the galah

Can't recall anyone ever saying the all stars aren't the best.Whats being discussed re spankem is only one aspect of an outstanding stable.No one says otherwise.

I'm glad you have finally admitted that chief.

doesn't your spelling the topic " Shorn feelin" indicate an expression of some form of discriminatory feelings held by you towards sheep and the irish. Should the chief censor you for that?

He just typed 1690 instead of 1609. The point he made is accurate. Looks like youv'e highlighted a very intelligent group of posters there chief.

Well the reason we go on about spankem is because he is yet another example of a horse that has left the all stars, and then raced below the levels he did for them. And we ask why? Its also obvious from reading this forum that many believe they think they know why.Thats never going to change.So its not really about a particular horse.Its about a consistent pattern involving many horses which then reinforce the opinions already held. And spankem has followed the normal trend. Its something thats always going to be highlighted,so i guess you just have to accept it is a subject many feel strongly about,and will continue to comment about.

He may not have picked the right platform for his humour,but to get fined $800 seems ridiculous. How much would a maori jockey get fined for making the same joke?Personally i have heard that joke many times,and maori tell it as much as anyone else. Are the maori who told me that racist? What will he get fined if he cracks an irish joke? People often over react to stuff like this. Was billy t james a racist?

The Spankem that ran 2nd in the nz and auckland cups,and won nz ffa in the last 7 months isn't the same horse running over there. Apart from king of swing ,the rest hes racing over there aren't competitive in races like that are they?He doesn't have the run forever look anymore. Thats the reason many on here say hes lost a leg performance wise.

3000 wins is a fantastic achievement from May. One of the great things i have observed about Ricky May, is he takes as much pleasure out of every win,whether they be achieved at a major race meeting,or a run of the mill meeting.Makes no difference to him whether someone is a big timer,or someone is a small timer who he has just met. He treats everyone the same. He recognises the pleasure all winning connectiions receive from his skills,and is humble in victory when his contribution is recognised.He also seems a very empathetic fella to those he drives for and interacts with,whether he wins or loses ,as he is in other aspects of life.

You would think rasmussens sister would know what all the ingredients of the all stars success was,but currently spankem has lost a leg form wise.Turn it up should really have won last night,but for a dumb as drive,but even so he hasn't gone on to reach the same heights as he did here since leaving the all stars. I agree,if buying off the all stars you may be over paying for what you actually are getting. Thats been the case for a while hasn't it?

I'm not sure why bob butts not driving as well as he once used to. Maybe its a confidence thing and just a phase he's going through. Just seems to make tactical errors much more than he did a few years back.The couple he has lined up back here while he is away have won with john dunn driving them.

American dealer went a nice race.Looked like he lacks a bit of high speed, and probably needs inside draws in the future. Earlier in the season he looked to be about our 3rd best 3year old,but would have gone down the rankings on recent performances i think. dougie backing humble ladd at $6.50,seemed a great price,so well done there. His best form over here was at addington,and several times he never quite seemed 100% comfortable on smaller tracks,but his natural ability seemed to be a bit too much for last nights opposition.The final of that race will be interesting as pink galahs was impressive. Having the best name a big help. Do the drivers over there drive in their own colours? I noticed p mcmullen always seemed to have the same colours on,but in the big pacing race you had a couple of stablemates with the same colours. How does it work over there. That overanova has an amazing record.Horses over there seemed to have more race starts than they do here.Also seem to have earned more. What do you put that down to. Is it because they have a greater pool of horses. Is the handicapping system really good.Is it the warmer weather? Is it because they race over shorter distances. Do they not train them as hard? What do you think?

Yes a good win by copy that. I wonder about the strength of that field,and thought the win by copy that may have looked impressive due to that fact. As you've mentioned,and we have pointed out before,spankem just doesn't have the run forever look about him over there at the moment,and it was a surprise to see him favorite. What about the fella that drove turn it up(s graham),It was really a dumb as drive. Don't know too much about him,but when your going very easily in the 1/1 with 300m to go and someone moves up outside you, well you pull out and give your horse a chance.He was in the right position to win,and went to the line hard held.You would think he wasn't trying,except the race was worth $76,000. I also watched bob butt quite happy to sit in the trail behind the $122 rank outsider instead of taking the lead,a decision which cost him any win chance,but Pink galahs was quite dominant anyway. I didn't use to watch albion park,but did think tonights racing was entertaining,and overall they seem to have some good drivers over there.

Well those running the jumps racing do nothing to change things,so hard to have much sympathy for them. I think we discussed the same subject last year. I and another poster(Freda maybe) commented that most of the falls and injuries are at the fences in the final straight,So why don't they just make the final straight jump free.Doesn't that seem logical?

Watching todays jumps racing,and you would think its days must be numbered. Injured jockeys and horses ,several horses falling.Whats the point when you see racing like that?

The only thing that i should clarify was he was not a vet. There have been vets charged however.The person he got his products from was a pharmacist.Vets knowingly used the products he supplied.

