Gammalite

Not ignoring anything mate. Credit where credit is due. 4 wins tonight proves the stable has arrived as a force with the New Brighton Cup quinella at Addington and the rest. That's well worth rambling about rather than the tragedy of losing stock to medical conditions. No one replied (except PalefaceA saying it's Not Snakes killing them (very true being Nz lol )) Because how the hell do we / anyone at all know What's going on?. Bad Luck is one answer. I'm sure Amanda and Steve would like the answer too, so they could remedy it. Back on topic.....Did you enjoy the Carter Dalgety drive when he was taking on Nat tonight ? Big win from the outside barrier and his poise when attacked himself was magnificent.

Counting your chickens a bit early Paleface. Self Assured a Big Auckland Cup winner last start, and to me almost certain to win the NZ cup off the front with no Handicap. No better race to win. (apart from Miracle Mile and/or an Interdominion) Dads army ??? hahahaha the rest will be saying "we're Doomed ... doomed" " Don't panic !" lol.....

Spot on. !! What a great pro-active drive by the young bloke. Won it easy. Natalie smacking into his head a few times with her horse (who was quite keen) Carter was Very impressive as Brodie has been saying. I'd give that Republican Party drive 10/10 . well done by young fella. Carter Dalgety going places. Telfers were amazing!!. What a great quinella in the New Brighton Cup with 'Wiseguy' and 'Joe" . they had 3 winners with cleaning up the Dunns 3 x Two year olds with Ardies Express and the Flying 3 yearold fillies they cleaned up 3 of the Allstars !!!! The North Islanders are well and truly established South now as not just the 3rd BIG stable , but a BIG race force now , to rival Dunn Diamonds and Purdon Allstars teams.

I have to give the best Junior I ever raced against a plug here Mr Brodster. while you mention some great juniors. Anthony Grant Herlihy MNZM has been a great driver his whole career. Back in the early 80's when he (and brother-in-law Mark P who wasn't too shabby either ) were Probationary Drivers as they were called then, Heaps of us young blokes would scratch around for a drive every 2nd week or so, in a C1 or C2 class Probationary drivers race (Affectionetly called Demolition Derby's) in the big 14 horse fields thundering around Alexandra Park, Cambridge or Claudelands (Ruakaka even) But One Bloke named Tony H always out of trouble and generally winning (no matter what he drove in it !!! ) He won every 2nd one of them I reckon ?..... unbelievably good that young bloke. Just Awesome mate. No UDR to back it up but it would of been Very High indeed for Tony !!👍

Doesn't fit the Bill ?? of Super Winning Streaks, Interdominion Champions, Lovely Looks, Cupboard full of trophies, Conquering both sides of the Tasman Sea, etc... Leave all that to the Big Race players and accurate talkers (lol) of Gammalite, Blacks A Fake and of course the Lovely Natalie Rasmussen 💞

I would say because generally the sport is called trotting . Those involved in the sport did adapt to another general term called Harness racing. NOT a great name is 'The Harness Racing Cup" so personally, I like the definition of Trotting Cup still. People not involved in the sport would be a chance of knowing that term refers to horses with carts behind lol, (as opposed to having Jockeys). The very First Nz Cup in 1904 won by a trotter too ! named Monte Carlo (so that helped cement tradition too), for the great November Nz Trotting Cup thereafter. Don't ya love it !!!

Dexter driving a pretty Fast horse at the moment. around 1.46 I think. Could very well set the World Record shortly and Dexter could be the fastest Pacer Driver ever on the planet. I'd stick that picture on the wall if I was him !!! Fingers crossed he can do it .

The Cossack oh so close to victory................... I have to say while admiring Ken Browne above, I wasn't very correct just saying blokes, as certainly admire the ladies efforts as well Freda. and certainly some of the best Horse'people' I have ever seen are not blokes at all. Just posted this the other day on trots forum when discussing whip issues, to say how I admire the ladies horsepeople too. quote... "nowadays with the rules and penalties applied as they are, as you mentioned , Jamie Kah, Alana Kelly, and at the trots Nat Rass, Sarah O'reilly , Kate Gath, Sam Ottley , the 3 x McMullen sisters in Brissie and many more , the horses respond to them and they get great results..." The ladies are proving fabulous trainers and jocks and drivers throughout Nz and Aus as well. congrats Freda on being part of that fabulous club. This weekend EMMA STEWART from Victoria won her 100th Group 1 race . !! the 1st Australian harness horse trainer to achieve that milestone, in all time. an amazing achievement.

