Gammalite

Com, on Walt ?? You are seriously picking something obscure to stop the ALLSTARS NZ Cup winning streak. ?? Zip, Zero, Nought, Buckleys and almost none I rate your chance . Granted I got surprised by ' Copy That' did stop the brilliant run of 6 Allstars wins in a row, last year 2021 , so I lost my little investment. SELF ASSURED a clear 2nd on that occasion (thought he was a certainty) as defending Champion without a handicap. (unlikely to happen again.. lol very likely SA win this year.) SPANKEM 2nd for the previous 2 years has come back in good order . Hope he goes close as always gives his best. My question for you (Brodie, Ranga or other) is " Why hasn't NZ's leading Stable got any chances in this race ?? The NZ Cup. Classie Brigade still there ? as (Dunn;'s) best ? as a 9 year old ? after running 3rd in 2019 . Now 50-1 ??? lol.... Where are their Up and Comers ? Or do they just do 'Big Trots' these days and leave the Pacing to Nat and Mark to keep gathering the wins ?

What a great win there for Westburn Grant in this above race. There's Vinny Knight pouring on the pressure with SINBAD BAY , who was nearly the best Tassie racer since HALWES , who won a Miracle Mile in the 60's. There's also the Interdominion flavour of some famous NZ silks running too. The Diamonds of Dunns and the famous Blue Spots of Roy and Barry Purdon . Roy and Barry WON 5 of the next 10 Miracle Miles after this Vic Frost one to round out the century !! incredible !!

Fantastic NZ TROTTER summary there Walt !!!!!!!! loved it, remembering some Greats. I came in to harness, just after Easton Light so missed seeing him. YES indeed, ..... "Sundees Son" has lifted the bar into the Stratosphere ! nobody is beating him at all, trotting 2 miles in 3.56. whatta superstar. AND to give the Aussies a plug , Maori's Idol raced against Pacers many times like Scotch Tar did in NZ, and had a 2nd to Rip Van Winkle In a Group 1 in Brisbane. quite an astonishing achievement . Also won 24 odd races on the 'trot' (great Pun fully intended lol ) The late great Graeme Lang swept the floor with "Scotch Notch" for a few seasons , winning the Interdominion in Auckland along the way against Jenner and Sir Castleton. and to add to your list we saw a few great mares always straining everything in chasing some of your list of greats and getting the money too on occasion, "Framalda," "Thriller Dee", "Special Pride" "About Now" and more.............

Does seem a tough ask as she gets late on in her career. Fellow mares Black Caviar and Miss Andretti did the UK trip but as fine Sprinters they could strut their stuff and win there with natural raw ability (as Sprinters so often do ) whereas Verry Elleegant has a lot of tuning and luck needed for the longer distance contests, making the task a whole lot harder. Is very sad the original owners are 'getting out' instead of biting the bullet and going with the ownership majority decision. The Best way to handle the 'requests ' of large ownership groups is by ballot and majority rules. just have to suck it up if minority request, or buy into them (horses) with less partners. Even racing with 3 others in quarter shares has 'issues' . People always want different things like favourite courses, distances , jockeys (even trainers get discussed vigourously at times) Everyone is different. Overall though , Bless the horse that she stays safe and runs well , esp. with VE being a magnificent Melbourne Cup Winner . What a ripper she is.

Made me laugh Brodster. you are proven on the money with this one !! lol.. as many drivers in Queensland left the industry in the 90's when stewards 'pursued' whip rules with great vigour. many left the industry including self . They all wanted to win races. And a couple of drivers did Indeed tell the stewards to stick the whip rules up their arse as you suggested , lol. And then they both promptly got 3 month suspended !! hahaha

think the Tassie harness racing scene, has a few issues regarding racing stock that are not that great. stuff to Great to see Natalie winning some amongst the fab Canterbury trainers NZ. Her sister Vicki Rasmussen is still doing exceptionally well in Queensland. Won again last week with old kiwi horse she leased , Auckland Cup winner TURN IT UP. 4th win this year in the open class ranks. still running 1.54 odd.

Why Brodster ? didn't she win 2 out of 2 last time ? shes the bees knees. Blacks A fake rules !!! lol... Dis I say great response to Nina mate ? I f not , well done . Good to see you with great post there lol.....

If only that was true.!!! Not sure why you attack Chief for expressing an opinion on platform that he puts there for you to denounce harness racing (yet again) Your scenarios are actually very rare. I do remember the Galah pointing out a Rogerson one (your scenario 2) which happened a year or two ago . which was pretty accurate 'MeetMeIn Serrento' the benificiary. Happy Sunrise actually accused Blair Orange of killing a horse (total rubbish , not his doing at all) on another site that completely stopped all comment there , which really sucks . but why are so people so mean ? How about you post your favourite horse and driver (s) to get a Positive vibe going ?????????????????? I'll lead out with " i'm in love with Nat " lol..... can anyone there beat the fine QLD lass ??

