Gammalite

Yes they call it 'Progress' ,but you wonder in what direction ? seems downwards progress for racing, closing those beautiful training Centres sadly.

Triangles ! , are the go now, moving on from Mark's 'stars' ,and Mark's dad Roy's(and Barrys) blue 'Spots'. I always liked the tradional 'ALLBLACKS' colours, a true 'NZ identity' thing. Peter Wolfenden MBE (Cardigan Bay with Blk and white sash), and Cecil Devine (Lord Module with Blk and white stars) were always looking splendid in their fine NZ colours. footnote: grand NZer jockey Jim Cassidy rode a brilliant race in the 2000 Caulfield Cup (one of Aus Biggest races) on the horse DIATRIBE to carry the actual 'AllBlacks' colours of Black with a silver fern to Victory !! The Cullen 'Triangles' go around on near dozen horses tomorrow night Addington. Most of which Allstars DIDN'T win with either, so Cullen can really forge his own identity. Good luck to him.

One of the absolute best was the commentators horse.!! Keith Haub has Mr McGinty. Couple of Group 1's and several placings in Australia including the 1983 Caulfield Stakes. 14 wins from just 27 starts as missed racing due to injury at times. Won the Todman Slipper Trial with a cracked Cannon bone and all !! That is tough as you come !! When a lad in TAKANINI Sth Auckland, we played social muckaround cricket on Sundays at the gallops training track there . Galloping boys against us trotters blokes, sometimes 20 in each side ! lol ... Bobby Vance would rock up and we were in Awe of him doing another 'Uncle Remus' with the new Colin Jillings star horse called McGINTY. Everyone thought it would make Takanini HUGE in the world of racing, (Colin Jillings and McKee stables did!!!!) Back at the cricket, you had to place your beer bottle when batting, right up against the back of stumps , so if you were bowled out , you got punished by losing some of your beer !!! hahahah and you fielded with beer in hand , and it was sporting to just go for the 'One-Handed' catch appropriately. lol..... sometimes with 20 people in the field was hard to find a gap too.....lol. Jock's were good batters too !!!!

Very awful looking picture of "Vow and Declare" there Thomass. oh dear. Couldn't Most Jockeys leave welts like that ? Using the 5 strikes allowed before 100m point. ? So ALL the horses are a chance of this happening to them ....... I say YES. NOT just Opie either VERY STRONG as you say, not long after Willow williams won the Cup with Vow and Declare , Had a BIG whip ride on Yogi too !!! Craig Williams Sandown Cup win with YOGI , 12 strikes prior to 100m point 7 meeting suspension Hugh Bowman Marmelo 2nd in Mel Cup, 12 strikes prior to 100m point 10k fine Michael Walker Prince of Arran 2nd in Cup , 12 strikes prior to 100m point 7 meetings and 10k fine Kerrin McEvoy TIGER MOTH 2nd in the 2020 Mel Cup just the other day, (co fav with a LOT of money on) so copped 13 strikes prior to the 100m point, penalty 13 meetings suspension , 50k fine reduced to 30k on appeal. GOD DAMN IT !! they're getting worse each year !!! Bloody Cheats !! you'd think they're trying to win or something. more strikes than Opie did, leading this thread here complaint too !!!!!! even BIGGER Cheats these mugs ???? lol.... so some more Counting Classes are necessary for these Cheat jockeys too? lol...... Throw the thing away!! I say and avoid all this hassle. Was bad enough the Anthony Van Dyke horse breaking down in front of the world in the last Cup. Very sad. Could you imagine the uproar and TOTAL CHAOS if they took a placing off a runner in a Group 1 for a whip offence ???? Phase Whip Out? What about if a Jockey 'Breaks the Whip Rule" then as a Penalty, they have to ride 'X' amount of races afterwards without one? then another offence , even more meetings , and so on ??? Gee , they would learn to count REAL QUICK!!!!!. lol. Kerrin McEvoy

Bit of a drought this season sure, but Overall record each season same as his rivals, Morris, Hewiit, Fitzpatricks, etc. TIM BUTT won 70 from 362 starters last season , so same average as those trainers. (wee bit behind McCarthy's by 3.5 Million, But who isn't?? lol AND the Plum on the Cake . Did 'Set the World on Fire' with MY FIELD MARSHALL . 2018 Miracle Mile WIN in 1.46.9 new southern hemisphere world record !! (guess that's a semi world record ?? lol.....) Now that is crazy good !!!, that not many outside McCarthy's and Allstars will ever get in NSW. well done Tim and Ant's. I believe there was no arsenic in the swab.

