Gammalite

You don't need to move there. Emma Stewart has actually been sending horses to Tasmania quite regularly lately. (for a few months) To get the $9,000 winners prize in low class racing. Sent 3 there last weekend and Mark Yole was driving . They all won very easily , one won, by 7 lengths one went 1.55 😳 . scaring the pants off the locals who cannot compete with that. they paid $1.05, $1.30 and $1.30 lol. Can't see the sense in the Purdon Move to Pukekohe ? . the Clevedon farm of Roy and Barry's has always been a great facility and Mark would of stayed there with many champs like Adore Me and Lazarus and that over many years. Why not just stay there still ? unless Dean Shannon has completely filled it with his horses which is a Possibility 😁. Perhaps Nathan is the next generation Purdon, that will move in there when Barry and Mark , back right off. In the not to distant future, Mark wanting to 'hang around' the Waikato already. Don't think Barry has any kids to take over the Clevedon farm.

I guess the words 'New Zealand Harness Horse' awards are what I was driving at. If it was 'Harness Racing Awards' like for Awards for Best Performance (s) like the the 'Oscars' have for best picture. It would be easier to understand and make more sense. then 'Just Believe' certainly in the mix. But since they say New Zealand Harness Horse of the Year , maybe they should give it to a New Zealand horse? . Meant To Be , the 2 year old , won the Group 1's of Sires Stakes and Harness Millions , as well as the Golden Gait and 'ACE of Clubs' races to have a record breaking $1/4 million in stakemoney for a 2 year old trotter. An outstanding bit of training by Barry and Scott, and any horse setting a new record deserves some credit . Might be the next Just Believe? 😉.

You don't get around at all mate, and never attended Auckland meetings. so don't know the real story. I just showed my kiwi neighbour the fields . so all is well at Auckland mate 👍😁

Fair enough I spose. You are very close neighbours and all , and just Love the International Competition. and JUST BELIEVE did prove to be an International great. But it just sounded like it had/ should be a NZ horse. Just had a quick Squizz at the Australian Harness horse of the Year. And both Lazarus and Smolda won the title in the past decade. So the Allstars pair from NZ have replied ok and are great Aussies !! 👍😁 NOTE: There's been many multiple winners here in Oz , as when your'e good , you're always good lol. for Australian Harness Horse of the Year. First winner's in the 70's when they first ran the Horse of Year title were Paleface Adios and Maori's Idol . Maori's Idol still the 'Only Trotter' to take the title , nearly 50 years later. 3 time winners King of Swing, Im ThemightyQuinn, Blacks A Fake, Westburn Grant and Our Sir Vancelot. 2 time winners were Village Kid, Gammalite, Beautide , Sokyola, and I would think 'LEAP TO FAME' if he wins the Interdominion and NZ Cup this year could add a 2nd 'Horse of Year' to the title he Won last year . Swayzee with the Jump on him so far ? beating him in the Hunter Cup the other day.

They've given the award to an Aussie Trotter. Doesn't make sense ? 🤔 really as is Not a NZ horse, or NZ trained horses, or owned in NZ either. Marketplace was excellent , and looks to have an amazing future, maybe getting beat by the 'Choc's' of Dunn's in the Welcome Stakes stopped him getting the award. Duchess Megxit with 3 or 4 group 1's could of got the title ? the narrow loss to Treacherous Baby in the NeveleR 3 yearold Fillies Final probably counted against her. Merlin beat the Aussies up in Grins Race rich Million slot and the NZ FFA. Probably needed the NZ Cup (4th) or AKLD Cup (2nd) to take the award though ? Meant To Be was outstanding in both Islands winning feature Group 1's . not a great idea giving it to the Aussie Raider though?? . Tiz Not a New Zealand horse. How will that promote harness racing in New Zealand? still it's own country and not a state of Oz (yet 😉)

yes it wasn't that long ago that double NZ Cup winner COPY THAT had to start off those long handicaps at AKLD like 50m and that against loose class horses. He would still win as is a Cup horse and they (opponents like Hey Bartender, etc) weren't even open class really .(off the front) and imagine Merlin has the same impact these days. Sooner The Better = 2nd to Leap To Fame in the last Miracle Mile so is an outstanding horse. but only won 3 races last year/season as a 4 yearold , and 3 races as a 3 year old prior. You would think he could win more than 6 races in 2 years ??? , but there's just not enough races for him to start in ? The Falcon , was getting zero in NZ last year , But since November has 4 wins from 5 starts in FFA's at Menangle ,including a huge win last night. and picked up over $50,000 already in a tickle over 2 months. you need races for these horses . Cash N Flow a great example you mentioned that NZ owners sent over and he had a stack of wins for them. Don't Stop Dreaming is a beauty and capatilised on All the great races a young horse ( 2 and/or 3 yearold ) can race in in New Zealand. But at open class last year as a 4 yearold won just One race in NZ for the whole year/season ?? his great 2nd place where almost won the NZ Cup in Nov, picked up $150k to push him past the $1Million Mark which was nice. But just to see the Best in the country Win Just One race in what should be his Peak year, seems a bit weird. ??? shows how tough that company is . maybe more trainers should set up overseas? (like Te Akau are doing racing) , to have more races to choose from. Nathan Purdon did successfully for a bit winning Group 1's with Amazing Dream and Amore Vita for her NZ owners won a stack. Nathan had to go back to train ALLstars though , with Mark and Natalie retiring or semi retiring and HaydenC doing his own now.

