Gammalite

It's a tough one. I was often in 4 person ownership groups and often small issues would arise whether to sell, race ,and in the end , whether to breed from the fillies. (one bloke was a breeder) . Ultimately the better ones get sold as the Aus money , esp WA is pretty good. Spellbound soon to arrive in Brissy for 100k race where a strong chance, so that beats racing for 3rds and 4ths in NZ like HAVTIME is and ultimately PLUTONIUM LADY as well barely paying their way , when both are such talented mares for example. Katrina left HAVTIME at Menangle most of last year for a few wins and 70k earnings, but owners want to SEE their horse race, and no doubt hubby BARRY has cheaper training fees for her (and co-owners) too. !! Lol... Great to see all the Southern mares at Auckland though for the Un-cut gems . was a very good race.

Sounds like it's DANCE TIME for Jonesy ! lol hehehe you are on FIRE tonight. must be all those Hotties you're thinking about. ???? even this thread says it's on fire ! lol.

Brittany is having a drive or 2 tomorrow night too, so won't be doing trackside Sky, or should just keep talking from the gig ??? wire her up . A DOUBLE chance miss too !! as the new trainer from Dec 22nd popped him back in a Claimer in APRIL and he got claimed back by the original owner ! crazy . I didn't see it second time round. SAM is going nicely lately too. I never had one that could run 1.54 lol...

One of the tragedies of NZ harness racing. You could have beaut mares races , BUT they all leave. Take Havtime for example , a year ago she went to the LADYSHIP stakes at menangle worth 200k . But a heap of great kiwi mares turned up and she got 5th or so . raced rest of year for 70k earnings but back there this year , has to race in FAST CLASS and no wins in 10 starts since going home to Barry and Katrina. to Bettor's Heart 1st , Bettor enforce, Princess Tiffany 3rd, and Belle of Montana 4th. They could of all been still racing in NZ . Tiffany has had great season in Aus. Bettor Enforce sold to USA after 2nd in your group1 breeders to Wainui Creek (who went to WA) Spellbound, Amazing Dream now gone. Plutonium Lady will be next, or Folklore,

Just watched replay and you are dead unlucky there. I thought FOLKLORE was in trouble at the 1/2 mile as only had one behind it . It was CHEEZEL !!! how did it win from there ? 4 wide the whole last bend and still kept coming . great effort. Folklore tracked it up to 3rd. But Zac Butcher driving inspired, knew where the Post was. 10/10 drive Zac. from that Horror outside draw.

Jones goes 1 and a half Up !!! Zac Butcher for the north (Jonesy's favourite driver) gets a race to race double. Is he hot? Jones thinks so. For the South Island half a point with CHEEZEL . (All I can afford now is packet of Cheezels after that) lol..... and Desparate for a PLAYBOY big one to try and tie the Scores for Uncut Gems. Current score is North 1 1/2 v the South 1/2 . com'on Playboy . you know what to do.

Jones goes 1 up , and Gammalite gets 'sweet lou all' out of that gem trot. ! Thanks for nothing Ben Hope!! lol..... Not to be detered,, Gammalite is always attacking hard, and just when the other drivers thought he was beat, he would cruise on by !!!!!!!!!!! Have to cut to a KING OF SWING - FOLKLORE - PEMBROOK PLAYBOY treble at $5-1 then .

I was saying that was in fact a Very Low price for quality stock. The West Australians (NZ best buyers ) still swoop on 'Up and running' stock. esp. after 1 southland win, they wisk off to the big smoke. Hall still buys 10 per year and sure Team Bond the same. A Jonesy special at Albion tomorrow. The Sweet Lou gelding SPIRIT OF ST LOUIS is in at $1.35 , !!!! as is with McCarthy now and appears to have half of New Zealand and Australia as the owners !! lol.............. He won his Australian debut in 1.55.2 at the Goulbourn backwater early in month. pretty slick ? should give the Brissy locals some curry , and increase the value of Sweet Lou's ?? lol.....

Thinking of the 10-1 on offer for the Midnight Dash - Folklore - Pembrook Playboy treble??? Gem of a price for 3 great Southerners??

Reckon Mr Dickie at Clevedon, will be pleased picking up TWIST LIKE THIS at the sales for $90,000. Absolute bargain out of the great racemare Twist and Twirl ,so is a halfie to magnificent horse's King of Swing and Bettor Twist. Can it get any 'bettor' than that ? I'd be twisting and twirling waiting for him to race next year. wow.