Thank you ..hahaha ...... fair enough. You are convinced of his Evil Intent. (compared to others lol) The fact ALL (or nearly all) the horses in that race were under a whipping , not so evil or Blatant I guess. WALKER admitted in his Melbourne Cup smack-up's that he threw out the rule-book to gain best possible position, which is what he is Paid To Do. Interesting to note KAH rode Prince Of Arran into 3rd in the last Melbourne Cup 2020 so achieved a similar result to Walkers 2 rides , but with a much LESS aggressive ride. Certainly hoping Opie is learning to count during suspension (for your sake and level of discomfort you are feeling lol...) more than horses which will be in some 'discomfort' anyway as it approaches the Finish Line.

Definitely Great points. And yes the McKee, Waller and Richards results are Impossible to fault. I was/am supporting Brodie in the Respect (on a much smaller Scale stable) a Galloping Trainer MAY not have to touch the horse, as lots are support staff are doing that for him/her. Therefore a 'Joe Mug 'could have a go. Not so in harness, a lot more Intricate detail is required. Take a look at Spitfire A !!! lol.................. Granted though that thoroughbreds Far more likely to be 'highly strung" . Pacers/ trotters so much more pleasant to work with. Still have plenty of individual character though !!!!! Pacers feet are often thwart with problems. The hard, grit tracks wear shoes out in less than a month and the hooves indure a lot of punishment. I don't know of a harness trainer who can't get under the horse , and work on quarter cracks , etc that the harness horses get from the hard tracks. More tricky than soft feet? Trotters are notorious for needing SPECIAL shoeing with weights and all at times to maintain there gait at high speed, Waaay more technical than a galloping trainer has to Know about and deal with.

Absolutely, that is a property/business Manager that Marky is describing. Harness trainers are light years ahead in the HANDS ON role with training . e.g Anthony Butt would sit behind his large team , Whenever possible ,and know them so well , his results are sensational , even while charging around interstate. Galloping Trainer more of a manager, (as described) and Communicator to the 'trackwork Rider'. The Real Star of the Show . Who has to INSTILL the will to run and confidence, and mental training the horse needs To WIN a race. Sure , a horse in full training has to have this VITAL cog track rider, running sectionals the Trainer might ask for. Galloping trainer would be also be working in cahoots with a 'scientist' feed expert to give horses 'best' feed and supplements. and reliant on "Pre-trainers' . They are VERY RELIANT on so Many others. I find it amazing someone like Chris Waller with Hundreds of horses around the place , Doesn't even SEE some of them for weeks at a time ? Has a QLD base for example. With horses that are developing as well as racing. No Harness trainer could operate like that. The bigger ones like Dunn and Cullen would be doing immense amount of Lead-up themselves, to work up horses going to Auckland for a campaign for example. Nearly ALL the standardbred Trainers out on the Track doing that VITAL Aspect of physical and mental training.

Why do I have to go Tommy Gun ? is it because you couldn't answer my question ?? Which is " If a jockey gives 6 Big whacks before your magical 100m mark, is he/she a Blantant Cheat too?" Picking on your champion jockeys , just pathetic lol...... He Broke a rule (happens to a lot of jockeys) and received a penalty (happens to a lot of jockeys) BECAUSE THEY ARE PERFORMING A VERY HARD TASK IN TRYING TO WIN A HORSE_RACE. something you will never achieve because while too busy hating on everyone. Tommy Gun...... You don't like Harness racing examples, so a Thoroughbred example . How about Michael Walker. Twice (2 x on same horse) fined heavily and/or suspended on Prince of Arran running places in Melbourne Cup's in recent years for Excessive Whip Use, And only before the biggest TV audience of any race in Australasia. Probably a few more than ten strikes too?, 5, 10 ,15, 20 ....wow big difference horse feels?? 2, 4, 6, 8 get a whack, can't wait. So A 'number' makes you a blatant Cheat or Not ? lol......I have to laugh as can think of lot worse that happens than the BIG whip hit COUNT lol......... It just seems so Minor lol..... lucky you had race video so you could count accurately lol............ horse Not able to tell you exact number !!! jockey should pull out calculator to be sure !! What about the Air-swings if he/she misses ??? hahahaa do they count if not enough contact ?? lol...... Whip or NO Whip is Only solution. Blatant Cheat ? or trying to Win a big race ? you choose.

