Walt

Your input always a good read Gamma. As you know, "shit happens"...you and I are a similar age. I'm obviously far better looking. We had to standby helplessly and watch a beautiful young lady in our world succumb to a brain tumour. She never had a chance. I've mostly had a good innings so when the grim reaper comes I will have context. Hope I get to see a couple more NZ Cups before then. One thing for sure, I'm in the right place here. Once we get north of 60 it becomes a management thing for many. I hope your skin issues are under control. As we know, little insignificant blemishes can hide a much bigger issue. I thought mine was relatively minor. I was sitting with the surgeon feeling a tad miffed that he'd left a big issue for someone else up on his screen. I figured he wasn't thinking about privacy for whatever reason. Then I clicked to it being my scan up on the screen. I fly back up to Auckland every 3 months to keep on top of things. We are both addicted to the harness game. I can see why Locarno was a big fav. What a horse he was for Robin and in a great era. Locarno had a fantastic sprint on him. You always knew he was still a winning chance regardless of how far back in the run he was. Pity TAB man is an eggplant as some of his input is good. Our TAB has fallen short for many years so when someone creates a user name licking the TAB's bum you know what he's about. He's becoming more of a dick lately when anyone has the temerity to see the TAB differently to him. I'm sweet for people to disagree with things I say but I dislike with a passion being misrepresented and passive aggressive shit talking from the shadows. I don't always agree with Brodie but he seems a good egg. Anyone that can make a dollar punting long term has my respect. It can be a tough gig so you don't need spineless betting platforms setting out to make things virtually unworkable because you have the audacity to find winners.

You're making superb splashes Jason. The honey always tastes sweeter when you've had to go through a whole bunch of challenging crap to get to it. Keep them coming brother

https://harness.hrnz.co.nz/gws/ws/r/infohorsews/wsd06x?Arg=hrnzg-Ptype&Arg=RaceVideo&Arg=hrnzg-RacehdrID&Arg=F471F982-A0B6-4C94-9D09-BEF6C4A67BEB&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE

They are responding Brodie......via him and displaying the same sort of contempt

Funny you should say that. Third time you've made a lame arse joke about that so I'll share something personal with you. I grew up in Nelson but left in 1982. Spent a lot of time in the sun but that caught up with me 40 years later in Auckland when I copped a melanoma diagnosis in 2022. Threel surgeries later with the clock ticking we made the call to leave our six adult children and return to Nelson. Being planted here had more appeal than Auckland but only after I've squeezed as much out as possible. So yes, the Nelson sun did get to me. One thing for sure, having your head up the TAB's arse has certainly got to you. Do me a favour. Don't message me on here again.

Bullshit.....you wouldn't know your arse from your elbow. I don't give a shit how many times you've watched the replay. Even blind Freddy could see Oscar Bonavena had used very little energy during the run tucked away back on the inner and was searching for gaps in the straight. I didn't say he would have beaten the winner with a clear run but would have gone very close. I don't know which race you were looking at but all you've done is highlight your ignorance. Your statement that he was "outclassed" is also ridiculous. It's clear your thing on the site is brown nosing the TAB and being a passive aggressive ignorant dick. You've been very successful at both. Well done. https://harness.hrnz.co.nz/gws/ws/r/infohorsews/wsd06x?Arg=hrnzg-Ptype&Arg=RaceVideo&Arg=hrnzg-RacehdrID&Arg=1B1443C2-0B76-41F0-BD49-8C7CADBFFDAE&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE

Was a fantastic race Gammalite. Great to see such an epic event being enjoyed and appreciated by so many. Without wanting to be wise after the event, I've followed the winner for a while now and thought he was a royal chance of winning. The way he finished the race off was impressive. What a shame jumping in NZ has been heading in the wrong direction for some time and with no will in place to turn that around.

There are a lot of things harness racing and the NZ TAB get wrong year after year. Are you able to debate without passive aggressive insults toward anyone that doesn't have their nose and tongue up the TAB's bum?

