billy connolly

Correct, and if the horse is well fed, well trained, happy and paying its way Weir was doing more things right than he was wrong in my book. I've seen a lot of horses who were not well fed and certainly not happy but the bunny huggers cared little about their predicament. The legendary Tommy Smith found a competitive (anabolic) edge long before drug testing procedures detected them. Smith somehow got an ordinary horse from New Zealand (Toparoa) to win the 1955 Melbourne Cup and defeat a near champion (Rising Fast) in the process. Toparoa never won another race after returning to his owner in NZ, funny that ! The most you can do in this game is win, losers don't count and at the end of the day the horse is only an animal, a noble animal but still only an animal and to be frank there has been many a slow, non trying, rogue horse who could've only benefitted from a jab or three with a bull prodder.

Both Riccarton's track manager (Chapman) and CEO (Mills) live on the course, they have access to modern technology (both digital and mechanical) and in November they have at least another 6 hours of daylight time before and after their usual work hours in which to present a safe and satisfactory track for their one important race day of the year. If I was in either the track manager's or CEO's shoes I wouldn't have left a stone unturned preparing the track for Cup day regardless of how long I'd been in the job. If my mail is correct there is considerable resentment towards the two individuals in question.

When was the last time a horse slipped galloping in a straight line at Riccarton and when was the last time a race meeting was canned there??? In my view the Riccarton abandonment was the direct result of incompetence by two individuals, the track manager and Mills. The writing was on the wall when horses were blundering (slipping) at the start on day one and two. The Stewards should also have demanded the track be mowed before the meeting commenced and certainly before the last day, no mention of that in report.

Of course they're not. The Trainers had an opportunity to give Mills the two-fingered salute when he transferred last weeks meeting to the Polytrack but didn't have the initiative to do so.

From memory her husband/partner was under the assumption Neal was tutoring her as a trainee Stipendiary Steward when in actual fact he was feeding her an old part of his anatomy... in a Christchurch motel room. Pricks like Neal thought nothing of persecuting license holders to the point of destroying their careers in some instances. No sympathy.

Rigmarole, it's too late having postmortems a month after an event, especially when the evidence of incompetence has been tampered with.

No doubt swept under carpet, similar to a previous episode of leaving road cones on track for the field to hurdle in first (flat) race of the day approx five years ago. A bit late to remedy the course proper now, Millsey, it should've been seen to after the Grand National meeting in August, in fact it should have been seen to many moons ago. Do you (and a few others) still have the Boards backing, Millsey?

As the head poster on this thread alluded, approx 50 horses slipped (and lost their chance) at the start on the first two days and no remedial action was taken by stewards, track manager or Mills. You don't need to be a track/turf expert to see that any recent moisture on a grass surface which lacks density and is too long will cause the grass to collapse and horses won't get traction which is exactly what occurred. Horses shouldn't slip at the start and they should never slip galloping in a straight line at Riccarton in November.

Take the refund and don't go back there whilst Mills is at the wheelhouse, he's used the place to feather his own nest for 25 years or more. Will be interesting to see if the CJC's insurers come to the party when Mills goes cap in hand. If you don't lock your house and someone gets in and helps themselves, your insurers have every right to dissent. Likewise, If you don't produce a safe and satisfactory track to race on, your insurers also have every right to dissent. I've never rated Tim Mills but past and present CJC/Riccarton Park Board's obviously do, although to be fair to Mills his predecessors weren't much chop either.

Preposterous. I've only walked the Riccarton track twice in recent times and as soon as I set foot on that track I knew there was a problem, you Millsey have been at the wheelhouse of the CJC/Riccarton Park for close to 30 years and still wouldn't have a clue. There's not enough rooted grass on your track Millsey, which means that any recent moisture which hasn't had a chance to penetrate will immediately cause problems. The grass is healthy but there's simply not enough of it... not dense/thick enough and if let get too long you're asking for trouble. Riccarton in November should have a dense and cushioned low cropped sole of carpet-like perennial rye-grass. There are further problems with the soil base since the reconstruction approx 25 years ago but the above could and should've been remedied immediately.