Gobbledygook to you,common sense to me. When. Well my post says when... i said the bloke was sentenced 3 months ago,that means march 2021. Where,the USA.. Who scott robinson. What drugs was he accused of supplying... red cell builders and pain blockers amongst other thing.Note supposed to have done it without detection for almost a decade. You see,i know you find it hard to believe,but some people cheat.These cases are proof of the illegal means some parties go to achieve success. As i stated a few months back,at the time this hit the headlines,the owners of yonkers raceway indicated they may not renew the lease of the track when it comes up for renewal in 4 years time because they were sick of the publicity around the use of performance enhancers being used.whether that happens ,only time will tell.Also you should note it has been noted that there products were distributed to many countries.Also note that there are about 29 defendants,and i have previously referred you to some of them.

gammalite,when betting on harness do you bet on the tote or fixed odds over there?

sounds like the harness punters aren't treated the same as the gallops.Thats poor service by the agenices concerned. As far as your question relating to whether i bet fixed odds or tote. Well i only bet 5 minutes out and bet whatever i think gives best value. You get monthly rebates if you bet on the tote if you spend certain amounts,so i factor that in. I've never had the problem brodie has,as far as ever having any fixed odds restrictions placed on me. I'm guessing i dont bet in the large amounts brodie does,but i do know the tab will take into consideration how much someone puts through the tote when considering whether to impose restrictions for fixed odds betting. I do find sometimes that you can reduce the odds of longer priced horses if you bet solely on the tote,especially for a place,so you have to factor that in. I've actually just very recently expanded my own form research to include queensland harness. I haven't done any betting,and doubt i will be able to spend too much due to the small pools. As long as i think they are all trying i will see how it goes.

Part of the answer is to change the current handicapping system to allow horses to drop as far as a rating 30 level. The current rating 40 still sees too many uncompetitive rating 40's,racing when they realistically don't have much chance.Horses like this are ultimately discarded by connections,particularly the bigger stables. I know some may say to this suggestion that your only catering for a low quality horse. But if you observe the comments from the people that say that,they always say that about the bottom level,no matter where it sits. So there has to be change if you want to increase the numbers. Stake levels for races between R30 and r40 would have to be about $3000 a race. Its an obvious solution. It takes nothing away from those racing at the higher ratings. It will be the current missing incentive for some connections to continue,and it creates an extra race or two at times when full cards can't be run. The down side of my suggestion is some of those who have influence over the implementation of such a change can't relate to why some connections would keep that type of horse going,therefore have a preconceived bias against such a change. Well they need to get with the times. Perhaps the greatest expert on this suggestion would be michael house. He races the most lower grade horses,and i have read that he supports this idea. And finally to those who say who would bet on them. Well i was watching an interview with a professional punter form perth on the gallops. What he said was exactly what brodie and myself have been saying. That is,if you do your homework,there is far greater value to be found at the lower grade meetings than there is at the higher grade metropolitan meetings.

Jones,I've always thought being a little paranoid is a good thing. It encourages you to seek out the truth,and ultimately that can lead you to trust your instincts. The flip side of that is you become more aware that some things,and some people are fake. But better to know the truth than live in ignorance.

while the reports so far make great reading, and give an insight into how many high profilers in both harness and thoroughbreds used illegal performance enhancers to enable their success,theres so much information to digest and so much more to come. You should note that those involved were able to operate mainly without detection. One of the first involved to be dealt with was a vet who was sentenced 3 months ago to 18 months jail,3.8 million in assets confiscated and 3 years supervision once he gets out. He apparently only pleaded guilty to the one charge,and you would guess from that he has co operated with authorities,which could be ominous for many of his co defendants. Amongst the main allegations originally against him were operating a decade long business which involved shipping and sourcing blood builders which increased red cell levels and supplying medications allowing horses to race which suppressed pain.

So you say modern testing techniques would instantly find if performance enhancers have been used. So what do you say about those being prosecuted currently in new york? What about the leading 2 trainers of winners at yonkers,or the leading trainer of winners at freehold raceway,that is prior to them being banned as a result of the indictments. Did testing pick up what they were using? Those cases contradict what you believe,or do you think the 29 trainers ,vets and drug distributors are all innocent?

You refer to alford,mcgrath in this response.I would call their methods as the cheap mans way of using performance enhancers. But thats not who you referred to in the reply i responded to though. I was responding to your comment about spankem and the all stars. The chief assures me that the use of blood doping is easily detectable. Well thats great news if its true,but from what i've read its not true. I'm no expert,but do read the paulick report from the usa which tends to give you the most credible reporting on this subject and quotes experts in the detection of performance enhancers. Now,as i've said in my first reply,have you (or the chief) read the timeframes around treatments given to increase red cell content.And have you read what other treatments go with that and how regular the blood is monitored while red cell numbers are being increased. If you had,you would see that a 48 hour barn retention would NOT stop the administration of performance enhancers that were effective and given prior to the 48 hour period.

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