billy connolly

Williams has never impressed me as a person, hope it gets beat.

Wouldn't mind riding a winner for that trainer !

Wasn't a great day for (white braces) Donnelly, I counted at least six ponies left in barrier after he pulled the trigger. Many jockeys lost their compass also.

The two saviors of South Island racing are M. Pitman and J. Parsons, once they're gone Mills and Co. will struggle to to hold a SIX race meeting ! Waikouaiti is a prick of a track but it has a prime date, good atmosphere, good weather and a good hill setting to view races. Much rather go to Wakouaiti than than Kumara.

Basically the buck stops with the RIU/Stewards. There should be adequate backup systems in place so that jockeys are immediately made aware there is an issue - ie: as well as a siren going off there should be TWO clerks of course stationed at TWO different points post start to signal the false start. There is absolutely no point in having clerks of course parading behind barrier stalls pre race.

Was it 2400 or 3400 metres ? If a horse does an extra half lap pre race WITHOUT the jock a half-baked vet scratches it, if a horse does an extra half lap pre race WITH the jock a half-baked vet lets it start !

It's an indictment on the C.J.C/Turf Club charging for a piss-poor cup of tea/coffee anyway. It wasn't that long ago that food and beverage was on the house to those putting on the show and the free spreads that some clubs put on were worth going to the races for alone. Nowadays my Thermos is always brimming with tea/coffee/soup/stew and my chilly bin likewise.

Yes, Cross sounds like a drunk in a midnight choir and when you've got the likes of O'Connor and co blowing his trumpet it doesn't bode well for racing's shop window. The ponies that ran in "the not so great race" today wouldn't have made a highweight field at Riccarton 40 years ago, disgraceful !

Biscuit short of a packet ! Would have been good to have seen Dettori salute, he won't get many more chances and he's certainly better theatre than the incessant C. Williams.

How many horses did Weir have on his books and how many of his clients were dissatisfied ? He will go down in history as one of Australasia's greatest ever trainers. His charges had to be at peak fitness (mentally and physically) to perform as well as they have. A vets hypodermic needle would be just as fearsome for a horse as the common bull prodder !

Correct, a self made man, he wasn't born with a silver spoon à la Hayes, Waterhouse etc. There are far worse cases of animal/horse abuse going on every day and in my opinion every horse trainer in the "concrete jungle" of Hong Kong/Singapore should be prosecuted for locking locking their charges in a confined horse box 24/7 ! Weir has been adequately dealt with via the rules of racing without police intervention, the police have opened a big can of worms here.

Oh dear, another imbecile from the gallows .... one of God's own disciples, too weird to live and too rare to die.

Tortured, abused, overworked and terrified racehorses wouldn't have performed as well as Weir's have. What does the alleged corruption of races entail ? Who was the PRICK who planted the photographic evidence and who was the PRICK who blew the gaff ?

Rubbish. People fall off horses every day, 90% of them get straight back on, this girl was one of the unfortunate 10% that didn't. If she had not suffered a debilitating injury nothing would have been heard or said.

The lesson here must be to delegate responsibility to someone else, ie: when a schoolgirl knocks on your door looking for a ride on a valuable racehorse, send your foreman or one of your staff out to leg her up, then when all hell breaks loose and OSH come knocking on your (Mckee's) door - you knew nothing ! Did this event occur at a racetrack or Mckee's own track?

Is that a fact? What about Hookers working the streets, do they need a licence to stand on street corners? I'm thinking of selling my body, haven't had any experience (paid that is) .. do I require a licence???

Accidents are are a fact of life, there's as much (probably more) chance of being injured in a car accident as there is on horseback. Who is liable for injuries incurred at a Gymkhana / Rodeo where any Tom, Dick or Harriot can rock up for a bronc? Riding a horse is not a lot different to riding a bike, does one need a certificate or licence to ride a bike???

Put yourself in Mckee's shoes, most would say he's been treated unfairly. Opportunity usually only knocks once in life, he's given someone an opportunity and he's been bitten big time. The late Ken Browne had plenty of experience, didn't stop him falling victim to a freak accident.

Preposterous. This person wants to become a jockey, how the fark are they supposed to learn to ride without practical experience ??? Regardless of her lack of experience all she had to do was stick with the ship and STEER horse around track until it got tired, it would have eventually called for the free air pump just as they do at the end of a race !

A genuine and humble man. R.I.P

More people at his sendoff today than at a Canterbury race meeting. When it came to the game of life, P. Costigan has played the whole course. RIP

Is that a fact? That's assault, did Parish blow the gaff on Thornton/Collett or did he just take it on the chin??? They say if you wait long enough you get your revenge, I hope one day Cameron gets his revenge.

I'd also suspect there's an ulterior motive behind this Thornton/Collett womans actions - ie: she knows her riding career is all but over so she's using this episode as a vehicle to further her employment prospects within the industry !

Any respect I had for this Thornton/Collett woman has gone. Not a good look to dob in your colleagues over something trivial like calling you a coont and I suspect Cameron is right, a has-been.

Horse is weighted out of South Island racing and was probably lucky to win two Telegraphs. According to M. Pitman it's an all expense paid trip, which it would need to be!