Gammalite

I can't say I agree with that on form. We run our usual 'Slower ' Horse meeting at a brilliant track in Albion Brisbane today . The form shows at Albion, that of the 84 Runners across 9 races ONLY 17 have NOT finished in the first 4 somewhere in their last 4 starts. Form is strong. This is very normal as do the form each week. (hard to work out a winner though) At Addington only 1/2 of the 76 runners across the 8 races have been even 'close' to a placing past 4 runs. quality would be a little inferior to Brisbane today . Having said that Melton (Vic) seems exceptionally weak tonight. Menangle VERY strong though (NSW) maybe running 1.53 still.

Perfectly put Mikie. the saturation has killed it all somewhat. we have 24 hour a day free to air racing coverage Oz , so the novelty wears off . harness not included in that unfortunately. Some great Southland horses there ! special to me , Sapling my first ever on-the-course Auckland Cup Locarno won the NZ messenger, hey is Young Quinn from Southland? Charlie Hunter had him at Cambridge? Interdominion is the BEST! Aus v Nz . doesn't get any better. But is suffering from exactly what you said ..... "Seems Less Competition at the Top" . Allstars cleaning up at the last one , kicking Oz butt clean out of Auckland 2019. and the NZ CUP and Auckland Cups (the other big 2 NZ races) both won by Allstars the last 6-7 years. no competition getting 'boring' as Brodie says unfortunately. I'm in total awe of the achievements (don't forget Nat had BLACKS A FAKE win 4 Interdominion finals , and 2 seconds from 6 attempts) awesome , all at different places ! awesome. I gave up watching the ALLBLACKS kick the Wallaby butt in Bledisloe Cup many years ago now (but used to be a fantastic moment of the year like the Mel Cup racing) but got 'boring' from domination. so guess that is what Brodie and others say with Allstars/ now Cullens. they might be right unfortunately..........

The best era EVER Mikey !!! hope you enjoyed the 83 Interdominion Final at Auckland lol.. but if you missed that one , you had Armalight and Bonnies Chance winning NZ cups by 7-9 lengths in brilliant fashion, Lord Module winning one as well in 1980ish after giving them 50m start rearing up . trotting ranks had Sir Castleton, Basil Dean, No Response, Scotch Tar and Special Pride winning heaps. I worked a little South Island trotter once called Hano Direct , who won the "Plum" race Interdominion trot Grand_final 1980 at Harold Park. A HUGE win, but not remembered well as she was shipped off to America. The brilliant LOCARNO was 2nd in the pacers final that year as well. He was a beautiful horse , so hope you saw him in some videos from that era too!!

Was thinking about the arguement of Allstars v Cullen Racing v How well a stable results go. Surely, nothing would be different at Rolleston as Cullen was already working there (when Allstars stopped New Year) therefore ALL the track-work and Feed, and supplements and shoeing would all still be exactly the same as last year ??? Why are we looking for change then? results are still familiar. and same as Allstars. Cullen has a 'Swag' of 2 yearolds racing fairly well, that never went around in Allstars colours. winning features Akld and Chch. so is making a great job of keeping the tradition going ! great. so looks like normal transmission is resumed !!. getting Nat to drive is icing on cake ! but Blair ok too and drove the winner of the 200k 2yearold race, to get the $100,000 first prize cheque at Addington premier night. Markie will be delighted. AND for the Punter makes it easier to find a winner! as the field always narrowed down a bit with the Cullen live chances. Just looking at Addington today, without Cullens / Dunns/ and Dalgety and just Pitiful. are they barred from midweeks or something? who would possibly bet on any of these horses today? no wonder trots are in decline . Cha cha B 2 with wins from 40 starts only in-form horse racing today? Oh my goodness.

