All The Aces

This is a different matter altogether and totally irrelevant to what happened. If the correct procedures had been followed the starter would not have released the gates without clearance being given by the assistant starter that all horses were loaded. Instead he made an assumption they were all in and dispatched the field off his own volition with no check in place. Sloppy work with resulting mayhem.

What a sad man you are Mardi. You love to hurl out personal insults willy nilly, you keyboard warrior. Go you good thing. Whilst I poke a little borax and have some fun re you and your mates betting and odds analysis you seem to like to respond with personal abuse and name calling. I believe some people resort to that sort of thing when they are losing or have nothing constructive to say, or perhaps you are just really short? You did mention that you were having a colonoscopy a few weeks ago, perhaps whilst you were having that done you should have also had an optrectomy done at the same time. That involves severing the cord connecting your eyes to your rectum and thereby getting rid of your shitty outlook on life. ? BTW I select and bet on my own analysis. That onus is on no one else. No bets for me today or tomorrow either, but I will pop down to Trentham on Saturday. I think I have found one. Have a nice day.

Real little bundle of joy aren't you Mardi. Never had a bet today. Nothing of interest to me. Unlike you boys (and as previously advised) I don't have to bet every day. ? Keeping the gunpowder dry.

?? Checked out the other site to see what has been happening whilst I have been away and you have to laugh So much for an open and transparent site. Their punting perspectives is now a closed shop, not for all to see. Well, that will certainly alleviate some of the blushes over there based on what we had seen of it. I suppose the embarrassment must have really been getting to them and the endless ridicule has eventually taken it's toll, so it has been hidden away. Never mind, I do have sympathy and fully understand why you have taken this action. ? Oh, and happy New Year!

Well back from my Christmas sojourn all rested, fed and watered., so Happy New Year all. Looks like there have been some fun and games whilst I have been away, not least the start debacle at Ellerslie on New Years Day. Correct procedures obviously were not followed and a horse subsequently left behind the gates when the starter's button was pushed. Cock up 1. Then the starter apparently pressed the "False Start" button. Cock up 2. It should never have been pushed. Word down here is that Gripper is resigning.

I see the season of goodwill seems to have escaped a couple here. They also seem extremely reluctant to think anyone outside their little group is capable of backing winners. Please don't be consumed by jealously you guys, you should be celebrating anyone's wins. As to formulas' I don't follow anyone, just rely on my own judgement and dumb luck I suppose. ? As to the Bay Bazza it is one of the best places to grow lucerne chaff, great racing and winery's. Life doesn't get any better. It's Christmas so I won't dis Hamilton ? Anyway you boys have a great Christmas too, hope you back a winner whilst I am away.

Off to Singapore and Vietnam for a few weeks to chill out and relax, ? so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to those on BOAY. See you all in the New Year. To the self professed experts on the other site, I truly hope that your betting improves markedly next year as once again, yesterday proved you guys really are struggling. One bet for me yesterday, a horse coming out of stakes company racing, back to R65, on a course he races well at and with the blinkers going on. Bolted in, who would have guessed. ? Anyway Merry Christmas all!

The owners lost the stake money and punters, their money. ? Oh...and Sam Collett got 5 days suspension.

What about "The more I video analysis I do, the luckier I get." ? Lady Style...……...Opened $81.00 yesterday, into $61.00 into $41......$31.00 and closed $23.00. Missed the $81.00 but two nibbles at $61.00 & $41.00. As Fred Dagg sang "You don't know how lucky you are." Two unlucky runs and drawn the inside today. Into the trail and through on the fence in the straight. How lucky was that. ?

I have spoken with several jocks at Trentham and again at Hastings yesterday. Not one agreed with the decision and were unanimous that the change of placings was completely wrong.

Better hurry. They only have another 8 days to hand their guns in. ?

Thank God you couldn't see my number displayed. Call went...…..Troy's too fat and can't make the weight. I'm on now and you should be too.....just wins. ?

Does that mean we get to fly free if they are not comfortable accepting revenue. ?

From what I saw down there from the stand she got fired up coming past the marquees leading to the birdcage. With the very strong wind the marquess were making quite a bit of noise with the flapping. She continued her antics in the birdcage and going out onto the track she had run her race by then. Mind you the winner was very good.

She was very unsettled in the birdcage and going out onto the track, if fact put on a bit of a performance which would not have helped in anyway. Those antics would have put a lot of those off who witnessed it.

