Walt

To be fair Westview we were not aware there even had been an incident. We were in the Members so I doubt the minor infraction ruined the day for anyone other than the knob jockey that was led off with new temporary bracelets on

Thanks Shad. Plenty of beautiful sights to take in. If you get the chance to revisit I recommend you do. We enjoy exploring the top of the South when time permits. We recently went to Okiwi Bay and French Pass. Hadn't been there since the 1980's and loved every minute.

I'm assuming you're referring to trotting cup day Brodie? With the Dominion now on Cup day it makes the day even more enticing. Having said that it will likely lessen the appeal of Show day. I'm all in favour of reducing entry charges but they need to be mindful of who they are actually enticing on track for the showpiece day. Will serious punters go or not go based on $15 reduction in entry charge? I was on track last cup day and it was impossible not to notice a significant increase in Police presence on the previous time I was there on Cup day. Later in the day there was an alcohol related incident in the infield. The media got hold of it but from what I could tell it was handbags at ten paces. Too much alcohol and too much sun can take a toll on some people

Fairly confident the eels you're referring to Shad or next to and under the peer at Lake Rotoiti. You could almost walk on them. Fairly common to see trout nearby as well. They are well fed by tourists etc. There is a webcam at the lake that we usually have a quick gander at before heading out there. Prefer to go during the week as it does get busy on the weekends. https://www.takeabreak.co.nz/webcams/590/lake_rotoiti_webcam We take the kayaks out and have a mate with a jetboat so we get to see it in all it's glory. Our neighbours have a batch there that they very generously offer to us whenever we desire it. Te Waikoropupu Springs on the other side of the Takaka hill from Nelson heading toward Collingwood. It's a special place we take friends and family to when they come down for a visit. My wife also manages the top of the South from Kaikoura through Marlborough, Nelson, Motueka and down the West Coast from Westport, Greymouth to Hokitika so we get to enjoy a lot of beautiful sights you'd be familiar with.

I'm out of the loop with many things relating to wagering and the newish betting platform. Checked it out on the weekend still no treble will pays? It took years to get them in place and now with "progress" they've gone again. ...unless they are somewhere I didn't look?

A nudist camp in the snow and ice would create some new non binary types. Lake Rotoiti always a fav spot and then off for lunch or dinner at the Alpine Lodge. Finish that off with a single malt by the fire. Perfect

Went to a couple of spots yesterday familiar to you

That makes perfect sense Gammalite. It won like a good thing and obviously was.

Watched a low grade race at Albion Park today. Noticed the fav was paying $1.35 so a raging hot fav. Checked out the write up on the TAB website to better understand the price. Happy enough to dismiss. Brained them. Punters knew what they were doing. Not so the TAB website

I thought the run was very poor so was confused when Dylan Fergie told Stewards he wasn't disappointed with that run.

Back in the late 1970's, early 80's I would look out for Southland horses I felt would make a very positive impression on the Auckland harness scene. I'd make my recommendation to a Auckland trainer to consider and he'd do the rest. I recall chatting with Bud Baynes of Young Quinn fame about prospects. He felt the stock of Sir Dalrae would be a sire to follow and produce very good stock. Not long after Comedy Lad was produced. He of course went on to win the Auckland Cup for Roy, Barry and big spender / big punter Max Harvey. I had zero to do with any of that but followed with interest. 45 years later I still follow Southland harness and think how horses there would perform in Canterbury and Auckland. I'm no longer involved in making recommendations but that doesn't stop me noticing candidates. I saw one last week at Invercargill that if I had extra $$ I'd want to buy myself. It's name was Putere Boy. He looks an exciting prospect despite not beating much. It's more to do with his gait and style. He could well turn out to be an extra good horse. His sire was terrific and the dam has produced nice horses despite only having a few to her name. https://harness.hrnz.co.nz/gws/ws/r/infohorsews/wsd06x?Arg=hrnzg-Ptype&Arg=RaceVideo&Arg=hrnzg-RacehdrID&Arg=AEB541E5-E13D-48FC-8F68-915D8B764E38&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE

Well said Freda. Take away the income of the riders and you're left with a big hole. Trainers not wanting to flatten their horses early in the jumps season totally understandable. I remember 20 years ago the Browne's campaigning a team in the deep South and you could see then if they hadn't come the races may not have gone ahead. The writing has been on the wall for years and there isn't the will from higher up to change that. They seem very content for NZ Jumps Racing to go into the history books and stay there. I always enjoyed the Paeroa jumps meetings but nek minute, the course is history. The Ellerslie hill has been the top shelf of NZ Jumps racing. Nek minute, gone! My love of jumps racing is a life long deal. That won't change even when NZ Jumps racing is no longer. As an aside, around 1981 or there about's they had a hurdle race at the Nelson gallops. Brush hurdles. I'd been overseas and timed my return for the meeting. When I got back there was a buzz around Nelson for the jumps race. I must have been told who would win it at least a dozen times. Royal Charmer a North Island horse skips over the hurdles like a natural. Working great. Will lead and win. I can't recall who trained him. Don Fuge perhaps. I put $2000 to win on it for me and $200 for my dad. I took him to the races and showed him the ticket I had for him but kept my thumb over the last zero and did the same with my ticket so he thought I had $200 on it for me and $20 for him which was a big bet for him. Royal Charmer went straight to the top, never put a foot wrong and won easy. My dad didn't stop smiling all day after getting over the shock. As far as I know that was the last jumps race at Nelson. Now they don't have gallops at all there despite it being a very good track.