100%. Staff costs are what make a lot of business struggle. Gallops stable would have at least twice , probably , 3 times the staff . some part time , like the morning track work rider, than at a harness stable. At trots stable someone could do 15 horses (with 2 others) easy, per day. YEah the jogging machines and walkers were Great at some ! Didn't matter who did what, you just jog, fastwork, swim , etc as a team. All the horses are everyones family. At the gallops stable I was allocated just 2 horses total, which seemed a joke. one named Sahara Andy, was so stupid on the float so had to walk him to racecourse each day on foot , and Munce would do 10 mins on track with it , then would wash and walk it back home again. and spose to brush and pamper for an hour hahahaha. Didn't even throw a rug on any other horse but those 2 horses. seemed like such a waste of allocation. but that's the way they do it. And I wasn't required on Racedays Lol .... so not even getting to enjoy the results of the dedication? needless to say, walked out the gate after a few months , and returned to Harness racing. Thank goodness.

track fees where they train are quite high as Chief says. At Doomben and Eagle Farm the Trainer is able to go to just one of those where he is paying for a certain amount of horses each day. they are quite strict on numbers and times. (thank goodness harness trainers nearly all train at daybreak, instead of in the Dark) But mainly the Race Stakemoney a gallops trainer can earn for owner is WAY More than the trots , so they can charge that bit more in training Fees, as the owner returns will be higher from those thoroughbred races.

I can speak from the coal face. having worked at 6 harness stables and 1 thoroughbred stable (for just a few months) during my term with horses before vet. The gallops trainer in Aus (and his son) were total pricks and Far More Likely to just 'crack the whip' on the staff than go near any hands on work with the horses. which was all but zero. Couldn't imagine them trying to shoe one ? hahahaha perish the thought. They NEVER touched a horse and were even awful the way they talk to you. more likely to be sucking up to the La-De Da owners (that you never saw either). However, ALL the harness trainers (3 in NZ , 3 in Aus) were all the most humble professional horseman, ALL could break in , shoe them, drive the horse truck even, drive the race, and were also kind , generous folk and who ALL could do ALL the work with their horses if required, including shoe,feed,treat, swim, vet, brush and even do their teeth.

That was terrible. I picked a race at random to see what you mean. Picked race 5 . Sam Ottley has the Third Favourite 'YOU CAN FLY ARDEN" beautifully sitting One-One a lap out . Then hit's the crossing. Lose's Balance while going over the crossing, galloping , so run's long last !!! How Would Anyone have confidence betting in those conditions?. unhappy Punters with that sort of thing.

Still partying from $830,000 in stakes and 2 (two) x GROUP 1 Quinella's last week. Rest night last night?

Perhaps that's why they spoke to Barry? to ask about the horses progress, (already a proven winner Artisan) , I agree a trial wouldn't hurt before another raceday , as you don't want them going field-shy. Of course Mangos was racing tight as still out 4 wide. He's driven a lot of races. He was driving a favoured runner from an awkward draw and was looking to press forward. Some were pushing through from the second row. No one there not trying to get a 'prominent' position with horse. Good on them. Still learning 2 year olds so Not surprised these things can happen? are you? Herlihy was forced into the 'wrong' not by the horse, but the bloke who drew One was shoving his front legs up the inside of a horse inside Krug, to try and keep the trail . (sorry forget blokes name now but he went for a gallop) . Possibly AGH did technically cause it by tightening so should of got a penalty. The rules clearly state you have to be clear of horses legs inside you before crossing over. Of course you Don't bag your mates in the Stewards room? Just tell stewards it's horses fault . All good. Of course yes, there are 'errors of judgement' as you said. only one can win. I've been impressed with the tactics lately. Esp. TELFER stable with multiple runners , getting them into positions to be best chance of winning, along with defeating "The Main opponent' everytime. 4 out of 4 wins last 2 Auckland meetings ! perfect !