Francis Kenneth Stewart Browne would of got The Cossack home first.? (although a great effort today for Nz by The Cossack connections) As a kid used to go along to Ellerslie once a year just to see Ken win yet again over the Big Fences. ASCONA probably his best one , as he owned it himself. as well as training and riding. Best horsemen on the planet are some of the kiwi trotting blokes , but seeing Ken Browne do what he did with all those jumps horses, (inc Great Northern Steeplechase 9 times !! wow !! ) I still rate him Number One best horseman I ever seen. A legend of racing. Rip Ken.

fricken 1/2 head after about 20 miles of jumping. Thats just mean 😩

THE COSSACK is in at Ballarat shortly in the Australian Grand National Steeplechase. Are you guys getting on? His NZ form looks pretty solid .

Your opinion goodd as if not better than anyone else Blackie. Marky a bit rusty from not driving much lately ?? lol..... he'll be right come Cup day ? lol.

Interesting as wasn't that long ago you had to have 10 wins to be in the NZ Cup. The Falcon with his close 2nd last night, also has only had 6 wins. But is very dour like stable-mate Laver .(9 wins to date) Davis rates these 2 horses highly , so I like them. Geoff and James Dunn a strong hand if they can qualify them both. (Laver 6th last year in the Cup in 4.00) if he can improve 2 seconds on that is in with a show. Bit of Stable team work ? with The Falcon, and a Rigid 'Set for the Race' Training and racing schedule >>>>>>>>> leads to having a shot at the Quinella in the Big race .???? 'Marky Boy' Purdon will be in the road a bit with SA , but sometimes you can get a bit of roadkill (like last year) if it's your lucky day.

Ok I see, yes I imagine year round support is best/ needed. and The Race is possibly just a one day flirt for general public and only a handful would get some sort of on-going will to watch lol. The general harness racing in Brisbane is tame all year round except for a 3 week window in July when all the feature races are run over the 3 -4 weeks for the year. Nz still does it better , and has Cup week with some great racing at Addington. It used to be a feature per Month at Auckland . so you had 2 GREAT Meetings every month at Alexandra Park , with visiting horses always arriving for the Lead-up and then the Main event each Month. December = Messenger for 4 yearolds, January = Auckland Cup, February = Interdominion , March = GreatNorthern Derby, April = Nz Standardbred breeders Stakes, May = Rowe Cup, June = Nz Juvenile Championship, July = Oaks, August = well can't quite remember but am sure the Spring had great racing as well. All year round Good Stuff !!! ......yes i know this programming is slightly different now yes inded,,,,,'The Race' is just one day per year........... , (but so is Nz Cup? ) New innovations are great.

You've missed the mark with this mate. Not in the money. The Race is a race , as per any other race, but for the higher prizemoney ,so it attracted Overseas interest. How good is that !! fantastico... (Majestic Cruiser etc ) It does attract new people. Some of those corporates are new people involved. It attracts Huge New Interest IMO. You , I and hEAPS of others watched it. I even BET on it which I normally wouldn't. And you could buy a slot mate.? Of course New Owners are involved (for a day) that's what it's ALL About. Not sure you and Ludwig are understanding the Concept. Think of it as a Good thing for harness racing. Because it is , and might just keep the game going a bit longer. Next up >>> trotters slot race ? Well Done THE RACE !! (can't wait for the next one !!)

I like the young drivers, (especially the young ladies) as horses just run and run and run for them. The girls didn't get much of a go 30 years ago with the BIG WHIP drivers and jockeys like Pumper Cassidy and the Enforcer Dittman ,drivers Vinnie Knight and Barry Purdon , etc . nowadays with the rules and penalties applied as they are, as you mentioned , Jamie Kah, Alana Kelly, and at the trots Nat Rass, Sarah O'reilly , Kate Gath, Sam Ottley , the 3 x McMullen sisters in Brissie and many more , the horses respond to them and they get great results.... I'd go Ben Hope to answer your question. Muscle Mountain is a true credit to him !! (beating Sundees Son and all , a few times)

Do they do any of that at the gallops Chief?

Hey don't forget Nathan Purdon as well. What a time he has had with Amazing Dream (is it really a year since she won those 2 Group 1's already in Brisvegas.? time flies) and Amore Vita won $1/4 mill over the past year and didn't miss a place I think. great training in group races. Spellbound as well. Haven't seen Spellbound since she ran 2nd early in year to one of your list there in Jack Trainor for Nz with Stylish Memphis in a $200k mares race. wonder where they gone/are? america as well ? with Amazing Dream maybe..........