Dexter Dunn and Pete McMullen are 2 of the favourites . From their style you can tell why this is the case , as they have a pronounced advantage over regular style drivers. It will be interesting to see what Yannick Gringras does as well. Pete has been fined numerous times in Brisbane for having part of his body outside the confines of the sulky' . This gives him an advantage over regular driving style, and makes him the favourite for this event and the best Albion driver by a street in race results. here he is in action . Can you pick the advantage Pete and Dexter have ? Here's Dexter Dunn for NZ as well

Here's the drivers .

The world driving championship is being done in a slot race format of a kind later this month with the sponsors 'Buying a driver for the night to drive for them . The race card is at Albion Park Brisbane very soon. TEN of the world’s top harness drivers will battle it out across 20 races, spread over two exhilarating feature nights at The Creek, Albion Park February 21 – 22, 2025. The twist? Slot holders, not just drivers, play a crucial role! The unique series will see slot holders pick both the drivers and horses to compete in the slots across the 20 races. They select both the drivers and horses to compete in their respective slots, with over $250,000 in prize money on offer.

Sounds great. your assessment is harsh but fair . Moran obviously did something wrong so is good you punish him instead of the horse Captain hammerhead. Cam Hart I would of disqualified both New Zealand Cups on Swayzee , (because of nice collects on 2nd Placegetter's Akuta and Don't Stop Dreaming that went MIA that I would of got ) .I feel he was wearing the wrong boots. The Vic Stewards you would take out to lunch ?. well you do have to eat in-between races/meetings I spose so you are a generous man. 👍 Pete and Dexter might be an issue. I'll do another thread to see some pictures.

for opinion sake. And the sake of Fair racing . What was the penalty you would like then ? if you were in charge ? A/ For David Moran on Captain Hammerhead ? B/ for Cam Hart on his seating position.? (mainly his foot 😉) C/ For Pete McMullen and Dexter Dunn who are both in the World Drivers Championship Slot race shortly at Albion Park. A huge event. And as the 2 favourites in betting , but drive with their Bodies outside the confines of the cart ? (This is more likely to defeat opponents than anything Cam Hart does with his foot lol) And helps them win races. D / The stewards for not enforcing the rules that you are seeing broken in your opinion. ?

No whip ? therefore must be Brodster 🤣 where's Ranga? out the back already in the score-up ? Gamma seen here in action , ( can't find the track lol , but pull the whip anyway 😁)

Nearly the greatest of them All did exactly that for you Doomed. I think of her as the Best NZer ever , with the 2 Cox Plate Wins , a Hong Kong Mile and much more. SUNLINE was a 4 time NZ horse of the year , but only Won a total of 10 races in New Zealand tracks. very surprising small number of NZ starts . (won all 10 as well ) In fact today is her Anniversary of her Group 1 NZ Win . The Waikato Sprint Feb 9th 2002. 23 years ago today. What a Ripper she was 🏇 , and like you say , was Fantastic her 9 trips to Australia netting another 21 wins and $14,000,000 in prizemoney. Was still a great of NZ racing (like Imperatriz) conquering the Aussies for fun. (Perhaps Verry Elleegant a close 2nd as best kiwi ? with an MC 🏆 and that)

That's right. Every case is different. But yet you seek your ' consistency' and expect all penalties to be the same . No matter what the circumstance , or where the jurisdiction. In fact the Tasmanian horse wasn't DQed , but in fact was relegated to 14th in the Tasmanian Cup 3 years ago. There you go . a different penalty. twas A different case. yet you expected Moran to produce evidence , by supplying NZ video of drivers with dropped feet to get himself off on appeal from the Shepperton Cup Case? Couldn't possibly happen. He did a Major offence against the rules , and the stewards applied a rather harsh Penalty. as they saw fit on the night. Stops others doing it. (Nigel McGrath Penalty (very harsh) sure stopped the 'Milkshakes' in NZ,) Be good if the Law courts were efficient at dishing up some more harsh penalties like the racing does. To help put a stop to the Increasing crime. Oz recently introduced Legislation to trial some youths as adults , as crime was that bad by youth, they were virtually killing people (on the road and that) and getting off as a minor. after stealing a car and killing people. was almost becoming a monthly event. Has tapered off now as the New Penalties will deter it a little. BTW did you see we finally got Ben Yole (and brother ) outed in Tasmania for a string of offences? . (some quite horrific) Only got 3 years though , back-dated to last July. footnote: Chief and other harness forums do a great job on discussing current racing topics. good or bad. The Tabloid bloke is more of a Woke activist on a Crusade to destroy the sport. Couldn't possibly support that in any shape or form. He's ripped into Robert Dunn (Nz's Leading trainer) that horrificly at times , it's a wonder they're not in court. 😪.

