Smart move taking him the sunburnt land -the 3yo fillies in NZ seem so much better than the boys.
Recall Darci taking on the most useless field ever in an Aussie group one and having to be flogged senseless [79 whacks ?] That he recovered to race again was a miracle and a tribute to his sheer guts.
Dumb Thomas -why do you think they use barrier blankets ? To keep half the horse dry ? warm ?
I have no experience with Nuns so cannot help with your fantasies. I read somewhere that they drink quite a lot and have bad habits.
Think it through Tommo
Wrap your tootsies in a bit of cold steel so you contact the ground, then put your bare bum [shock horror] against the metal gates -that tingle is not from the voltage in the whip you carry..
Given a few 'barrier rogues' I found they were all o k in our hand operated gates.
I conclude that some of the nags are more susceptible to a bit of electricity floating around.
What a lot of green eyes here -they should be congratulated for stepping up and sponsoring. David, affectionately termed Wee Willie Winkie [presumably for his habit of winking at the bid spotters] does a lot for racing .
Forget the activists -- the real call for banning whips is coming from those actively involved in the industry, Those who recognise that times have changed.
The figures that confused you were for the entire catalogue which finished today. You were comparing total catalogue numbers with just two thirds offered.
Whipping looks bad -so we restrict it to 5 whacks ? If 10 strikes look bad does 5 look just half as bad?
Get real. if 10 strikes are bad so is one strike.
The fine does not reflect the winning jockeys percentage of the stake -$1000 fine, $7000 odd winning percentage,
To be effective the fine must be more than the reward.
Best they are just disqualified for breaking the rules.
Better still just ban all whips and then no problem -the world is changing and whips will be banned everywhere in the world [bar Australia] in the next few years.
Seriously N Z has been well served with many capable commentators right from the time of first broadcasts.
We should thank them and not chuck brickbats.
What a load of nonsense -when I started in this game 24 horse fields were the norm [some 30, some 40] -any horse playing up was sent to the outer, just like the bad boys at the red hots.
The starters manual is just common sense and all that is required is that it be followed,