Get away from McCarthy's Barn winning everything. AND forcing the pace in 1. 51 -1. 52 miles ALL the Time , burning your horses out chasing them ?

Is great that you want action for a , well it was a massive incident. But Eljays steward report above, is laying the blame on Artisan , which could be right. A two year old can race greenly anytime let alone while barrelling along, and with Mangos pressuring and racing tight from the outside. Could very well of ducked in on KachingKaching. And you answered the question yourself, about the tactics, i.e Because they are 'mates' you think covering the truth, why would he be squeezing them into a gallop DELIBERATELY anyway? . because he probably wasn't. Very very few drivers would that , even to someone they 'Don't Like' to tell the truth. If you want to see some foul driving , check out the Tasmanian Cup last night , where the winner used tactics to knock Anthony Butt on the hot favourite out of the race at the start. Bloody disgrace. standing starts. pffffhhh

Good point. Would be unlikely he is sitting in the gig at any point ,probably doing the owner liaison work. Very unusual for standardbred trainers though . I would think upwards of 90% are getting in the gig. Thoroughbred trainers = only a very small percentage jumping on the back of the animal for a bit of work.

Throw them off Chief.!!! There was about 8 runners in the $5 million Allstar mile with them on at Moonee Valley . The Three Placegetters did NOT. Mugatoo, Russian Camelot and Behemoth in the heavy rain. lol......

Queen of the turf !! What a beauty she is. The 'Empire Rose' G1 Win (pictured) was a ripper at Flemington a while back too. An honour to win that race named after another great 'kiwi' mare. Now the 'Belle' bound to get a race named in her honour too.

Reckons "people look past what is portrayed in the media". hahahah I doubt it . this article proof that media can't get over it, (anything bad they could re-hash YET AGAIN.) and stops people/ punters/ anybody getting over it too. Fancy putting a Disqualified Persons photo with a big Cup in the article.? achieves nothing. Trotting has image rat-shitted again. Show some winners for crying out loud. let the 'baddies' fade into oblivion and be gone.

Most races the drivers have a fair idea who the leader will be. (horses with gate speed /and/or Good draw are easy to work out. You can talk before going on track or around at the start. BETTER if some opponents know what you are doing to AVOID confusion. In NZ occasionally you'll see 2 duelling for the lead, (obviously didn't communicate before race) and usually bring your horses unstuck doing that (gassing them early) Most races everyone jumps into 'formation' quickly. GREAT TACTICS by Telfers Stable runners again last night !, in a couple of races , leaving Barry Purdons in deathseat both times. Your example above, my guess would be the inside driver would be saying " Geez you're a f.......,I told you I was leading tonight....." lol.....

Hahaha gee Karrots , I've seen an endless list of drivel from drivers mouths .John McMullen Jnr is by far the best. He had funny things to say after and during every race. (Dad of current QLD champ driver Pete and also his 3 daughters win at every meeting too, incredible family) Junior would come out with things like . "What were you thinking?. Wait on, thinking would be a new experience for you?" lol "I'm taking the lead, or you're tasting the track" ( as he takes you on up front of field) "If you do that again , I'll put you that wide you can buy an ice-cream in the grandstand!" " If you had a brain, it might fill your helmet , so it sits on your head better and you don't drive blind all the time" " I'll win this by so far, I'll organise a search party to look for you guys when I go back to scale afterwards"

Don't worry , Chief will be cheering loud for Probabeel and Trainer Jamie Richards tomorrow in the BIG one, Blinkers and all. lol....

This guy has been near the best since ever jumping in the sulky as a teen. As well as the enterprising KRUG drive to win the Derby last week, what a fine horse he has tonight winning in Last Tango In Heaven. It won very easily and is gunna be a fantastic horse. Part owned by wife Suzanne.(nee Purdon) Wonder if the O Purdon in the ownership is Suzanne's brother OWEN. He is in my top 5 north Island drivers. battling it out with A.G.Herlihy and P.T.Wolfenden each week, and doing a great Job of it. Then young brother Mark took over the reins and the wins. Here's Owen showing great concentration winning with GAME GIRL who is posing for the camera, at Akld.