Yes , I think everyone can see what you mean. It is indeed a tricky affair. When you get a License they have some rules that state you have to 'uphold' good character , and keep within the boundaries of the Law , or face loss of said license for 'x' period of time. which seems to be two years. you want shorter term, many want life Ban term, I'll just go with the set rules term. even then he (Anderson) wanted to break it , so mighten be the best character around?.

Chief , a Lot of penalties (Court or Harness) are designed to be a Deterrent from re-offending ????? yes? e.g 6 months DQ and blemished record, for presenting horse with prohibited substance , etc. (way tougher than the Anderson penalty I might add) If Anderson could go on working horses at home as you would like , not enough changed??. Yeah he's not at races, sure! , but several staff at several stables Never attend the races. It Is very common. so he could possibly just continue on without any 'deterrent' punishment. not good enough . So why let drivers drive at the 0.05 rate blood alcohol ??? Is that the road level? plain stupid as you said. Imagine a race driver (like the many on the road that are driving at 0.1 at any given time) presenting that like , and saying yeah "I'm all good, only had 2" hahahahah then a big stack in the race. You actually race centimetres from others wheels you know !!!! and as you leave the track on a stretcher you could look across at the other driver GETTING A BREATH TEST !! hahah and he'd be like Brodie saying . "GEE I thought I was ALL good, Would of been under 0.05 by the first race I thought !!! " ZERO is the best level for a race driver.

Yep, of course. the whip penalties, interference, swabs etc all 'local' on-course court with charges , submissions heard and penalties given. stewards are a mini court of their own. !!lol...... NOW 'race fixing' is different. These days, Now called match fixing . People are Arrested by the Police!! . normal civil court rules and convictions. Pitt, and Nathan Jack in Vic (amanda Turnbull got off) Shane Graham and Vicki Rasmussen in QLD , all having regular court cases heard for 'Match fixing'. Not taken lightly in Australia.

True, there are a lot of folk with 'Hidden' secrets under the bed (like Darren Weir lol......) that the public might not know about. But when they come out from under the bed , They COME OUT from under the bed like a big jigger. Who wants people looking at harness racing and saying ,'Hey look !! there's the bloke who bashes his missus LAST WEEK and got convicted, winning that race! harness racing really is CRIMS on RIMS !!" In 2 years time, the crime 'may' be forgotten, and if it is brought up by the media, society, general public, BOAY whoever, we can all say.................. "Well that bloke who bashed his missus is back and doing well,!! served his time out and would probably think twice or three times about doing anything like that again !!!"

I think it is because harness racing is really in the public (society) Eye. just have a look at the general feeling on the Anderson Case on BOAY , I have seen from the 'general public' of BOAY. many are 'horrified' by the offence and are calling for the 'life' ban. I am happy with the 'Rules of Racing Ban' for serious offenders convicted in court . Two years seems light really. could very well of been jail. Probably a good idea to give offenders with a 'serious crime conviction' a period of suspension out of harness racing, to show the general public (society) that HRNZ Doesn't Condone that sort of behaviour. and gives them 'time that they should use to rehabilitate', and get off the drugs or alcohol or domestic violence attacks, whatever is going on in their lives that caused those issues in the first place.

A very special honour it is Chief !! lol... you're not just doing your sport for a living (or the love of it) but supplying entertainment, employment and even 'sometimes' money (lol), to staff, owners and punters.😄 you are right about young Anderson, that he still has to exist in Society, so employment important, and rehabilitation important too. like any offenders against the Laws of the Land, what choice is there? We had a dad bashed at a junior League footy match (again) last weekend at Wynnum, sadly, and 4 people arrested (guy now needing surgery),, and also in Brisbane, 2 blokes convicted this week, over smashing a guy with a metal pipe on side of highway (brain damaged for life now) got cut off on the road a while back!!! craziness. very sad. football and road rage?, why so angry ??? bash strangers near to death. Cannot believe it !!! you are right that the incidents occurred 'outside the workplaces' . BUT all contained violence. a very serious and unnecessary offence. just not acceptable. Anderson included. so sentencing from the court (some even got jail) and their workplace (e.g some with a lost license for road offence may lose employment too?), And so even if a double Whammy like the 2 year NZHR ruling against Anderson. ALL Just part of the Penalty. Just has to do it .

