the galah

well done to verstegg. He rated it well.Having only 7 others in the field meant the ur wasn't much of a factor. It helped when jessica young on moment of kaos failed to give her horse much chance(again),by giving the winner a 7 length start at the 400m. But Verstegg deserved the win more on the night.

No field is shit from a betting perspective. The field in question may lack recent form,but its just a matter of comparing the recent form of each contender. Exactly what we do when assessing races like the jewels,only difference is there is often a greater difference in recent form in the fields like the one we are talking about at addington,which logically makes the addington field more attractive from a betting perspective. Maybe michelle will prove me wrong and run somewhere,but the point is why shouldn't the tab price it at more realistic odds.

I see bookies have this horse paying $4.80 on the final field win market for race 4 tonight. My question is,does anyone out there know why anyone in their right mind would back this horse? And why would the bookies have it so short? It actually started favorite 2 starts ago,despite never looking like running in the first 3 for ages. It rates with one over dover as one of the most consistent breakers to have raced for how knows long. I know its won 5 races,and did win 26 starts ago before it started its streak of breaking and hanging every time,but surely the tab should have it at $30 to encourage some support so they can at least say they made money on the race.

the draws do make that an interesting race. Tommy lincoln could help undo kango if he shows the early speed he normally does.Bad to the bone seemed to lack a sprint the other night,and probably is unable to work hard and win,so unless the leaders get an unexpected easy mid race 400m it may be the race where a horse like south coast arden can come from back of midfield.It may all come down to who ends up in the 3 wide line early on,and whether that horse is good enough to keep going forward.

Good to see todays meeting go ahead. $70,000 in stakes paid out,9 winners,an average of 10 horses per race. I see on the other channel someone was saying not a good look and they thought people had been told to stay inside.. Well whoever that was obviously didn't observe the very busy christchurch roads,and the chocker car park due to some big event at the events centre.

The stars and the moon did align.

I can't see blair orange not attempting to come off the fence early on. I think he will likely settle midfield,one off. His biggest problem to do that will probably be d butcher who has drawn alongside him. Butcher probably more interested in keeping krug on fence than he would be in getting himself in the right position .If krug elects to stay on the fence he may as well not turn up,and orange knows that. Krug has a bit over the field ability wise.

So they asked d butcher about the drive,but he said it got too keen. The stipes in the n.i. accept any excuse anyway. I thought it looked like he was trying to set it up for its stablemate that ran 2nd,to ensure it got off the fence,but who knows. No mention in the stipes report so far of the d ferguson drive from 3 weeks ago.Its just an example of the stipes giving d ferguson the opportunity to drive at the jewels,and to lessen the consequences of the dishonest drive he had done on classy operator. Whats the point of having stipes if they are going to worry more about how it effects the drivers than it does the punters and public perception. It says it all really? And i see te louka sunrise trotted all the way in the non win trot,and ran 4th of 7 runners. So the stipes swabbed him. Why pick on him.Why not swab the winner like the rest of the card, apart from bolt for brilliance.

I've taken a few top 4 bets,and some top 2 bets,but i'm wondering if having those extra options makes any difference to my betting and the returns i receive. Obviously you have more chance of a return with payment back to 4th,but when i place the top 4 bet,i'm not spending anymore, just splitting my spend between top 3 and top 4 that i used to have made. On one hand you may get a little more if you happen to run 4th,but on the other hand you get a little less if you run top 3. So i think its going to be personal preference,but its probably not for me. Having more options is like going to the supermarket and the wife has told you she wants a can of baked neans.If there is 10 brands of baked beans and your not sure what you should get,its frustrating. It just as good to keep things simple and only have 3 brands of baked beans. You obviously used to bet in larger amounts than most. I know someone who they told they were going to restrict,but that person just referred them to what he spent on the tote pools,and they lifted the restrictions immediately. Having said that the amounts he bets on fixed odds normally only have returns in the hundreds,hardly ever the thousands.That is except in multis,and i understand he doesn't take them much.

I know. She goes well if shes in front,a bit like her sister. No doubting they both drive there share of winners,and horses do run for them. But if you watch that trotting race i refer to,you could see well before it happened J Morrison would push her out,but she didn't seem awake to that move coming.

Its entertaining to watch some of the driving as well. That last race you had maudachy seemingly over racing while parked,yet she didn't move forward,and you could see john morrison was going to push her out at the 1000m if she didn't go forward,but she wasn't awake to it . It makes a big difference on some of these smaller tracks who drives them.

Who knows,maybe he thinks it will break if it gets amongst them early. But your right,for it to be competitive it needs off the ur. One thing i've noticed is horses who consistently start off the ur seem to bottom out and just don't go on with the promise they show early.I guess they just strain themselves a bit more giving them a start each time,and psychologically i think it takes its toll on them. Trotters aren't as badly effected as the pacers are that way. Theres also many trotters off the ur in those lower grade trots in canterbury,and really the only advantage you get if you have a horse that needs space early is if you draw the outside of the ur.

That horse that just won and paid $122 actually went o.k.last start. Its a horse that has never trotted evenly in the last 400m,but with a new trainer it trotted rarely nicely up the straight in its last start.Its always looked like it could win another 3 or 4 races if they could get it to trot evenly. I had it in the 4 i boxed,but only backed it for a place. It was only paying about $60 a couple of minutes prior to the start,so it was a bit of surprise it paid that much.

