Gammalite

Leap To Fame only 4 starts at Menangle in the past 2 -3 years. for 2 x wins and 2 x 2nds . Hi MaNameisJeff is a 'Menangle star' as you suggest. just on 2 years ago he was equal Favourite with Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile after winning his 8 lead up races to that event . he got the speed wobbles however and broke, so Leap To Fame sat parked out and won in 1.48.3. . since that night 2 years ago Hi MaNameisJeff has had issues and only 12 more race starts . which included 5 more Menangle wins and a big Group 1 Albion Park QLD win too, where he ran 1.49.3 just two months ago defeating our 2nd best horse (The Janitor) . last week he ran 1.49.3 as well . Leap To Fame ran 1.48.4 Parked out in last years Miracle Mile when 2nd to Don Hugo . 'Jeff ' might be a second slower than that these days ?? so might finish 10m behind them I'm guessing next month ?. (Miracle Mile is nearly always a 1.48 event for the very best around. ) As you say his NZ mare Captain's Mistress is absolutely air-borne . She might make the field and Win it too !! she can go 1.48 I reckon and be very hard to beat . Yes indeed , McCarthy's mare named EYE KEEP SMILING is indeed our very best mare with a very creditable 28 wins from 42 starts and near a million won. best win time of 1.49.3 . so won't make a Miracle Mile field though. and got left many lengths behind by 'Captain's Mistress' , who automatically takes up the Queen of the track now after that thumping win you just described here from last week.

Pinseeker already popped into Menangle for one race old mate. A win last June. only in 1.52 though. Another NZer ran 2n actually with Bob Butt driving . 'Better than Cash'. still NZ owned I think. BetterThanCash has won 3 races since then, with Cam Hart and Will Rixon driving from his 8 Menangle starts. 2 x 1.50 wins included. But was 'Shredded ' like wheat trying to take on our BIG guns at Albion Park . 0 placings from 6 attempts. the last 2 runs for BetterThanCash At the Beginning of Summer (early Dec) he was 10 lengths behind Hi MaNameisJeff and The Janitor in the 'Sunshine Sprint' mile in 1.49 and a week later 7 lengths behind Don Hugo, Leap To Fame and The Janitor. who were all in the photo finish for first. the 'Cash' horse NOT sighted since. probably blew a gasket or something ? 🤣🤣😋 Pinseeker likely to get the same treatment (of a flogging) from our locals too lol 😉💪 we go faster and Bigger at Brisbane than Menangle does these days days Mr Galah. it's just scary how quick. we had a 1.50 winning 2 yearold recently even. 🙄 Captains Mistress going super fast now. Has a Mortgage on the Big Group 1 Mares races on very soon . some are worth over $200k. But in fairness to Nathan Williamson in NZ , the previous trainer. He had her going super too and was going to win the Group 1 at Auckland , before the sulky' fell to bits and he got hurt. So he's no amateur .

Swayzee was in his homestate NSW trying to win the Carnival of Cups last season. worth a $Million for 5 wins. He picked up $1/2 million as won 4 of them at Parkes, Young, Tamworth and Penrith , but was defeated by 'Captain Hammerhead' at Albury in the Murray Cup, to deny him the full amount of 1mill. I'm sure the clubs would of all shared the insurance Premium against anyone achieving that huge feat, between them. The Carnival of Cups co-exists with huge shows and Music acts on the same weekend in those towns , when large amounts of people are in town. Aus has mountains of 'Grey Nomads' lol 🤣 I think you're right, that the HRV (Harness racing Victoris) who are struggling Big-time financially, shouldn't be running any Cups bonus at all . Especially in Big races where the winner is getting decent Cheques anyway . ( and is usually Leap To Fame lol 😁💰)

Swayzee won ok last year Hunter Cup 2025 from the bad draw . just kept pressing forward early and took over from the 2 kiwis after half a lap. you can win from any draw if you drive them to do it lol 🤣💪😉 The 2 New Zealand horses were Very close at the end too. LEAP TO FAME was sitting one -one getting a great run behind another Interdominion winner in Don Hugo and decided to go around it and sit parked ? one of those times he should of held position I think as the Don would of carted him up nicely for another lap. Still it was one of the Greatest races ever.Carter was cruising 3 back the fence and couldn't get a go at them.🙄 Great driving Cam Hart though. was like his NZ Cup efforts. Here's the video !! enjoy one of the Greatest Events we have . a year on already ? that was quick lol 😎