When Greg O'Connor interviewed Fergie post race he mentioned his mates will be having a big night. I always enjoy seeing a plunge come off even if I have SFA to do with it

Like many, Jason Teaz knows there are aspects of harness racing in NZ that don't make sense and are not helping the game. He had enough backbone mixed with a fair degree of frustration to say so. He was singled out for a public flogging by untouchables higher up the pecking order in harness racing. How dare anyone question them. It was bullshit and little more than people in power sending a message to others in the industry to STFU and don't ever disagree with them. Jason could have perhaps been a little more careful with his choice of words but frustration can get the better of most of us at times. I know he had a tough year and I don't think he'll mind me saying he was disillusioned with harness racing. Many others would have just said "fark it" and walked away. I talked briefly with him last year and said that's exactly what those big wigs in HRNZ wanted him to do. I said the best revenge would be to stick at it, turn the page and come back better than ever. Jason has come back like a Phoenix from the ashes and that is surely a measure of a man. Last night at a showpiece in NZ Harness Racing, he and Fergie combined in a very memorable way with Kaipaki Jack. He didn't just win, he blew his rivals off the Cambridge race track. Hugely impressive win. Well done Jason and well done Fergie. I didn't wager but I got more satisfaction watching that win than I did with many that I won $$ with. Onward and upwards to even bigger and better Jason.

Fair enough Shad and you're right. Always enough your input here mate

The draw was a shocker for Muscle Mountain but in truth, any draw would have likely tripped him up. I'm not bagging Ben for having a dig for the top or trying to be wise after the event but the decision to go forward early was never going to be a good one. The moment he went forward was game over for him. He couldn't work extra against that field and still be in the finish. The Aussies would never hand up after being gifted perfect draws. Having said that, the bias all night was leader or top two or three. Had Muscle Mountain sat back he would likely have still finished at the tail end. No mention made of the luckless Oscar. He was climbing over them in the home straight but couldn't get a crack. He's finished full of running but still looking for gaps. I'm not saying he would have won with a clear run but he would have gone very very close. I feel luck comes into far more @ Cambridge than Addington. If we want a more authentic race, we need to factor that in. I will say that from what I saw on the telly last night it was a well run show that was great for harness racing......just maybe at the wrong track

The insurance is painful for sure but understandable. We were going to build on the new plots at Bayview @ Atawhai. Magnificent views but insurance a big issue. Send me a message when you're in Nelson Shad and we'll tee up a coffee or a cold one

Just looking at two horses in the big trot tonight. Muscle Mountain @ 5.5 fixed & Oscar Bonavena @ 8 fixed Muscle Mountain is a top quality trotter but if I put aside his outstanding record and just focus on a couple of other factors. Rightly or wrongly, I feel his best days are behind him. Still very capable of winning numerous more races but not against this company...in my opinion. When he won first up this campaign he had a short margin over stablemate Midnight Dash who is @ 81 fixed tonight. Oscar Bonavena ran motherless in that race where he was obviously not nailed down after a short break. His next up win was easy but break that down. He was drawn the pole against Mystic Max who is @ 51 fixed tonight from a good draw and Midnight Dash. Very nice win but context always important. Then I look at the driver. Ben seems a lovely young man who has improved considerably in recent seasons. He is however not a driver I put in the same category as Mark Purdon, Chris Alford, Greg Sugars and Tony Herlihy. That's nothing bad as very few are and Ben is still young. Tonight Mystic Mountain will be nailed down fitness wise but so will the rest of the field. If he is going to be in the finish tonight he'll need to work hard. I have noticed him looking very tired late in his races when he's had to work. Ben will need to bring his A-Game. Good luck to him. He'll need his share. I'm not punting but if I was I'd be ok to lay him. Then I look at Oscar. Leading up to his fail first up he was flying. We can put his first up run down to a lack of fitness. It wasn't an important race in comparison to his actual target tonight. He showed how much his fitness level had improved when he comfortably beat Queen Elida last week all be it by a smallish margin. I don't believe his draw tonight is as big a disadvantage as Muscle Mountain's draw. Oscar is flying and we all know what sort of record the All Stars have in the big money races. Then I look at the driver. I rate Mark Purdon as being in the top three NZ drivers. I'm confident Mark will have Oscar putting in when the whips are cracking. He's @ appealing odds @ 8. I'd have Oscar @ 5's and Muscle Mountain @ 10's. Having said that, Just Believe looks terribly hard to beat. I can see Queen Elida leading up and Just believe parking up which he's good enough to win from. If he doesn't take the top he will risk Oscar sitting on Queen Elida's' tail and using the passing lane. Greg Sugars will be awake to that prospect. Would be interesting to see who the drivers of the best chances rate as their biggest danger. The Aussies have all copped great draws so we do have a NZ v Australia clash. Can't wait to watch it unfold. Both feature races tonight are fascinating. Hope the rains stay away. What say fellow yarners?

