the galah

They did notice though didn't they. That's why the vet was asked to inspect the horse pre race. The vet passed a badly lame horse as fit to rrace. So mcillwrick gets a reprimand,which seems fully deserved,but no mention of the vet nor the trainer.Is that it?

Ok,don't mean every leading trainer Just the likes of both Purdons, Dalgety. Dunn, Butt,, Chilcott,,Jones,Anderson,Mcgrath to name a few.

The hardest thing from a punting perspective is having to guess the improvement for a horse having its first start for a stable that can turn around the form in a short space of time. Your can be left scratching your head when you see the improvement in such short spaces of time.. I still think Orange is a factor in that. When you look at horses like Rake ,its got to be mainly in the training as he can get horses to show more speed. I do get where you are coming from though.

The use of pre race treatments I think depends in part on your budget. I don't think anyone takes the risk of knowingly giving their horse something pre race that would return a positive. But as House pointed out,sometimes things can be given that help a horses health or performance if given outside the with holding times. From my observations. A)the average part time trainer may give his horse one of the many legal pre race boosters that claim to improve performance. They sare cheap,within nearly everyones budget. B)then you have trainers who seem to buy products which they believe will have their horse feeling good and which they can administer themselves. C)Then you have those trainers who have owners with the bigger chequebooks who constantly use vets to monitor bloods and administer pre race treatments of the most up to date legal products which will help the horse perform at the optimum. D)Then you have those that don't believe in any of the above except if they think their horse is off colour for some unknown reason, but they will very rarely use a vet to help diagnose and assist recovery.When I trained a couple I fell into this category partly because of budget and partly because of my belief that putting things into ones body to help performance can have negative impact on the horses long term health. Now you can see those who can afford the "C" approach ultimately are clearly going to have the best results . And as science progresses and better and more effective ways are found to "help improve performance" you can see the gap between "C" and "B"and the others becomes greater. That leads to greater frustration from some. Of course those who have the financial resources for the "c" approach also tend to have the best facilities,more qualified and skilled staff,best feeds ,etc.,all factors in success. Of course if you look at the high profile trainers many of them have a history of positives. I can't recall house doing so,but every other leading trainer I can think of does,many with multiple,simply because they have over stepped the mark or miscalculated. So when anyone says all pre race treatment is not a factor in success rates they are talking rubbish in my opinion. It is one of the many ingredients in a successful formula,,but an important one..

You say it was a piss take. Its obvious that was the intention. However I have no doubts he was actually telling the truth. No doubts whatsoever in my view..Just no one thought anyone would say it, nor should say it. Like I said I don't have a problem with what he said. He never said he was doing anything that broke the rules. He said he operates within the rules. Everyone will take their own interpretation of his comments and the subsequent social media response of some. I have. One thing for sure is House"s success is currently a hot topic of conversation. Maybe he is a fan of Oscar Wilde who said 'all publicity is good' . Who knows, House may well subscribe to the theory that the only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about. It is an indicator of success in harness racing

My wife had a go last night. Was in the top 10 going into race 9 and had a go on what she thought was the winner of the night in quaestor, but unfortunately it galloped at the 120m mark when it looked like it was going to win. She ended up in 11th. I think it is harder to win a heat this year simply because of the number of entries. Instead of having to beat 30-40 you are in a field of 170 odd opponents. Still you've got to be in to win. Not sure whether the format means you can bet from home in the final on show day,but $5000 is a lot to come up with for most punters anyway, which is why it suits syndicates. I think the $200 starting funds for the heats is good as it gives the average punter a chance to entter.

My guess would be 1 more start for freddiesam from the all stars barn and if no significant improvement then either gelded or moved on to another stable. ITs trial form did not justify its short price,but it must have been going ok at home as they don't line them up if they don't think they can win do they. As to the rest of the thread re house's comments. People have been inferring and expressing the view that some trainers use whatever legal drugs they can to improve raceday performance. Then when a trainer who recently has been the subject of a similar discussion comes out and says that's true, those who have inferred it criticize him for confirming what they have been saying. There are more relevant points to be made about houses comments than whether he should have made them at all.

I see David Butt was fined $600 and suspended for 2 months for in effect not trying to win. That will probably upset the applecart because Butt is deservedly well respected. But the message is simple,,your expected to try. Its good to see the Canterbury stipes doing their bit to ensure integrity is maintained.

As far as house's comments go. What has he said that is wrong or inaccurate? He states he operates within the rules. The same goes for what Yesberg has to say. I can't see anything untoward there . Do those reading the chat on the site referred to, expect it to espouse the view that drugs that are legal and believed to help race performance should not be used on some sort of moral grounds.. Who's going to believe that. What is apparent ,and I think we already know, is that some horse trainers have a belief that punters are sometimes ignorant. Well sometimes they are, but sometimes they aren't. I think the point of the trainers posts was to take the "mickey" out of those out there on sites like ours who the trainers believe underestimate successful trainers skills to get the results they do. I'm Not referring to house or yesberg when I say in my view the cynicism punters have is directly a result of the acts of some participants . As I have referred to in another thread. Look at James Stormonts drive on Sunny Petite in race 2 tonight at Cambridge.. I bet you not one trainer or driver says anything to Stormont ,or posts on the facebook chat site,about not trying. What some of them will say is some ignorant mug punter has been moaning on one of those chat sites about Stormonts drive. That's the way things work. Punters distrust in the area of honesty relating to several aspects is sometimes deserved.

Sunny Petite. For the 2nd week in a row this horse never tried an inch. If you want to watch dishonest racing just look at Cambridge. When i watch the likes of z buthcer, j stormont and d balle drive at Cambridge I think of the term thieves on wheels. I would encourage all punters to give up betting at places like this. I know thats what I will be doing. The only honest race up there is the amateurs.