The Monsters of the sport All strutting there stuff in incredible style tonight. 1/ Leap To Fame powers home in Kilmore Cup to defeat NZ best horse Republican Party in a great battle. Carter mixing it hard with the locals at the first corner 🤣👍😂 2/ 18 year old Jye Coney drives 4 winners at Menangle including the FFA driving Grimsons 'HI MANAMEISJEFF ' to a narrow victory over hot favourite, the current Miracle Mile champion Don Hugo in around 1.49. low flying. they bolt 5 lengths clear of the others. 3/ No room for former NZ horse 'The FALCON' at Grimsons so he sent him to Albion , where Pete McMullen wins the FFA in 1.51 with him for owners 'Grim' and 'Boots' 4/ NZ feature trot winning GUS for Pete, resumes off 40m handicap and donkeylicks them and is near best trotter in Australasia now. 5/ Pete gets a treble with former NZer FRANCO NEL , from the deep South of New Zealand. now open class winning 12 of 15 at Brisvegas past few months, and running 1.50 tonight winning by over 3 lengths. watch for him in some features shortly . (a 4 year-old by Vincent ) another ripper. 6/ Ex-pat kiwi Kyle Marshall wins training the Kilmore Popular Alm FFA sprint with SMOKEN ACE , an NZ bred he part owns and driven by Gun J.Herbertson in 1.52.5 some great performances from some great horses.!!! More to come with the 2026 Hunter Cup and Great Southern Star for trotters next week . bring it on !! 🏆🍻

She's a ripper mate . Put her in. You have to buy one of the 2 slots first lol. if she can't get the legs going quick enough to keep up with 'Zahara' i'll get Pete McMullen to send GUS over to race in your slot. Go the Lobster !! bet you're still singing like Fred Schneider here after the great win yesterday 🤣😅🏆

yes they are 2 beauties alright. Quinellaed the Addington 3 yearold Slot in November 7 lengths clear of the field. Come to think of it Captain's Mistress was in that Velocity Slot race as well, and finished 12 lengths behind them so she might not be the next Big thing after all. lol. A big ask for Marketplace and the 'Choc's' to run against this field in their first go in Open Class Ranks. They used to run the NZ Messenger as the Feature 4 year-old race , but changed it to Open Class in recent years , so they don't get that one to fight over either. What about Rebublican Party? NZ 's best horse and taking on Leap To Fame tonight at Kilmore too for bragging rights. He hasn't made a slot in your field yet ? (ran 6th in it last year behind Leap To Fame at Cambridge) arch rival Stonewall's should put him in their Slot ? hahaha🤣

Bootsie's horse Captains Mistress could turn out to be the best yet lol. She roared away by 6 lengths with a stunning 53 second last half mile the other night to win with real Class. She is gunna be a real beauty. the next Big Thing. might even Win the Miracle Mile next month 14th March 😎💰 DON HUGO is going to the Perth Slot race on April 17th , the 1.2 million dollar Nullibor. Luke wants to keep him separate from stable-mate Kingman as much as possible. so unlikely to go to Cambridge again after 4th last year.

yes that was a good example of what you were talking about previously for sure. Matt Cross the commentator a share in the winner Misty Blue . so was quite thrilled. good on him . He does a good job in his race descriptions in IMO.