yes the FFA open is a disgrace. Thank goodness Mark (still owns a 'Turn It Up' share) sent him over , and Spankem. The local breds are a disaster. except for COLT THIRTY ONE . (not in this week) Was chatting with Brodie about the cost of racing a horse earlier in year , and I had spotted SAM IS PERFECTION in a Claimer last christmas , and nearly wrote the cheque. (a 1.54 horse in full flight for just $7000 ) shame I didn't have my gear still , or would of bought him. A FFA for a claimer ?? hahaha ......says 50-1 , but should be 500-1 to beat KING of SWING lol....... 1 311s1 KING OF SWING NZ Belinda McCarthy Luke McCarthy NR120 B1 FR1 $1.40 2 73111 SAM IS PERFECTION Jack Butler Brendan Barnes NR103 B1 FR2 $51 3 47123 KID MONTANA Lola Weidemann Lola Weidemann NR118 B1 FR3 $17 4 55553 WATCH PULP FICTION NZ Chantal Turpin Chantal Turpin NR103 B1 FR4 $34 5 51815 UNCLE JORD Chris Frisby Anthony Frisby NR106 B1 FR5 $31 6 222u1 SPANKEM NZ Darren Weeks Kylie Rasmussen NR120 B1 FR6 $4 7 54s79 TURN IT UP Vicki Rasmussen Shane Graham NR116 B1 FR7 $10

Highfield Princess just won the last race on Day 3 Royal Ascot. 2 more days of great racing to go. she carried Saddlecloth number 30 . wow! they have big fields. !! and big numbers. there was 28 starters in a Straight-line 1400m . amazing awesome sight. the one filly in the race at 18-1, against 27 boys. and she won easy.

As the saying goes ....." LOVE conquers all " ....lol, sorry I thought that was funny anyway lol.

Of course! I did just see some of Nigel at the jewels on facebook as Brodster put us onto it. Thanks for the info about who he is. and he helps with syndicates etc ...what a great effort. Just the sort of bloke harness racing needs. BTW , Spellbound is ready to spring into Brisbane here to grab a 100k mares race. Nathan is in ' 14 day quarantine' in NSW at McCarthy's so he didn't get locked down in Melbourne (which is infected apparently) so she may clash with his new star AMAZING DREAM in that ? Think i'll go along. I want a photo of Krug too, while he's here.

For sure. Like any sport , the participants should be aiming to be involved for fun. as much as the money. Same as any work really. You only live once, so make sure you always are doing something you enjoy I reckon. Racing horses, (like the cost of living expenses) were much cheaper late last century , so am grateful to of been involved then. Not a very worthwhile pursuit these days. (financially) it seems . Some of the high rollers at Ascot seem to be the OIL rich Arabs , having a day out and in most races, (Goldolphin having the Darley stud and huge operations at Newmarket UK and Sydney too) are all competing against each other to be 'Top dog' but at least there pursuit of glory provides a living for hundreds of horsepeople around the world, and they turn out some of the most magnificent Horseflesh on the planet.

The broadcast was going to NZ was mentioned on the coverage. Is quite extroadinary meeting at Royal Ascot over the 5 days straight. Just watching overnight recordings and the tradition and posturing are amazing. Yes a LOT of snobby Millionaires in action , with the trainers and owners and jockeys, but that is the same as the golf or tennis majors. millionaires in action. The horse Power is fantastic. STRADIVARIUS unable to pull off a 4th consecutive Ascot Gold Cup. What a tough race. !! 2 and a 1/2 miles !! STRADIVARIUS was number 4 , in race 4 Ascot, going for 4th Cup........... so was always going to run 4th I guess lol......... The Melbourne Cup winner TWILIGHT PAYMENT was struggling a long way out. doesn't say much for the locals in Aus i'm afraid. Poms are cleaning up a lot of the staying tests now . ZAAKI absolutely smashed em recently in QLD too. Thank goodness we have the great kiwi mare VERRY ELLEEGANT to rely on , with her great efforts (current Caulfield Cup holder anyway) Hope they set her for the Melbourne Cup again, to give southern hemisphere some hope.

Not sure who unhinged is, but hope he gives harness racing a plug. We get ZERO in Qld in the media. Sky channel is only source of media coverage. We had a free to air TV broadcast for One Hour of the 'Blacks A Fake' G1 at Albion in Dec. !!!!!!!!????? I nearly dropped the cat and choked on my cookies with shock.! hadn't seen a free to air broadcast since BEAUTIDE won the Interdominion at Menangle in 2015. !! racing thoroughbred horses are on free 24 hours per day / free to air. KING of SWING (Bettor twists older brother won that race) I know how Brodie and some feel about Allstars NZ domination to a degree , as McCarthy has turned up for ALBION tomorrow night and is in five races. (WHich he will WIN easily ) with King of Swing and Co. The poor locals will be smashed to pieces by the Super-stable.

Even though the draw of horse is random, and the North have done well previously, I still say knowing your 'Hometown' horses and track is a HUGE advantage. the northern team with have some 'nervous ' ones that will be dealing with people (and horses) that they don't know well at all like the hometown South Island drivers, and the experience level being 6 times greater for the south , points to a BIG result for them. Hope they go well , and jag a win. go for glory ! why you have got the chance. It is an individual ? that comes out on top so maybe won't be team driving anyway. I love the experience factor as , because as in any sport, Plenty of throws at the board/target leads to the knowledge and/or improvement in your results.