Horace, NO ONE is belting the shit out of horses at the harness racing these days. The rules say the reins must remain in one hand , and 99.9 % of drivers (not thickheads) can do this. Whip use on the horse with force , is practically ZERO. At the gallops you still have this 'Crazy Count The Number of Hits' thing happening . The jockeys (not thickheads) are required to try and find the 100m post and start counting (before and after)?. what a tough job it is they do even before pulling the whip. How is it you can't put yourself in their position? trying to judge their run with EXACT PRECISION to be FIRST at the WINNING POST? Not easy to out-think and out-manoeuvre a field of runners trying to beat you , no matter how easy so many think it is. and using the whip as an essential aid to achieve this. owners who shouldn't give them a second chance because they tried too hard to win with an extra strike? ? ? ? laughable !!? pretty fucked up owners then, that don't deserve victory in that case. .

sounds boring ! lol (just kidding) , not being FEATURE racing or anything. (like run of the mill Brisbane harness racing lol) although the Gallops are high class in Brisbane today. no sign of kiwi's like Rough Habit these days though. kiwis must of got bored.

yawn. really should we feel like watching a NZ gallop or dog race instead.? yawn. Some of the best racing in the world and you're bored. A total Natalie master driving class . should be applauded. Lazarus and Adore Me some of the greatest performances ever seen on harness racing tracks ever.. How can anyone be bored. Mr riddle is right and great to see the tradition continue with amazing performances these days as well. Did you see that BETTOR TWIST performance? pure pacing power. and driver judgement . fantastic. I take it you meant Allstars and not just bored on Premier night lol... Cullen doing good job? why knock him ? Bored with winning . lol.... Actually the ROWE Cup was boring recently, as the best horse (defending champion Sundee's Son, was given a absolute 'Gift' barrier one , instead of the traditional handicap that race used to have), so rivals had NO CHANCE. so that sort of made it boring in a way.

Gammalite has 'Gone the early crow ' Galah . you may/must be better than a crow.!!! The week 'after' Premier night 2 years ago . NZ OAKS 150k Princess Tiffany and Kayla Marie 1st and 2nd (Belle of Montana for Barry only 3rd) SIRES STAKES 2yearolds Allstars trifecta :One Change, Flyingeven bettor,Virgil, in colts. SIRES STAKES 2yearolds Allstars win with Amazing Dream ,in fillies. Sires stakes trot 2 yearold Tailored Elegance 1st for Allstars, and yeeeeees one got beaten !!! Cheerful ! was cheerfully beaten in the 3yearold sires stakes trot. But 4 Massive Wins for Allstars 2 years ago !! Will you settle for a draw with the poor Judging ??? hehehe

They are going exceptional now, NZ Cup and Auckland Cup , that 2yearold Akura last night, Bettor TWIST ?? brilliant. I'm Not a Poor judge , and just to see who was racing 2 years ago Premier night , Let's seeeee That Nevele R 3 year old won by Belle of Montana (hey that's the one from QLD owner!) Allstars Only 2nd and 3rd with Kayla and Tiffany) Oscar B DID win the trot (he was 2nd last night) and Ashley Locaz won the fast class, from Alta Orlando ( 2 Gammalite fav's ,what rippers Ashley and Orlando(Dunns horse now at McCarthys) are!!! try their guts out ) American Pride PULLED UP in that 2 year old trot feature (won by Dunn's last night) 2 years ago. Cullen has AP winning now???? lol.....won Thurs at Auck. yeah yeah needed time blah blah and FOUR favourites ALL BEATEN !!!in support races as well !! the Moonshadow, Dina Bolt, Kings Landing, and Only Me ??? Seems Cullen has improved the Strike Rate significantly from 2 years ago !!! no poor judging by Chief at all .????