Stipendiary stewards and JCA get it horribly wrong at Ellerslie by Brian de Lore Published 6th December 2019 Saturday at Ellerslie saw one of the worst decisions seen on a New Zealand racecourse for some years when stipendiary stewards reversed the first and second placings in race two, the Executive Travel Maiden Two-year-Old over 1100 metres. To add insult to injury, the Judicial Control Authority (JCA) ratified the mistake by rubber-stamping the decision – bringing into question both the competence of the JCA officials on the day and the entire Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) structure which has in the past been the subject of criticism from key stakeholders. Protests, upheld or dismissed, race interference, jockey penalties, etc., isn’t a domain to where The Optimist would typically venture. Too many grey areas exist, and too often, decisions are made on narrow margins of a controversial and debatable nature which often polarises racegoers. It’s better to stay away from the debate in those cases, and this blog has always attempted to deal with facts and make a neutrally fair evaluation. It wouldn’t be an easy job being a stipendiary steward. Race day responsibilities are wide-ranging, and the requirements would generate a reasonable degree of pressure, often thought to be the reason why stipes are rarely seen to smile. Rule 204 of the Rules of Racing says: “The functions of Stipendiary Stewards and Investigators are to: (a) maintain the integrity of Races and racing; (b) regulate and oversee all Race day matters and all matters related to Races and racing; (c) investigate potential breaches of the Rules; (d) assist in relation to licensing matters; (e) generally, to do all things necessary so that Races and racing are conducted efficiently and with integrity and in accordance with these Rules.” But Saturday’s episode was blatant. It was a clear-cut error of judgment; should a protest even have been lodged? Grandstand critics are never wrong, and from the safety of a green leather lazy-boy chair in front of the big flat screen, I watched the race live. When the siren went, my thinking was that it would take only around 60 seconds to reach a ‘protest dismissed’ verdict. How wrong can you be! Incomprehensibly the stewards and JCA went with it and turfed-out first-past-the-post horse Taroni and promoted Bordeaux Le Rouge into first place. Since the live viewing, I have revisited the video replay on the Love Racing website no fewer than a dozen times. On every occasion, the same conclusion was reached. The two horses briefly came together right on the winning post, but Bordeaux Le Rouge was never ever going to run past Taroni and win the race. Had Taroni kept a straight line it would have won by more than a length. So why did the stipes change the result and the JCA ratify it? Firstly, Rule 642 of racing says that to change the result: “the Judicial Committee is of the opinion that the horse so interfered with would have finished ahead of the first mentioned horse had such interference not occurred.” In my view, that criteria had not been met – nowhere close to it. Could I be so wrong, after all, I had been studying races for over 50 years since the days of such greats as Palisade, Eiffel Tower, Kumei, Weenell, Daryl’s Joy, Jazz, Star Belle, Laramie, Royal Bid, Piko, Game Call, Spray Doone, Koral, Lindred, Teak, Pep and Brazil to name a few – what a fabulous era of great horses. Perhaps the years have dimmed my vision and fogged my judgment? “If the punters out there don’t have any confidence in our judicial system they are not going to bet.” – Nigel Tiley The only way to determine this was to consult others. As a top-class ex-jockey and now a highly experienced trainer, Nigel Tiley was my first call. Nigel also sits on the committee of the Trainers’ Association Committee and is the trainers’ representative on the NZTR Members’Council, and few horsemen would be better credentialled to review the incident. Nigel said: “On Saturday’s decision, the fact that I had two phone calls from Australia questioning what the rules were in New Zealand. These were two experienced race watchers who could not get their heads around the reversing of the placings. They were both adamant that under their judicial system the protest would not have been upheld. “But under our rules, it also should have been dismissed. We have discussed it in a conference call of the Trainers’ Association Executive, so I can’t speak on behalf of the Association, but I have spoken to a lot of racing people, and it’s 100 percent unanimous that the stipes made the wrong decision. I was appalled. “If the punters out there don’t have any confidence in our judicial system they are not going to bet,” concluded Nigel Tiley. Next, I phoned Racehorse Trainers’ Association President Tony Pike who was also willing to express his concern at the outcome of the race. “I had no problem with the siren going off,” commented Tony, “but it should have been dismissed. There’s a lot of backlash out there and it will be interesting to see what the final outcome is. “I was on-course in Perth watching on TV and didn’t see the head-on film until later but I was disappointed with the process in the room. The stipes shouldn’t be asking or assuming the connections are going to lodge the protest and when the connections didn’t lodge it, and they had to lodge it themselves and have gone down that path, they probably felt the need to uphold it.” The process of which Tony Pike referred to went like this: In the hearing room, the Chairman John Oatham stated mistakenly that the connections of the second horse had lodged the protest. It was soon established that was not the case and that a protest would not be forthcoming from them, so the Stewards lodged it themselves. The siren sounding before the horses had returned to scale was also initiated by a steward, but Oatham was apparently not aware of that which raises a serious procedural question. Other questions arising are: Was that initial mistake in the room a mitigating factor in making the final decision? Was the fact that Bordeaux Le Rouge was the hot favourite at $1.30 for the win a sub-conscious pressure on the stewards, and would that pressure not have been present had it been a $20 shot? No one is suggesting that this was anything but an honest mistake, but it should be noted the loser here has no grounds for appeal. “My experience with the JCA is that they lack racing experience and an ability to read races.” – Tony Pike Further second-hand anecdotal information received is suggesting that not all four stewards officiating agreed with the decision, but that cannot be confirmed. The same source also said that Bordeaux Le Rouge’s jockey Sam Collett was not questioned at all. Tony Pike further commented: “My experience with the JCA is that they lack racing experience and an ability to read races, and they have gone and upheld it. They are obviously intelligent people, but on the subject of reading races, they’re not really qualified. “Mistakes are made and this may be a one-off case, but we have to make sure the process and the rules are adhered to – the decision by the JCA was blatantly wrong. It was a lower-level race, and the ramifications were not great, but racing is lacking confidence in getting good decisions, especially from the JCA, and there will come a time and place when this will happen in a significantly bigger race with far greater ramifications.” The Stewards Report Said: “Following the race a protest was lodged by the Stipendiary Stewards alleging interference by the 1st placed horse TARONI (D Johnson) to the 2nd placed horse BORDEAUX LE ROUGE (S Collett) inside the final 100 metres. After viewing films and hearing submissions the Judicial Committee upheld the protest relegating TARONI to 2nd placing. The final placings now read – 1 BORDEAUX LE ROUGE 1st, 8 TARONI 2nd, 6 DRAGON QUEEN 3rd, 5 TARGHEE 4th. BORDEAUX LE ROUGE (S Collett replaced T Harris) – Promoted to 1 st placing after suffering interference inside the final 100 metres. TARONI (D Johnson) – Relegated from 1st placing after causing interference inside the final 100 metres.” Interestingly, if Danielle Johnston had failed to keep her mount straight enough to stop the second horse from winning and the interference was severe enough to warrant a change of placings, one might have thought that Johnson would at the very least received a warning if not a fine or suspension. But not a mention. Further to that, the Stewards Report above is very sheepish in its wording. It states a reversal of placings takes place but doesn’t go as far as saying that, “in the opinion of the stewards the horse so interfered with would have finished ahead of the first-mentioned horse.” Everyone with an interest in the judicial system of racing should review the race themselves and make a judgment, Depending on your opinion, you may have a future on the JCA panel because they are clearly having problems with people who boast a series of letters behind their names.