You've got to love the racing down there though. Race 1 a triumph for fiona baigent whose 8yo wins at its 51st start. its trained at templeton,so that would be a 5 hour float trip,which i see its made many times,having started 12 times on the track. Those maiden trots at forbury are some of the best betting races punters can target. In that first race you had a $2 favorite by peak. We know nearly all peaks,with the rare exception,break 90% of the time,and that hot favorite had broken in all its recent trials at the start. I didn't back the winner ,but the multiples paid very well. I hope forbury continue to race somewhere next season,as those races are the ones punters who do their form should target when investing.

I hope i'm better at guessing than hunter,but i think i know who ludwig is. I'm guessing if you met ludwig in real life you would get on very well. Who really knows anyone,but from what i know he has done things in life i think someone like you would appreciate and respect. I agree its not always easy to work out where someones coming from if they don't give a reply,but over time it becomes clearer. I see ludwig referring to some being 'super sensitive tulips". That reminds me of this boss of an organisation i once worked for.He was a sensitive soul."I said to him one day....This is meant in a positive way,because i think being sensitive is a good thing,but you shouldn't take things to heart so much if someone doesn't agree with you..... well blow me down,he stopped talking to me for 6 months after that,and that was all i said. We're all different.

yes,i understand what you are saying. I also have understood what gammalite has said. I have a mutual view and interest in what you both post. But I think we all need to realise mutual respect gained over time,doesn't just disappear if someone has an opposite point of view,or if someone words a post in a way that draws an unseen inference. Why anyone would think it does makes no sense to me,but we are all different.thats a good thing.

I agree,posting positive things is good,but you can't expect anyone who has an opposite opinion on certain subjects not to be able to express them. I never take anything personally if someone disagrees with my view on here,but maybe i have a thicker skin than some.What is positive and what is negative in this context anyway. Maybe gammalite has viewed one of my replies as a personal attack,but i have re read my reply and i can't see why.Like i have said,his focus is on me using his words,and he has not focused on my reasoning to counter his point of view.People should read what is said,instead of putting a spin on replies that was never there. Perhaps people should ask themselves,when it comes to discussing personalities, why do some think only one point of view can exist depending on who the personality is?

yes,10 races with 95 horses going around.Just had a look at the weather forecast.An over night low of 7 degrees predicted at this stage. Thats warm compared to what its normally like down there isn't it.You may not have to put two lots of thermals on if you or others from your area go.

By the way gammalite. I don't have a problem with you thinking that,just pointing out i don't agree with you,and giving reasons i think myself and others have ,for not agreeing with you.

Come on gammalite,when you were saying "sore losers", thats what you meant and think. I guess the reason you've focused on that part of my reply is because you realise the rest of what i have said makes sense.

I may be wrong,but i think brodie was trying to make a point with a touch of sarcasm in what he posted.

Labelling as "sore losers" those who think there is more to the level of success the all stars have than just training, is not accurate. Like i've said before.If we use this forum as an example. Ask yourself. Who have the trainers been who have been the topic of discussion as relates to out of the ordinary performances in the last 3 years or so.Theres only been a handful from my recollection,so its easy enough to remember who they have been. They have been the all stars,jesse alford,mitchel kerr,barclay/ ellis,steve dolan , cran dalgety,g anderson. Now if everyone,and there have been many(myself included)was a doing this because they were "sore losers",how come they have been so accurate in identifying those who have ended up being charged and dealt with? how do you explain that??? Its true the all stars and barclay/ellis can say their is no proven basis for anyone to suggest what some have.And because of that they must feel more than a little peeved. And its true that operation inca's raids on both those stables may have been about unrelated matters to the subject being discussed. But you generalising and calling everyone "sore losers" says just as much about your approach to this topic ,as it does those you are calling losers. And perhaps you can explain what you think the motive is for those you call sore losers. From my observations those who raise these issues mostly are punters and observers. So what have they got to gain. What is there motive? And as you have noted,if it was because of whoever's success,how come there is no pattern to the level of success when it comes to these topics. And if it was because the people you say are losers,don't credit the success rate of some to the their training abilities, how come they continually say the likes of the all stars and dalgety are admired by everyone for their training ablilty,as are their drivers and their horses. This subject is something that will always be discussed ,and people just have to make up their own minds.

Thats a hard one to be sure of. No denying Udr and on track performances have improved. If you look at their winners akuta,bettor twist and samhara . What was noticeable was how they pulled away easily right at the finish of races run in very fast times. Then you had South coast arden do the same thing. This horse has definitely improved since being trained by the all stars. Theres no doubt rasmussen is much better than mangos as a driver,and maybe the all stars are better than mangos is as a trainer,but this horse has gone to a new level in a couple of weeks with a different trainer/driver,albeit against weaker opposition. Its obvious from some peoples comments on this thread what they think is the reason. Personally i'm not sure the total reason.If we put to one side South coast adern,then its possible that its rasmussens driving which is the main factor. Another factor is some of these horses have natural improvement as they previously had not raced many times. its all hypothetical. Its just something that goes with their success,and everyone will draw their own conclusions,and continue to make comments about it.

Not a fan by the sounds of it. His results are showing they run for him,so well done to him.

good thing for you you couldn't get a bet on that. Maybe if f phelan or j kreichbaumer drive the next winner and fitzgerald fails to score with his drive alexy. I wonder if they get to represent nz in the usa like they used to?