I watched a couple of races last night and it was obvious some horses were the subject of inspired support and were driven accordingly. The first was the Nicky Chilcott trained Katies Princess in Race 3. More than halved her tote price late in the betting and it took a huge finish from the Barry Purdon trained horse to beat Katie's Princess. Red Rackham was obviously set up to win last night and was driven as such. 1-4 in the betting tells it's own story but it was a crap meeting and I feel the betting figures would reflect that. Doesn't go unnoticed when horses are wagered and driven with confidence. It would have been a painless watch for the backers of RR. Got the top with ease. Nobody made a race out of it so had it all his own way. The fav on the tote was Armed Jaffa with Dylan Ferguson. That horse never moved a muscle. Ran a very nice race first up but never looked like it last night. Remarkably, Ferguson said he wasn't disappointed with the run as the horse is still learning. Really? He was learning even more first up yet still ran a very good race. His learning was at odds with what punters saw first up. Race meetings like that especially at Cambridge are just trials with a bit of stake money. When the driver on the horse that was fav and ran near last without ever moving results in the driver saying he wasn't disappointed you know what your up against.

Always amuses me when people like yourself try and ridicule the intellect of anyone that has the audacity to see things differently than you. If you're going to take potshots from the shadows about Peters campaigning at least try and avoid making a complete dick of yourself by spelling the word "campaign" incorrectly on multiple occasions. I along with many others easily recall NZF being under 3% inside the last two months prior to the 2023 election. Me saying 2% six weeks out in at least two polls was accurate. Even Christopher Luxon wouldn't entertain a possible coalition with him when asked due to NZF being so far off 5% at the time. Over the years I've lost count at the number of times alleged experts have adamantly stated the political life of Winston Peters is dead in the water and he is about to be sent packing from Parliament, yet somehow he manages to survive and get back in. Why? Because he sees the damage being done and feels the vibe amongst a lot of New Zealanders. He says and does what those people want to hear and see. Not only does he do that but he times his campaign run so he doesn't go the early crow and burn out or finish strongly but too late. I'm 100% correct when I state nobody in Parliament does that better than Winston Peters. It's irrelevant if you like or dislike him. Facts are always going to be facts. Peters entered Parliament in 1978 some 46 years ago. He started the NZF party 31 years ago in 1993. He's 79 years old and has managed to be a big player in NZ Politics for many years. He's now Deputy Prime Minister. Nobody can continue in politics for ever so at some point he'll have to call it a day. He'll be 81 in 2026 which will be 48 years after he first entered Parliament. You pretending to be Nostradamus about it is comical. I wouldn't be shocked if he decided to run again in 2026 but if he doesn't or fails to pass the 5% he will have had a very long successful career. During the 2023 election campaign he stated female toilets and changing rooms should be a safe place for women and girls. At any other time people would wonder why anyone would need to say that. The fact the inept Chris Hipkins stated Peter's comment was inciting hatred toward the trans community highlighted how batshit crazy things have become. Hipkins was only interested in Virtue Signaling just like Ardern. How did that work out? Many people celebrated Peters 2023 election result. It helped get rid of the incompetent Labour Government. He chose to go into a coalition Government with Labour in 2017 which he later deeply regretted so it was fitting that he play an important role in getting rid of them in 2023. Your statement about Peters be an imbecile says nothing about him but does reflect on you. If the cap fits...... Let's face it, those that are Ardern and Hipkins sycophant's invariably also hate Winston Peters and Donald Trump. I applaud Trump. He's the most stand up Politician in the United States or anywhere else for that matter. That will mean nothing to you or the alphabet community, or those that believe Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the second coming or pro Palestine / Hamas groups are mothers milk. It does however mean a lot to everyone watching how divided the world has become as we lurch toward the inevitable commencement of major world conflict. A stand up leader of the free world has been missing in action since Biden became POTUS. Big numbers have all seen how badly that has worked out. Just as importantly the enemies of the United States have also seen but don't let the facts get in the way. For the record, I know many who support Trump but have never heard anyone apart from you describe him as a "stable genius". Ever considered you being so left wing and bitter having dramatically clouded your judgement?

I don't know what Robert Anderson is up to these days Brodie. I do know he's had one winner in 2024 and that was Grettymac and two winners last year. Grettymac and Jezebel who hasn't raced since April 2023. She ironically beat Woodlea Jewel If Robert didn't have any others in work Dancing Glenis would have done everything solo. Perhaps it was a case of doing what you always do and getting what you always get? Bruce Negus has plenty in work so Dancing Glenis could have been working with Buffy Northstains who's won 10 or Paige who's won 9. It could be a case of rising tides lift all ships or a change of environment / food / routine or a combination. Whatever it is, it's working.