quite interesting as the PACING race has 3 year slots purchases. The trot must of had only 2 year slots timing ? as has only been run twice. The TAB trot. The problem being Mikey , the race is over if KEAYANG ZAHARA takes a slot , as she is proving to be the next Superstar now that Just Believe has retired. Last week she completely ripped the balls off last years Cambridge Slot Trot winner and current Interdominion Champion in ARCEE PHOENIX , and made him look 2nd rate past 2 starts. No one would be able to take on a horse to beat her in their slot . so sort of ruins it by being so good lol. 🤣 I thought Don Hugo would win the Pace last year ( having defeated Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile) but Leap To Fame drove him into the ground in one of his Freakish performances. But the Pacers slots are All filled up ok , and these are the slot holders for them . A Fabulous lot of Long Time Harness racing Supporters. footnote: Craig Whiteoak owns QLDer THE JANITOR at Pete McMullens. would be great to see him there. He's a powerful horse and might give Leap To Fame a run for the money 👍💰 The 10 slot-holders are : All Stars Racing and Chris Ryder Craig Whiteoak Dennis and Mark Dunford Harnesslink Montana Park Pty Ltd N40 Racing Rakero Racing Rampant Pty Ltd Solid Earth Pty Ltd Stonewall Stud Ltd

alas the roos a dime a dozen i'm afraid, and many get culled for pet food all the time . A disruptive one at the Tour Down Under cycle race is a Not going to get any sympathy unfortunately. Yes the rider Jay Vine had successful surgery after . He's a top rider in Europe too , so am glad he repaired ok. He said in an interview straight after that final leg of the race there were 2 Kangaroos and they decided to jump out of the bushes as the Pelaton came past at 50kph. Can only imagine the carnage with that. some kiwi raiders performed very well in the racing too .🇳🇿 👍 Alas most of the Wallaby's around my home area , which has lovely bushland not far away on 3 sides ( and one of our local kookaburras too ) and plenty of possums have been depleted on the road kill list. People are shocking drivers. I'm always watching closely for them, as worked with animals nearly all my life and would feel terrible if hit one.

it is huge mate. Queensland had some monster Summer floods up North all through January. We usually get some down here in Brisvegas , with the odd summer storm and that. BUT we have had ZERO rainfall so far for weeks in the southeast corner . I'm watering every day 🙄 as do gardening one hour a day( in between watching races ) as the place is getting brown as the grass starts to die off and plants still in 30 degrees days every day mid summer. so even in the Same state we Can have flood and drought at the same time lol. Feb usually our wet season. Happy NZ Day to you ! 🇳🇿 🍻 , and hope for a winner( to break the drought 😉 ⛈️) Australia Day was Jan 26th public holiday so has been and gone already. Like the idea today of NZ grass day trots as can enjoy while doing my weekend Gallops study picks 🙂🏇

Looks quite the winner after good Addington run . is hard taking $1.85 though when could get $2.00 about Leap To Fame last week for your multi's lol. 🤣 Am loving your idea of some multi's though. a good way to get a few runners in the action. Have no odds for Sunday Methven available to the day in these parts 🙄 , but good luck with your big price multi 👍💰. Might look at taking yours Sunday but will probably drop the trotter in race 5 (as they make me nervous galloping about the place lol 😅) For today though its your pick My Wingman $1.80 into my fav Grass track driver *Sam Ottley on Stormy Vista R3 $12 into BAZOOKA in the Amberley Cup at $7.00 to 'Blast em' apart lol 😉😅 . $150-1 for the treble. *Sarah O'Reilly , another Grass track whiz too so have a $6-1 place double for her too . ( to supply the weekend beer all going well 😁🍻 lol ) with a tenner on R3 My Shatjie into R8 Flyaway to both run a place . At Albion Park today , our very best driver **Pete McMullen has 3 very nice New Zealand bred horses to drive to score a $40-1 treble. in Chezzdale R1- La Sabina R3- Brian Chris R5 , so might go a tenner on that at 40-1. 👍💰 sure to go close.