and Mark Purdon OWNS a big chunk of the 2 year old winner AKUTA last night (along with the Cullens synd) . First prize was $100,000 !! maybe Mark will retire to the luxury lounge of Superstar owners, since he was suspended last night, and just let Blair and Nat bring home the bacon each week?

and a beautiful thing it is too!! don't wish it away Brodster, as that would be like wishing the AllBlacks didn't play anymore. If you're just too good for the opponents, Then You're Just TOO GOOD !!! lol.... just ask Jacinda.

yes he switched the false start light on , then turned it off again. 4 drivers at least reacted to it. Stewards gave the starter a warning !! hehehe You're up late young fella? are you in Aus? must be 1.30 am in NZ? No mobile , it was a standing start trot and some horses got hit with the barrier strand.

What a drive on Bettor Twist too. Yeah I know is best filly. but still, to take off from one out three back 800 out and blast to the lead like that, she was reading the other runners so well as well as her own. and then a tiny breather , and sprint again ! Awesome !!!

What a great performance from the 2 year old trotters. nearly all trotting the whole way. The HOPE family and the DUNN family sure know how to train the Trotters !! trotting to victory all over the place. Cullen's 2 trotters will have to settle for seconds against those fine winners. (Highgrove and Midnight Dash)

not sure on that one champ, especially if West Australian. Big Bar has a couple there for a prominant Queensland owner though. Barry had a couple in big 2 year old race last night in Akld. Dean Shannon has Montana Stud in beautiful Melany up the coast from Brissy, and races all those MONTANA something horses. Very surprised he races there with Barry, but is great supporting the kiwi industry too. Belle of Montana about 10 wins now. every week a Montana horse wins somewhere here in Brisbane. nearly all with local trainer Darrel Graham. They (Shannon and Graham) did have a Stand-out horse once, a kiwi bred 'Courage under Fire' stallion named LANERCOST who won 3 group1's and 30 wins from 45 starts.

Why is it so much easier to get three wins and a second placing in your Quaddie , than getting the 4 winners in it ??

You Betcha ! what a great acquisition for the stable lol..... Where is Payne now? Even my mate Mangoose has given in and popped Nat on to drive at Addington there. (Immeadiate easy win !!! ) good on him. Cullens a distant second after racing without cover. Cue for NEWMARKET to shoot them down. lol...... first start for a year so maybe he'll cut Chase Auckland some slack ?? probably not. He went very well and tried hard though.

A LISTER, 15 starts at Allstars for one win only in 2017 !! shocking lol. problem was Nat never drove it once. TAXMAN 3 wins from 7 starts for Allstars 2019. seems fair. Nat drove it once and of course It Won !! 2 drives for Nat last night at Auckland for a win with American Pride and the narrow 2nd with True Fantasy. Gammalite $50 double is ruined. Shame Bob Butt not on the bottle (gone a couple of times for that like Blair at times) or something like me , had to wreck it by driving /training Cover Girl to a great victory!. lol...... Well not to be dimissed , NAT is back tonight at Addington !!!!!!!!!! a heap of drives. I'm doubling up. $100 double Samhara into Bettor Twist $700 for my 100. Nat's the best ! let's go. Shan Noble was costly in missing place in the Derby (but was huge run) so let it go today !! how many will she win tonight ?????

That was nearly the worst I have ever seen. The outside barrier horse , and only a two year old , Classy Operator had the option to settle last , but just pressed on !!! down the back the first time , Because it's Stable-mate was in front ? and he could give it a lovely suck up to the home straight. AND it won too! the stable-mate . Excellent planning , but man, NO CHANCE was Classy Operator of hanging on driven like that for the first lap. (Maybe Gammalite coulda lol..but not many) AA AA a total drive just for the stablemate only. warrants a hefty penalty in my view.