The overall stats should be in bigger print and have been cut down ie no full fresh up or second up stats why bother with stats for the last two months. They will basically be in the form line anyway. Clean white paper with black print makes for far easier reading. At present in the this format it is far too difficult to read and I am not visually impaired at all. After purchasing the book I got the TAB agent to print me off the sheets that they place up on the wall which made for much easier reading and will use those for reference. Will not be buying any more in the current format. PS Chief. Take another look full field are not all on the one page as you state.

From what I have heard Thomas is right in what actually happened surrounding the enquiry but he is incorrect in that the gelding would have beaten the filly home. She always had him covered.

Kim Clapperton was another and she may have ridden over 1000 winners. Can't think of any others with wins over 1000.

“I was very lucky to be mentored by Mr Gray – I still call him that to this day too. I think he’s had five of us go on to win over 1000 races which has to be a record,” she says. Not so sure about that. Dave O'Sullivan had at least four Lance, Shayne Dye, Roger Lang and Peter Johnson. Brian Deacon had a number of good apprentices go through his stable. Childs, Walker, Campbell to name three.

It only got to within a head because DJ stopped riding Taroni . He was on the outside of her at the top of the straight and couldn't get past all the way down the straight and was never going to. It is apparent from discussions (and posts) that very few people have agreed with the decision and of course the statement above is always going to be written in support of their decision. We will have to disagree on this one.

Have to disagree with you on this one Thomas. Collett never stopped riding her horse at all. Meanwhile DJ couldn't ride her mount out. Forget chasing shadows, have a look at the horses themselves. There was no way the filly was going to let him get past. They could have gone another 100m and she would still have beaten him. Very poor decision I feel.

Had a look at this race this morning. What a farcical decision that was. The second horse across the line Bordeaux Le Rouge would never have beaten Taroni in a month of Sundays.

Went over to Whanganui races today with a couple of mates. We had a brilliant day, good crowd, great atmosphere and some very good racing. Excellent dinner and drinks on the way home and to top it off a quick check to see how the self promoted experts went on the other site and a great laugh to finish a fantastic day. ?

I'm in the Bay Murray. Burridge and Lange haven't mentioned anything about it. Will let them know ?