. What about Midsummer Queen in race 1? Or was that just an optical illusion that happens south of the Waitaki. ( re.whip use)

I would call him a very good trainer,not an average trainer. Just look at his results., but there can be no denying he improves horses and it won't be just training. The vet has to be part of the reason you would think. Maybe its a feed thing as well as facilities.. And I don't know why the Blair Orange factor is not emphasized more. He gets in the cart and horses improve, no matter who the trainer. And if you watch Houses horses he can improve them in the speed department. Vets tend to help stamina,not speed. I think some underestimate House. Still we all have differing views about different people and it gives me something to discuss before I go to work.. I can't be bothered doing the lawns.

I thought a good interview. It may have been a light hearted approach from House and the interviewer but the interviewer gave an insight into House and how his ability to communicate has helped him succeed. I do get what Newmarket means when he says he was disappointed with House's answer on the blood spinning question. But when you think about it what else was he likely to say. He did say he hadn't used blood spinning, but it was hard to take that answer seriously when he went on to say he had better shit. I know he was meaning that " tongue n cheek" but for someone so good at public relations it was a strange answer on that segment of the interview. I hope we see more interviews posted from Westview.

Another nights racing at Cambridge concludes and once again the normal questionable tactics from the same drivers. In the last zac butcher seemed intent on softening up the leader allonblack for the stablemate who was sitting in the trail. Compare that to his drive in the previous race on grey stoke where he made no attempt whatsoever to pull out with 300m to go despite going easily. Maybe I give him too much credit for his ability, but just watch both races and you will see what I mean. . Same old same old,in my opinion.

This thread has made me laugh out loud when reading some of the replies. I now know why the long que forms when newmarket is in the confessional at church on sundays.

You say the owners are selling overseas because there are not enough races,thus there is no chance of winning enough money. I don't think that's right. I think the real reason is the domination of the all stars in the pacing ranks is so great that owners sell before their asset is devalued. Proof of that is simple.Just look at who wins all the feature pacing events. The trotters have no all star domination and their numbers are good. And they operate under the very same handicapping system. You say owners of 1 win horses are disillusioned because they have to race the winners of multiple races.That may be true for those used to the multiple penalty free wins in particular,,but the reality is the current handicapping system has lead to greater overall retention and participation in the lower grades. So its doing what it was designed to do is it not? The topic is headed the gradual decline of harness racing. From a punting perspective the industry needs to look at itself as a cause. Punters expect honesty from participants.. They expect those who's job it is to enforce the rules to do so without fear or favor. Since the advent of trackside punters are no longer as ignorant as they used to be. Just look to Australia to see how harness racing has declined. I was talking to a bloke today from Australia who"s currently visiting over here. He likes a bet.He said he never bets on the trots as he gave up a few years ago because there were too many crooks in the game over there . I said to him he should follow the trots here as I think they currently are as honest as they have been. He just said no,he didn't trust harness racing because of what he knew from a few years ago.

What's a Pid? Ive looked up the word and its definition is an abbreviation for pelvic inflammatory disease. Are you talking in code ? The WH. Whats that mean. Are you suggesting he should be in the White House? I didn't know your such a big fan. Or is it some reference to his weight and height?

Just to be clear,i have no idea whether House uses uses blood spinning or not. I do think he is a very good trainer who always operates within the rules. His decision to use Reids skills is what you would expect from him, as he seems driven to get the best performances possible from himself and his horses,and can think outside the square.

You can't stop people having opinions, and its unrealistic for chat sites like this to censor someone expressing an opinion like brodie has. You don't agree he should be allowed too, but why is it so sensitive a subject? The main point is he has never suggested House,nor anyone else using this product has done anything illegal. He does seem to infer that blood spinning helps performance. Hell I thought that's what people who promote these type of products want people to think. If House does use the product and does so within the rules then why on earth should it upset him or his supporters what brodie has said? I don't know what world some live in,but why can't people accept the truth,and that is a lot of trainers will use products that they believe are performance enhancing and are legal, especially if the cost can be passed onto to owners or results justify the cost of its use. Globe derby, you may get annoyed when someone may suggest anything that implies anything other than training skills will help improve performances. Where do you draw the line?Do you get upset if someone suggests some trainers use vets that can help performance more than others?

mmm, blind spot didn't run fast enough. not a good tip. I'm wishing I took dougies advice and had given the first few race a miss. Still Franco Santino all up onto franco huntington may save the day, or just makes things worse.

I like franco huntington as well.i see its $9 on fixed odds. Also like race 5.blind spot at $41 on ff .

They say the Mongolian derby is the longest and toughest horse ace in the world. Its run over 10 days and they travel 1000km and riders from around the world are invited to compete in a select field. Go jesse and sarah.

Both are by Peak. He leaves horses with talent,but they seem very highly strung and extremely poor mannered when starting off. He will be beating the odds if either of them gets around without galloping. Will be an interesting watch.

I think if you look at the early sectionals it was nothing out of the ordinary. It may have looked like Pauls Verdict was forcing a fast pace because he was hard driven, but I think in reality he was just racing lethargically because he is a tired horse who has run 17 times in the last 9 weeks. I think with the benefit of hindsight his driver would have been better just going to the back of the field and driving him as he felt,(stuffed).

Just wondering when the lack of raceday experience excuse runs out. 5 drives ,10 drives,2 months ? When? Does it apply in Canterbury, southland,Manawatu.? Previously I have pointed out how it lasted a couple of years for a southland junior driver. Why doesn't it apply to non juniors or amateurs starting off? Well the answer to that is they aren't deemed deserving by those enforcing the rules. Its a joke in my opinion. Treat everyone the same and no one will complain about inconsistency. Treat people inconsistently as they are again and they deserve the criticism they get from both sides of the argument.