Walked Riccarton track today, mowed twice and it's as hard as a city street. Begs belief why it wasn't mowed earlier. Should be a good day tomorrow without the commotion. Will old Millsey let me in in my shorts and jandals?

Yes, and will they reimburse the connections of runners who lost their chance blundering the start on the first two days? With approx 50 horses losing their footing at the start Mills and Co were fortunate that the first two days weren't canned as well. Did old Millsey have a plan B yesterday to entertain the once a year racegoers and if he's still at the wheelhouse next year, will he do the right thing and provide free admission ?

FFS, Riccarton's turned into a skating rink in November, is there enough money in the till to refund the paying customers??? Put another log on the fire.

There maybe an excuse at a once a year bush meeting like Reefton who no doubt rely on volunteers but there is absolutely no excuse at a metropolitan track with a multitude of payed staff. CEO Mills lives on the property at Riccarton Park, a stones throw from the course proper, how many times would've he walked the course before a race meeting? I personally have spent many hours around Riccarton (mostly track-work mornings) and can't ever recall seeing Mills present but have regularly seen him sitting on a bar stool at the Racecourse Pub ! Although I have little respect for Mills, the buck stops with the stewards in charge of the meeting to ensure all is in order regards track issues etc. and ignoring the fact that a multitude of runners have blundered the start through no fault of their own is unacceptable.

They were split second errors/mistakes which can always occur, leaving road cones on the track from day(s) previous and not noticing until the field had hurdled them in the first race together with approx 50 horses losing their footing at the start of multiple races is unforgivable. What makes me reach for the bucket is that these same half-baked pricks responsible for this behaviour are the same individuals who think nothing of throwing the book at jockeys/trainers for frivolous rule breaches. Why couldn't they have mowed or harrowed a 50/100m strip as soon as the first reports of a problem arose regarding horses losing their footing at the start FFS ???

If the head poster is correct and approx 50 horses have (through no fault of their own) lost their footing at the start of the 20 races thus far at the Cup meeting then this is a very serious matter which requires further explanation from the likes of Mills and the former harness racing stable-hand (now chief steward) McIntyre. If my memory is correct there was another incident at Riccarton approx five years ago whereby road cones were inadvertently left on the track for horses to hurdle in the first race which was also swept under the shag-pile carpet by blundering half-baked officials ! Preposterous.

Yes and when you take into account some of the very short margins at race end, getting away on terms is imperative especially from an inside draw. IMO the old open starting stalls (without the overhead) were a superior machine to that of which is currently in use. There is also too much favouritism given to bad loaders, every horse should be loaded in its turn and the starter should be on his/her stand (with finger on trigger) well before the last horse loads.

A lady friend had a vibrator which pumped out 1000 volts. To the tune of 40 million... or more.

Just like the John Wayne who took off at the 1200m in the MC. If I owned a leg of Knights Order I'd be asking for the riding fee back.

This must surely be the last hurrah for old Millsey, Canterbury's howling easterly wind should see to that !

Nonsense, interference took place five/six strides before winning post and was a gradual (not sudden) movement of not more than three horse widths and I'd venture that the horse in middle (blue and white colours) was equally culpable. If you observe the head-on footage closely, the inside horse has overreacted with blinkers on and has cannoned into the hind-quarter of the middle horse which has in turn caused that rider to be dislodged. Racing is about winners and losers, Bosson is a winner. A loser would not have won the race. FFS, Bosson won the race. If you don't want to win, put someone like Greg Caird on.

Correct, you see this time after time, after time, after time in this game. Social climbers with big tickets but fuck-all else in their favour. The last decent track manager at Riccarton was Pat Reardon, he wouldn't have had a CV but was an old school farmer with green fingers, although he did have a lot more real estate and a better sub-soiled and top-soiled track to work with.

On Googling these two roosters I note one has a bald head and the other is covered in tattooed ink ! Doubt Bosson, Grylls et al will be worried.

How would've Brent Thompson fared among the John Wayne's of today? Thompson rode in an era where the competition was fierce and was every bit as good (if not better) than his peers. Four Cox Plate victories on four different animals speaks volumes for one B. Thompson.