 3 previously mentioned drivers are very good,and would be trying,but anyone watching must be scratching their heads regarding the tactics. I'm not taking through my pocket,just making an obvious observation. Thats why non win races are often better spectacles than the higher grade horses.

Injecting a horse on the day of a race is of course illegal, so even if the substance injected is ok,then the act of injecting is in itself wrong. I think most are looking at this,and other similar recent cases upside down when they refer to the level of dishonesty currently being exposed. The reality is ,until recently, it has always been ignored,swept under the carpet,and in many ways enabled by some racing administrators and by those in the racing media who have attacked those who had dare suggest anything like this was going on,or attack those at the riu who dared try and expose light on illegal practices. Just read the harnesslink articles written by the likes of John curtin from a year or two back to see what i mean. What is being exposed now hasn't all of a sudden just happened. Surely no one with any sense thinks that. Instead of being shocked and disappointed,the focus should be one of positivity around the new norm,which is illegal practices will be investigated,and the sport is being cleaned up. Everyone should gain confidence because of that. Another point which i think is important. Before we judge too harshly those who have transgressed,the likes of Alford, we should add perspective. Its not their fault that they may have witnessed,or heard talk around similar illegal practices. I know everyone is accountable for their own actions,but it would have helped had the transgressors had a more realistic view of how accountability has changed at this present time,and how it would impact their lives.

I don't always agree with mr fitzgeralds views,but there is no denying his passion for the industry,and he has combined that with his other skills, to promote and encourage participation,among other things. I think he is someone who deserves a lot ofcredit,and is just doing his best in a tough industry. Because he puts himself out there i suppose he just has to develop a thick skin and carry on the good work..

As i have said before,i think the harness industry now is the most honest it has ever been. I think inca has had a lot to do with that,maybe somewhat indirectly in some instances, I also think many of the matters which have come to light recently have done so as a result of authorities taking action,whereas in the past they just ignored it all. Finally there appears to be consequences to dishonest actions. Also I think the lack of domination by the all stars is another obvious positive development in recent times.

No relation as different spelling of surname.

Whiplash you don't know your form too good. I actually boxed 4 in the quinella and got the quinella. Not saying i thought it could win ,but my ratings had it rated a clear 4th,based on the handicaps. So no form reversal in my opinion.

Is that article accurate when it shows 2 extraction areas in the middle of the all weather and galloping tracks? Surely not. Who would want to train from a facility with that going on? And who would ever come up with such an idea? Seems more like an april fools day article.

I remember I saw that with the family at addington.I remember everyone at the races,and they used to get reasonable crowds back then,all stayed around and i remember all my family thinking it was great. There hasn't been anything like it since,nor will ever likely to be.

Not saying they aren't. But if you watch their team closely,you can tell some days they are all up on the bit,then other days they just travel like all the others. I'm not imagining it. I've been watching them do this over the last 12 months or so. Its not tempo related.

I know ive said this before,but i find the form of this stable very inconsistent. Some days every horse in the stable run very well,then other days they all run rather average.Personally i think they are a very hard stable to predict. You really need to watch them early in the day to see if they will perform later in day. I know,some will call me a knocker,so what,just stating what i think.

Seemed to talk a lot of sense about different issues.

I don't agree with the suggestion Methven racing is becoming boring. Sure,being on the fence is a big plus,and i'm not sure how they negate that other than maybe shortening the grass overall,but i'm no expert on that subject. The performance of the day i thought came from aveross majesty. J young-grant certainly took a calculated gamble by staying on the fence,but to make up 8 lengths in the last 300m was a great effort. And of course the johnny eyre win came in a race where there was a lot of excitement mid race. And to see Ben hope drop the whip after the finish after every move he made turned to gold was somehow entertaining as well. The only thing i would like to see change was maybe a 3000m race for the grade of trotters whose race aveross majesty won. Having a big field like that walking round right next to the public pre race just adds a bit more atmosphere to those that attended. I think people like to get up and personal with the horses,drivers and starters more than we realise.

a theoretical scenario is speculative in meaning isn't it,and isn't that what your saying we shouldn't do. Inneundo probably more appropriate,but probably just a little more murky,unless of course it is proven to be true in the future. Or is that all just arguing in circles?

Still guessing who i am hunter. I'm not talking about cullen in my latest comments,but you already know that don't you.

I didn't think i put any rumour about anyone in the bit you have just quoted me on. At least that was the intention. Also,I don't think i have said anything previously that has not been already said multiple times. But to spell it out for you. I agree with those who think there may be other reasons for the change of guard at the all star stables. That is what i have thought from the time it was announced. Its my opinion,and whether others agree with me is up to them.

Your right. Its easy to post innuendo. I guess we all have to be careful what we say. But thats the nature of the beast that is social media. Its not always fair and accurate. But then again what the actual media tells us,whatever the subject,is often not fair and accurate.

Who is this thread about? Certainly don't think he is suggesting hayden cullen anyway.

Doesn't matter where he looks or if he throws the whip away after the post. The Johnny eyre win must have been a satisfying win for him as he had made a couple of below average tactical decisions on his previous 2 drives on the horse. But that was then,yesterday was victory.

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Do you think the reason for the break could be an unexpected consequence of something that you(and others), have been heavily critical of,and that you may now have to have a rethink?

The reason nobody used to think they had any chance of beating the all stars in previous seasons was because they used to watch them attack on track record speeds,then just when you think they would get tired they gained their second wind and would pull away by 5 lengths. Having said that,last night they still ran like they are our leading stable,and a few of those racing last night didn't have much luck. I think tim williams drove 3 in a row that had no luck. Self assured and amazing dream have had some hard races earlier in the season,and when they have to draw on their reserves in those previous races like everyone else has had to,then that becomes a factor on future form. Going on how they went last night,they may well still come out and win 4 or 5 on the next premier night. Also. Gamms you have referred to the purdon drive on amazing dream when it got beaten by beyond words. You must be thinking Purdon got it wrong last night. Remember he used the excuse that night that it was better driven with a sit.

pace n pride seems to clearly get knocked over by the c de fillipi driven ardens reality 100m after the start. If you stop the video the cart of ardens reality is clearly well inside that of pace n pride prior to it breaking.. How do they miss that? And if they are going to just say that pace n pride broke of its own accord then surely they should have given it a warning like they did another horse in that race that did not break as long as pace n pride. wheres the consistency?

Yes,took the wrong option,but ben butcher is a driver that i like to follow myself. Always seems to be trying,and makes the right moves 9 out of ten times. Just you were a bit unfortunate newmarket that the horse you were on missed the win. I thought that race was interesting in that s. abernethy drove fleeting grin hard to hold the lead off the second favorite over the first 800m. Its been driven as a sit sprinter for the last 8 years,130 starts,so that was the poor drive in that race i thought. Abernethy then came out in the next race and drove the winner.