Dexter Dunn never won the Junior Drivers' Championship. This year there are three drivers who have won the championship previously: Kerryn Tomlinson, Alicia Harrison and Sarah O'Reilly. That is excellent for the young ladies. Sheree to join them this year ? is my prediction, with the vast experience of 2400 drives, and deserving of a championship while still a junior. DRAKE from the north Island only has had 500 drives over 5 years for 21 wins? unlikely to trouble the scorer? The bloke who won our QLD Junior title championship last week , MATT ELKINS, finally won it at his last attempt . been driving since 2016 and 5000 races and just last week drove his 500th winner. only a par strike rate though. QLD had 6 races with 6 different winning drivers in the series. as you might expect in this sort of contest.

Misters meredith and Bublitz I think it was. Mr Delaney is probably at BarryP's so would get good practice. If it was senior drivers competition ?Yes. would agree. But driving skills Do matter. Dexter Dunn could win with slow horses still in this type of competition. Herlihy used to beat us up with anything he drove. (in probationary races) he was quite the master of it. not many beat him anytime, no matter what horse or barrier . He drove Captain Smooth too. Think that should of been his nickname. "Mr Smooth" lol......... (he's not icy at all, lovely bloke) One South Island junior , Newman, has 6-7 drives today at Addington. great stuff. He'll learn and run rings around the northerners next month. Experience is everything for these youngsters. The 6 south drivers , as well as knowing the track, are driving lots of horses all the time. They'll run the trifecta , First 4 , and i'm picking the BIG6 too. no matter what horse they draw.

well here's a great shot for you and some kiwi's . WHIRLEY DREAM , a terrific chestnut pacer ,(not as pretty as Gammalite) but winning 70 races from 175 career starts. Here's a highlight !!!!!! WHIRLEY DREAM is Running down the brilliant defending Interdominion Champion MY LIGHTNING BLUE (who won the I'dom final in Christchurch the year before, as well as NZ CUP) Whirley (nor Blue either) DID NOT make the 88 Grand Final at Harold Park, after this race !!! Champions LUXURY LINER nz, VILLAGE KID wa, and BAG LIMIT vic (vinny Knight) all were in the Grand Final , and were all UNPLACED ???? wow! . was hard to beat any of them too. Grand Final was won by the 'Knight second string' NZ bred 'Our MAESTRO' (Binskin driving) The background unplaced horse in this photo (representing QLD) is ex kiwi Brydon Duke with ex-pat Kiwi John Newberry driving. John was in QLD many years , now still racing in country Victoria , with very mild results these days.

Sorry , a correction here, I meant to type 2000 drives each to date. Winning rate is about one win in 7 drives. About exactly the same ratio as North Island best drivers 30 years ago. SEE PHOTO. a few of these 'Old' Boys are still going around , taking the Glory. At least Mango has finally handed the reins over (to Nat) and had quick winning results with South Coast Arden. Hey old 'Markie Boy' only 23 wins from 193 drives then while learning ???? won Interdominion at Akld just 2 years later. Improved with practice ???

Can't knock the form of this team. The North Island will be smashed to pieces. Saw the qualifying had the 6 Southerners listed scoring 3000 points between them , and the 6 North Islanders about 500 points. a different stratosphere. They may as well of put in Crystal Hackett, as only just started driving but 'bred' to be a winner and chalked up 2 wins already. Those North Island Juniors just Don't get a chance to LEARN the trade. You need LOT"S of drives per meeting. What does Drake do? paddle around on Emma Frost? never heard of 2 of them. (North juniors) In Brisbane our 2 best juniors are teenagers (Angus Garrard and Taleah McMullen) and yet at that young age, have over 1000 drives each already , and near 300 winners each already, in less than 3 years. North Island juniors ?? well give em a go. 3 or 4 drives per meeting at least , so they can improve.

Danielle !! yet another treasure of the harness racing Australasia. That big crash in the 2019 SA derby broke her leg , and in true Deja-vu, in exactly that same spot in front of the Globe Derby stand , Danielle had another horrific crash in 2010, and had severe head injuries and lost an EYE. !!! She came back over a year later to regain/restart her fine driving career. NOTE too, in 2009 , the year before she lost an eye, Danielle Hill WON the Australasian Young drivers championship beating Dexter Dunn and Nathan Williamson into the placings. (run in Qld) fantastic effort to do that !!!

$200-$300 per injection, but vet probably give 'bulk discount' for multiple joints. some owners would pay it without a blink , as horse comfort and winning go 'Hand in Hand " lol........ Large breed dogs get them quite often , (corticosteroid injection in stifle) as often have joint pain/issues whether degenerative or surgical (cruciate rupture/tear)