Cross Was/Is the stable farrier at Menangle. In all liklihood he still is shoeing for a living. plenty of good ones there to shoe. I always wondered if you got paid more to shoe fast ones ? lol.

I think to give the guy a good plug , I went back to see how he got on driving the Best horse in the country. In February, he got to drive the great SELF ASSURED from the outside gate (an extremely difficult task at most tracks in a short race) , and drove a fantastic race. He used the horse just right to keep BD JOE nicely in sight , and drove at it well to win and defeat his more favoured and well drawn stable-mates Franco Indie and Akuta on that occasion. A 10/10 drive from Maurice. great job. He might be a bit of a car with big motor , but mentioned that good drive by Maurice, as Tony H had a couple of cracks driving on Self Assured as well in April (for Mark and Nat), and got he beat both times. His only defeats this year from memory amongst his Very big wins. (and we're not picking on Tony yet.. lol..)

I think he means Not as 'daring' and 'grandiose' Chief... as you would be in younger days 1000's of drives ago. A lot of the older players get more 'safe' if you like , by just taking up a position and not having a 'Crack' as a younger and more vibrant driver might. AGH a notable exception. young vibrant Nat driving South Coast Arden for a while, was better judgement and winning, than old Mango. Mango was a great driver younger days driving Luxury Liner and others, but like Maurice and Ricky May and a few other 'safe' players, is more likely to take a back-seat to the Dexters and Pete McMullens and Luke and Todd McCarthy's of the world these days. Junior drivers quinellaed the last Interdominion Grand Final. A sign of the times......... (no chance of that happening last century)

yes he seems terrible with now 10 out of 10 unplaced runs in Aus.... an abnomily. On the bright side the young kiwi horseman Jack Trainor won tonight with another Southland horse BRAEVIEW KELLY . to make it 2 easy wins in Aus since coming from Nz where only won 2 in the last year in New Zealand. she is better than that obviously, and can now reap some wins !!!

A few do already Paleface!!. The leading trainers Robert and John Dunn while busy winning all the big Trotters races in NZ , sent their Pacer to Australia to race. ALTA ORLANDO picked up another $20k the other day when 4th in the' Blacks A Fake' Group1 in Brissy. Has picked up $70k from 12 starts this year. Probably better than what could of earned in NZ. also $50k when 3rd in the Interdominion Final last December. I think he'll get 3rd again this year too in Vic Interdom. (or hope so for the Dunn's anyway)😊🏆

Some more great points you have made. yes not worth the effort does apply to the financial area. as Brodie has out-lined. The enjoyment factor too, is a priority in racing a horse. you have syndicates owners, breeders, leaseing owners, and purchasing owners. so 4 groups. The last one puts the Trainer under pressure as you need a result to recover the purchase price and things go awry just when you don't want them too. seen it happen a few times. Syndication as Brodie said is great for bringing groups in. The 24 hour horse racing station on TV has ad's for the thoroughbreds every hour and are LIGHT YEARS ahead in getting owners togeather than trotting . I am convinced and would even buy int that , ahead of trots. very professionally done. My friend just finished racing his first horse with a 20th share (sold off at the big Gold Coast broodmare sale recently) She won 4 races including Flemington. Fees were quite manageable for small shares like that and you still make the racebook as a listed owner. I liked the Breeding owners as they are really attached to their stock and love them dearly through thick and thin. I Leased them myself as could send them 'home' when finished racing with them. I think TURN IT UP is racing well on lease from Nz . would love to get one like him !!

I think the Brodsters 7 points are near on the money Mr Galah. Nearly all trainers have 'arrangements ' with their owners to gain the most profit and make it affordable for all parties. All stables need vets , and is one of the major costs. usually itemised out separate to the monthly account. Training in the 90's was around your figure of $130 per week per horse. Everything is double that now , and having priced the cost of racing a horse in Queensland with local trainers . (I imagine would be similar Nz) I could itemise a few things but generally it cost you $1000 a month in the 90's, and is near $2000 a month now. 4 of us did 28 horses at a time training in the 90's. I would suspect that would be 8 people needed to do this amount of horses these days. So the horse pretty much has to win One race each weather season or 4 races per year ( , just to break even as Brodie has suggested. So not really worth the effort unless you can get a group or listed race performer (which is hard to do! lol )