You sure sleep alot Mikey lol. Michael House 10 starters for 1 win, 2 x 2nds, 2 x 3rds, ... smack on the law of averages from weight of numbers. nothing to see there.

Is why you need just mile and mile and a quarter racing . More of an even pattern emerges (based on barrier draw) Is why you Don't need just mile and mile and a quarter racing. Gets boring like Menangle , Brisbane , America etc ...... The NZ racing is so much more 'Interesting' to view , with the out-dated standing starts, grass, long distance racing and all that sort of stuff. Criticise it , yet still enjoy it !!! lol..... Here here Mr Galah, Cannot wish this guy enough winners , with what he does around the nation , not only helping young drivers become good ones, helping owners place horses where they can win And supporting clubs like Manawatu to keep going . MH the modern legend. Also admire the great results of the HOPE team. what a sterling job they are doing as mentioned above by many posters. Did you enjoy the Aussie raider taking Messenger Mr Galah?? what a ripper. Hope someone has a crack at Auckland Cup from Aussie in true GAMMALITE style !!! (He knocked off Bonnie's Chance to win one lol....)

Walt you wrote a great article just above to Nina covering plenty of relevant aspects you headlined in the thread, about that LOYALIST race , and hard to argue with any of your points really. well said cobber ......... Only picked out this 'comment' to dispute as it is already proven not to be the case. Matthew Williamson (1 win from 1 drive ) and Ricky May (2 wins from 2 drives ) on Muscle Mountain have 100% records on the horse. Ben does not. so those 2 drivers have therefore achieved better results with that horse to date. In the hands of John Dunn, Tony Herlihy or Kate Gath (who are all excellent trotter drivers), that exceptional trotter would still win IMO. He has knocked off Sundee's Son 2 or 3 times. wow.! Only one to do that against that Champion of this era. Well done Muscle Mountain connections . quite brilliant.

No , sorry Brodster , was just trying for a bit of humour. your comments (opinion) is great !!! Stipes opinion is worth so much More though . they are experts in their field . as are politicians . as are drivers....lol In seriousness, no drivers particularly ' like' stipes , as they affect their livelihood. Stipes aren't always gunna ask the questions you want them to ask either don't forget.... as you frequently point out. Walt has decided they should be asking something in this LOYALIST race . And looks like He is Right ??? Yes, thoroughly agree that some drivers are worth following , Nat , Sam O and Sarah O have looked after me fine. Interesting to note your boy Tim Williams was involved in the Brad Williamson on MABALENE suspension for a lead challenge that went wrong recently too ? (Brad suspended) IMO should of been TIM not giving his horse a chance .But it's just subjective I guess...... ANd here he goes again!!! in this Invercargill race ??? don't think I'd back him with your money lol he's Not on the Money lol.......

Gidday Walt . to answer your question , it looks like no. and yes VERY helpful indeed. Thanks to Chief Stipe there for posting video. some beaten a LOoooonnngg way out. Either didn't know their horses very well , or driving to instruction as you are suggesting. (with some accuracy it seems ) I think if you , I , Davis and the Galah were the Racing Day stipe panel, NZ trotting would be cleaned up in a big hurry.!!!! you betcha. Chief Stipe and Ranga on video duty with special comments sure to help. and Brodie (as 5th emergency just in case someone is missing) and we need another special comment from him. Could be harsh as he isn't keen on ANY stipes and he could be bagging us instead of the drivers !! lol........

As the A-Team used to say back in the day "Don't you love it when a plan comes togeather".... Dunns , Telfers, Allstars often set about looking after stablemates in a race. Seems logical. You're not exctly gunna knock em down , or push em 3 wide are you ??. You might however give the opposition stables a bit of curry. Often I just told the Gate speed horse drivers around at the start , I'm leading no matter what, so you derive your plan off that. Barrier draws usually have the Last Say in Aus. You draw One you lead or trail early . You earned that right. Every driver should go in to a race with some sort of plan. and usually do. Many races you are in you're not much chance (e.g outside draws , Allstars in the race , A topliner engaged, etc) so you might drive to get 'economical run' and do the best you can. If someone decides to take the leader on midrace (and you're not Sundee or an Allstar) then you're just asking to get beat. Best to know what other driver is doing before the race IMO and exp ?

Has to be the best ever Chief. Not that long ago Sundee trotted 3.56.6 for 2 miles in the Nov Dominion Handicap. Breaking his own record then by 4 seconds from the Dominion the year before (2020) when trotted 4.00.5 Very few pacers can go that fast . never drove one that could go anywhere near a 4.00 min 2 miles. Quite a stunning achievement to get one to 'trot' that fast . Well done Diamonds stable folk I say !!!