Cheers bro, Spent the morning clearing up fallen trees etc on our property. We had some minor flooding but dodged a bullet there. After the almost biblical flooding of August 2022 we pay close attention when the weather turns to custard. When you're next in Nelson around Rocks Road look up along the ridgeline of Princes Drive. You'll see an area the length of several football fields that suffered badly back in the September weather event. It sticks out like the proverbial. We are right on the edge of that. House next door lost their deck so wind and rain goes onto the radar pretty quickly

Thanks Shad. It's been a wild weather day for sure. We are up on the ridge along Britannia Heights so are fairly exposed. The rain was heavy but it's been the wind that got our attention. For a couple of hours earlier tonight the house was battered and shook at times. Has calmed down but may get more of the same tomorrow. The Coasters look to have been hit with very heavy rain again so fingers crossed they all come through it ok.

The most iconic part of the track for me was the Ellerslie hill

You've had a ringside seat to one hell of a ride. Great stuff. I've always felt Mark P was underrated as a driver. I remember well the trots at Ruakaka. It's a shame they came to an end. We were on the same page with Akuta on Cup Day. I had 4 multi's ending on Akuta in the Cup. I couldn't see him beat. Then half an hour before the Cup with all my multi's live I got a text about the work of Swayzee in the days leading up. The person who text me has been involved in several Cup winners and was adamant Swayzee was a good thing. I agreed with him 300 metres after the start of the Cup. Akuta had no assistance in the Cup. That made a huge difference. The Purdon's have a strangle hold on the Grins both numerically and with quality. Controlling elite races is their art form. This race is set up for them perfectly. I really struggle to find a scenario where the name Purdon is not alongside the first three home in the Grins. I won't be wagering but will watch the musical chairs with interest.

Only crumbs for the Aussies this year Gammalitefullstop..if they are lucky. The Purdon's have the quality, form and numerical advantage to control the big one. Can't see how the others will be given a look in. Oscar found zero in the straight first up from a break against Muscle Mountain in mid March. Mystic Max, Midnight Dash, High Energy and even Maui going straight by Oscar told a story with bells on. Last week he looked like he had Queen Elida covered a long way out. Queen Elida will have also improved but so will have Oscar. His fitness has obviously ramped up in two weeks so the upcoming feature was clearly the reason for that. The name Purdon will be saluting the judge on both features.

Tickling Arse Bandit

He is Brodie...would love a share in him.

Now I know you're bullshitting. Compelling evidence the moment you said you had a friend.

Pretty shitty thing to say fella. You chose to sign up here so what category does that put you in outside of being a brown nose to a wagering agency many around the land have a dim view of? Feel free to polish your nose on the TAB's bum but don't expect others to follow your lead.......and there is a difference between sharing perspectives both positive & negative.....and MOANERS

Hope these are helpful Mark if you're looking for a betting guide. https://www.racing-odds.com/racecourse/sha-tin https://bet.hkjc.com/racing/pages/odds_wp.aspx?lang=en&dv=local

He didn't just beat them Galah. He was a class above and brained them. He proved what we said all along that he was the best horse in the Coast races. I think even folk that walk with a white cane could easily spot the difference in how he's been driven in the races not targeted and then the ones they wanted. Best be careful in what we say as we'll be accused of just having a moan. The day we watch the Coast races unfold and say nothing and just accept it is the same day we've allowed the bar of authenticity to be set so low that we deserve whatever follows.