billy connolly

Broke down.

I see one of the starters assistants (white overalls) started the last without even mounting the rostrum, what's the go there? Was Boof stood down? Did he stand himself down? Is the man in white overalls superior? How old would Boof be, must be getting close to a best before date? The connections of Linedanceking must have been feeling a bit sick seeing it win the race without the pilot.

Should know... but from the Stewards Report: - Linedanceking (A Balloo) got its head down attempting to escape under the barriers prior to the start with the rider dismounting. A short time afterwards the start was effected whilst Linedanceking was still riderless. Linedanceking was subsequently declared a non-starter by the Adjudicator with all bets to be refunded. I other words Boof let them go whilst the hoop was dismounted and standing on the side of the barriers !

Yes, five winners and a second from eight is a phenomenal achievement, well done. Full credit to the women jockeys, on a per capita basis they punch well above their weight and without them the game is in dire straits here. I see one B. Pelling occupying the starters rostrum, he's been around awhile?

You get half pregnant with your clothes half off. What about the Ben-Hur's running with their legs tied towing a sulky and driver, wouldn't that hurt? What about dogs chasing fake rabbits? Whips or no whips the bunny huggers won't stop thoroughbred racing, there's no better sight than a champion racehorse in full flight.

My hope is that the aggrieved jockeys take a 7-figure class action against NZTR for taking money under false pretense. The only way to outlaw whip use was to ban them but the Petone thieves condoned them and then went after jockey's who used them. If you exceed the speed limit in a car the authorities give you from 5 - 10k grace, if you hit a horse once too many with a feather duster you are hung, drawn and quartered.

Didn't hurt Levante. Jockeys rarely hurt horses with the whip, they hurt them by giving them a hard run in transit. Jockey incompetence is a far bigger issue in this country than feather duster whips, but the powers that be wouldn't know that because they're incompetent themselves.

Interesting sectionals, all but two broke 33 sec's for last 600 and second horse broke 32. Those times highlight how important barrier draws and an economical run in transit is... even down the Trentham chute. So if you factor in the suspension they've effectively relieved Elliot of his winning riding fee. The jockey's must band together and take action over these farcical whip rules, as it stands the only foolproof way of avoiding the Petone revenue collectors is to throw their (soft) whips away all together. Petone would be sued to the heavens if a relegation occurred over a couple of extra taps with a feather duster, not going to happen.

But you need the horsepower to get away with it in a Group 1 and Elliot's lucky he had the horse power ! She's as game as Flinders' Mable.

Fuck me, can't believe what I've just read. The imbeciles have taken over the asylum. https://youtu.be/eYRtU270yf4

The real problem is that it's mainly academics who're enforcing the rules. IMO the JCA personnel is manifestly wrong and the personnel appointing the JCA is also wrong, the two person judicial panel should be appointed by racing clubs and include practical people such as an ex jockey/trainer and an ex racing journalist. No lawyers, no social climbers, no big noter's. Any serious non race-day inquiries decided by an independent one person panel. It's a travesty that C. Johnson has convictions for excessive whip use, there wouldn't be a kinder rider who's graced the pigskin than Johnson and in theory he only backhands them anyway which is but half as forceful as the usual forehand whip action.

FFS, Veronica Algar, a former obscure stablehand with a couple of years bino's experience who has probably never been to a West Coast race meeting previously, fiddling with the livelihoods of license holders some of many years standing! Preposterous.

According to the stipes report one Veronica Algar was the chair of stewards, what is her background please? Is she the right person to be arraigning one of our best ever jockeys?

Beautiful West Coast day but poor crowd to that of yesteryear, I was refused entry (not vaccinated) so spent day punting from a main street local.

The trainers are as bad for not seeing how incompetent many of these John Wayne's are, a blind man could see that Elliot murdered Levante yet Kelso couldn't. Elliot also asked plenty of Concert Hall but got away with it.

Correction, Timaru raced twice on the 27th and 29th December and there were two days at Dunedin but their first day was a week before boxing day. By my reckoning that's fourteen days racing in the South in a month, now there's seven ! Whilst horse numbers and race days have plummeted those clipping the ticket at Petone has skyrocketed, I would've thought that with today's technology many of the Petone social climbers wouldn't be required anyway.

Yes, but if you have no socks you can't pull them up - ie: not enough horses. In the days of plenty the southern Christmas circuit commenced at Dunedin on December 26th, followed by Timaru 28th, Kurow and Invercargill 30th, Waikouaiti and Wyndham January 1st, Reefton 5th, Omakau and Kumara 8th. Omakau and Hokitika 10th, Greymouth 14th Timaru, Kurow, Waikouaiti and Omakau always had big crowds (of mainly holidaymakers) in attendance, Kumara also had a crowd but they were mainly Cantabrians. The atmosphere at these meetings was phenomenal, something we'll never see again here. I made Timaru's Crown Hotel my base over Christmas and when not at a race meeting was at Caroline Bay (in the company of bikini clad women) singing ragtime and winning chocolates.

Oh dear, the John Wayne on number 4 in race 4 didn't' know the difference between 800 metres and 2000 metres, hope he gave the riding back ! https://loveracing.nz/RaceInfo/45390/4/Race-Detail.aspx

Went the short way after drawing outside barrier whilst most of the other John Wayne's (Moseley included) lost their compasses and cornered like drunken sailors. Traveling approx two circuits of a turning 1200m track like Hokitika at 10 to 20 horse widths from the inside rail is gross incompetence and yet another example of why jockey's shouldn't collectively command the same riding fees! Where can one view the remaining races on that day please?

Yes, good post Lynnley Driver and agree with you... mostly. The only thing you missed was that old Gordon was a piss poor stockman. Gate Keeper was an underrated sire who left horses with a turn of foot over any distance but ended up infertile. Many local (Wingatui) broodmare owners refused to leave their mares at Gordy's property for long, only taking them there to be served and straight back home ! The South Island was fortunate to have (in sequence) the prepotent sires Kurdistan, Bellborough, Mellay, Gate Keeper and Noble Bijou.

A wooden overcoat.

I'd like to seen Bosson turn the tables and give racing's judiciary a good flogging... not just six strikes, sixty six strikes would be appropriate. Something along the lines of what that representative cricketing umpire (and pillar of society) Peter Plumley-Walker got on his regular visits to the big house.

Bill Skelton's face always lit up whenever Daryl's Joy was mentioned, he rated him way ahead of anything else he rode, Triton included. Daryl's Joy, Frankel and Tulloch would've been a hell of a match race, just as Sunline, Winx and Show Gate would've been. Frankel had the advantage of big roomy European tracks although he probably would've still second-rated them on our tighter tracks.

Exactly, Show Gate was a freak but didn't do half of what Winx (or Sunline) did.

Compare Marsh's ride on Silver Knight to that of Prebble's on Incentivise, no compare.