Great Messenger video Davis !! thanks for that. what a ripper.!!! A year or so later Comedy Lad gets the last 'Laugh' !!!!!! lol great pun there lol... Look how far Royden Glen is in front in the Auckland Cup 100m out , but the 'Iceman' AGH arrives with Comedy Lad on the line to take the 1986 Auckland Cup (the last one I saw live) . Well done Tony , great owner Max Harvey and of course the legends Roy and Barry training. South Islanders trying hard to beat the best ? 2nd for Royden Glen on this occasion. Roy rules !!!!! lol.

You're probably right. Most people have a 'routine' that they cannot bend from. I would of been along with Bell's on to see the Aussie Raider go past 2 weeks , but definitely skip this week. It used to be a big deal when the Southern boys come up to strutt their stuff. Lord Module taking on Delightful Lady ,then there was Royden Glen, Iraklis , Christian Cullen, Christen Me ... plenty of good ones to go along and see take on the Northerners. Roy and Barry had to be 'sharp' to repel them.

Very sadly Brodster is getting close to being on the money. After a couple of good weeks of Auckland trots with the Messenger assembling a great field, we revert to the crappy Auckland Racecard this week.......... 8 races with 4 trots (And $1.20 fav in the feature one) , an amateur drivers race, a maiden, and just 2 mid class pace's. Used to go all the time to Auckland trots but wouldn't bother going to this meeting. Actually won't even be watching any of it , let alone considering a punt. RIP might be right?..

You're a hard man to please mikey. Addington was on at the same time ? was it sleep inducing as well ? Was some good racing you missed while sleeping. I ususlly take Sam Ottley and Sarah O'Reilly drives at Addington, as they do very well and Hot toTrot and Quick Shot trotting well lately, not winning last night but the girls won the last 2 races ok.. and Mabalene looked a good thing after that stonking win last time and drawn the pole. AND it Got Even Better at Auckland .....lol With Sundee'sSon trotting a track record to another smacking victory, and an Aussie taking down the ALLstars machine in a Group 1 ??? can that happen? wow ! smashing stuff to enjoy. while you slept.? maybe the Wanganui and TeRapa gallops are more the go today to keep the harness distractors awake ???? . pass...

Well of the worlds 5 Communist countries China, Laos, North korea, Cuba and Vietnam thankfully NZ is Not one of them no matter how much the 'Not on the money' Brodster seems to think it is. They are/have been run by dictators and/or persons that have performed some of the worst atrocities ever seen on this planet. some still are now. go to North Korea and see how you get on Brodster? And those countries still rate and rank around 100 (out of 187 sovereign nations) well ahead of about 50 god-forsaken African countries chock full of crime, famine, poverty , genocide and misery and human suffering . NZ and Australia consistantly rank in the top 10 quality of life index on this planet !! well done governments !! I'm very grateful they do the best they can and make life safe and predictable for their constituents . A bit like being a steward at the races ?? lol... don't ya luv em ? Nz and Australia ranks and rate in the Top 10 in the world for amazing harness horses and racing and horsepeople too, if not BEst In the World .. Appreciate and Enjoy Brodster and mates ....... Worst named horse tonight ?? Boris Yeltsin at Waikato. (anything Russian sucks at the moment lol)

See Ranga's omen 'Tip' for you ran a distant last in the last Ashburton race . Perhaps the Winner of that last race at Ashburton should of been the 'Brodster omen tip' for you going by these things you write on this thread ? lol. wink.

I think before THE GALAH flew off somewhere , he had posted on occasion, that in the Waikato harness racing, the Unruly runners start all over the place (some were back some 30m from their spot , etc when the starter let them go) I think purposely on occasion?? by the drivers so they weren't startled by opponents etc. to get them away trotting. No excuse from a mobile Pace though? like in race 8 ??. The number 6 horse was 'inside' the number 5 horse !! lol hehehe ya think someone would of noticed . (Especially the starter looking straight at them lol)

A real Pearler !! I have heard they are gunna play that tape at apprentice school to make sure the youngsters Know what to do when it comes to riding a Gp race. .a/ risk your life , b/ your horse, c /and damage to other expensive animals (nah you won't gallop on their hind legs if ya do it right , sort of thing ) lol..... easy as ABC race riding. Stewards thought it was a 'great ride' too. !! 'suspended Nash from May 1st to May 13th.' A ride worth bottling. what a 'great ride'. ..apologies for the sarcasm but seems appropriate in this case. The best thing is grand-stand riders aren't riding the races . One good thing about it anyway lol..