Mr Cook has posted some good stuff above , so will post back here a 2nd time. Gamma will have to be renamed 'Rambling Willie' lol. (you won't know who that is but he was a fine pacer in America who raced through the 70's for a world record 128 wins from 305 starts and $2,000,000 . bit better than Gammalite even lol 🤣😂😎 from Mr Cook . Space. Space>> I have tried to resist responding to Gamma's ramblings, based, unlike Ceemenow's facts, on emotion and ignorance. However, when he accuses NZ trainers of being lazy, I can't hold back. I'll start by pointing out that the two trainers he praises for lining horses up (the Green/Delany and Telfers) are both backed by obviously passionate men who appear to have bottomless pockets. Sadly, the majority of local trainers have, for decades, had to rely on selling horses overseas to stay afloat. Where does he think the majority of his hero Mr. Grimson's horses come from? As a result, many trainers and indeed, owners are reluctant to over race their horses, in case they run poorly and devalue themselves, something the Australian trainers don't have to worry about, they just race them until they drop. Comparing Australia and New Zealand in the racing industry is nonsensical. Apart from the massive difference in population and wealthy people, Mr. Steele comes from an industry where, if it wasn't for a couple of passionate individuals and supportive State governments, it would be a cottage industry, if that. Yet still some places are on their knees financially! In addition, where would harness racing across the ditch be without New Zealand bred horses. At one recent meeting at Menangle, every winner was bred in NZ. I'm not saying that, for numerous reasons, harness racing in this Country hadn't been mismanaged, what I am saying is that Mr. Steele was thrown a lifeline by the Entain deal, and has frittered much of it away on subsidising ridiculous slot races and two year old promotions. As far as the HRNZ Board is concerned, I suspect that they are being given the same misleading spin that is being fed to the public, but seem to be reluctant to question it.

this is a very good post. you make me feel bad actually for being a passionate supporter of both Aus and NZ harness and sounding critical of NZ trainers (whom I actually am very fond of ) You are indeed accurate that the major stables you indicated have the millionaires backing . We should add Dean Shannon to the Purdon/Phelan outfit as well as Stonewall and Green/Delaney. Mick Boots backs some there too like with his new Sensational horse Captain's Mistress , which is now with Grimson. after Nathan got injured there. MY local idols in Brisbane Grant Dixon (with 80 horses) and Pete McMullen (with 50) are not lazy and work every moment of every day to get where they are , and are backed by 4 Millionaire owners each . including Mike Tanev from Canada with his mass of fast horses all over the world. Of course this allowed them to progress to getting the best pacer and best trotter around in the champ Leap To Fame and GUS (trotter) , respectively. This leaves all my friends and colleagues racing for the Fish and Chips at Redcliffe twice a week (the country racing) where they send 'Frail' horses around each week to get by. yes this is a slightly different set-up to NZ racing , but they're not outrageously different . just Not Fast enough to compete with the Big Boys. Afterall , your 2 Top NZ barns of Telfers and Dunn's have very few Open Class runners (after the lofty days of Allstars dominating for a decade with their several Millionaire owners including Aussies like Mrs Feiss and the Butterworths ) In my ramblings I noted the similarities in VICTORIA to NZ harness racing , where they race in debt ( a recent government bail out helps them for 2 years) with the same horse population and participant numbers as NZ. Anyway In Summary I'm glad Mr Steele , and indeed Mr Shannon and Mr Boots have all tried to help in NZ at some stage racing horses, when they could easily do so just in Australia. (It supports the yearlings sales and trainers . I do hope you get a horse Mr Cook . Mine just bashes around at Redcliffe unable to cope with the unbelievable pace they race at these days . such is life. It's still a sport . and it's still a lot of fun. (which seems missing at BOAY these days) I did try and have fun NZ harness racing contests here over the years to cheer up the locals , but not much success in that unfortunately. kiwis seem to have a lot of the fun sucked out of them these days lol 😋🍋 BTW the slot races have resulted in fantastic contest , and the Perth one is on very soon. I believe DON HUGO going to that one. The Betcha race, the TAB trot at Cambridge, The Eureka at Menangle , the Protostar Brisbane , the Ascent and Velocity now on at Addington have resulted in Some of the Greatest Racing and horses assembled EVER seen over the past 5 years. Is a real PLUS for the Industry and big and small players alike , and yet you criticise these sensational Incentives for the Harness racing ?? waste of money ? hahahaha One good thing Mr Cook is, i'm not ignorant to that fine concept and Fabulous contest Slot racing. being embraced all around Australia and New Zealand . owners put up nearly the whole Purse !! how good is that . excellent stuff. Best of luck to you and thanks for your constructive criticism. and apologies for me being so ignorant. thought that was one thing I wasn't being by contributing , but there you go. 🙄 I'll repost your post after this one , with some respect as you covered a fair few things in it with some good insight . thanks for your input.