You often try to support Profit but then suggest it's tabloid. darn right. the guy is looking for Anything to discredit anyone in the sport. The amount of good people he continues to discredit is sickening. Don't buy into his crap mate. Chief knows. he's a budding journalist and has discouraged you many times from that BS from the guy that had to leave your country to try and continue his crusade against racing. sad as sad can be. Anyway lots of drivers , feet leave the footrests , as stated for balance at the start of a race , people see this all the time , To Engage the Deafeners ( you know what I mean . to pull them out they do with foot) we used to do by hand. yes the bit about the whip driving. Brodster noticed. It's true a driver could be very vigorous and drop a foot. But has to put it back up. The critical factor is = Moran (and the Tassie guy Nicholson) MADE CONTACT with the horse legs that was proven, so that meant those horses were disqualified from the race. Cam Harts Foot sitting on a wheel stay ? no where near the horses legs. Who cares ?? The wheel stay is right beside the Footrest. who's to say some part of his boot is not touching the footrest in that photo ? . The wheel stay might be part of the footrests on these carts? . What could you possibly Charge him with ? having a bad sulky' design ?? lol . ( BTW in IMO I think their design sucks lol 😁 ) here's one

It's almost like the stock market now Doomed. Many horses have many owners as the Bloodstock companies like OTI and many others sell micro shares. hundreds are sometimes involved in just a few horses. It's just like having shares in a company on the stock market. (but the company has too much dud stock lol , as well as the good ones. One dud can cost 100's of 1000's dollars sometimes lol) the problem is this .> Only 15% of horses that get to the races ultimately return a profit, after all the fees and lifetime expenses. and a darn lot of them don't even run fast enough to get to the races either. lol. My guess is this Ladbrokes Australia racing Club had Too Many Duds. Only approx one in 10 horses are earning enough to pay their way about the place . 9 out of 10 is a LOT of LOSERS)

this one finished first 100 times ?

One of the elite drivers going , and now you're onto him ? lol . He (Cam Hart) is on a par with Greg Sugars and Luke McCarthy. The Carts only have a ONE WIRE strand these days to accommodate the drivers boot . Rather than the Dog Muzzle like set-up they used to have. It is Hard to keep your foot up there . I'm NOT surprised at the amount of dropped feet actually. It must be Very Uncomfortable. Cam Hart , being an Extremely Fair and Good driver does Not deserve Discredit . Is No surprise the Low Harness racing Hating PProfit would find something to Slander. Don't Buy into anything that idiot says Mr Galah. Cam Hart has his foot hooked into the wheel stay , (as seen in this Hunter Cup Photo) and his foot is Therefore even further from the horses legs than what the footrests bar is. .He drives like this nearly all the time. He is a champion driver and bloke . don't hint at cheating as is not fair comment.

That is a great question . Often causes great angst among drivers , because on the state highways (if they are 100kph) as mostly are around Oz, the passing lanes that come up every 10-20 kms or so are filled with people flooring it to use the lane and get past the grey nomad caravans (that are everywhere) and get some 'Clear Air'. and they're going 120 kph + to do it and get past em' .. Is it allowed ? Seems they allow it ok. does get tight at times as the passing lane draws to an end lol 😁. I am a very safe driver and often have had to speed up in those sort of situations to get past large trucks and that. Have never seen police radar at passing lanes . I think they would rather the overtaking happens there , than in the open sections where idiots pull out to .brave' the on-coming traffic at 120kph lol. 😉 Rightly so too. There's been 1000's of races , and must say I can't remember another one quite like what Harrison did to Blair in this race. Not on in my opinion. and I think the general driving standard is Excellent throughout NZ and Oz and much better (and safer with marker line pegs) which helps drivers No end , in avoiding incidents like this Amberley Race 10 one.

wrong . not the case. the horses are pretty knackered at the end of 2400 to 2700m races. A mile is a Easy distance for them to get there timing right. Most Gallopers in a free flowing natural action are racing 1200m to 1400m . very few go 2400m plus . it's very taxing on them. even in their natural movement. Pacers and trotters expend a tremendous amount of energy trying to hold down 30 second quarter miles in a row. It's almost cruel the Nz Cup and Rowe Cups (and Melbourne Cups galloping) over 2 miles, as knocks the horses around terribly. Only the Very best can do it. A bit like a human athletes can goes ok and can back up (even later that day) after a 100m or 200m dash , but put him over a mile and recovery is much slower and he'd be still feeling it the next day. or even later that week.

Well before he gets a quick break from the race driving because of the Junior's actions, I'll let him plead 'Guilty' to winning me a treble tonight .😉💰🍻 I've power-played for $10 at 48-1 = The Better Deal (race 2 special) and Treacherous Baby (could sneak that feature Breeders Stakes in Race 5 being over 2600m ) from Marky's team , into KAWHI race 1 . Kawhi at $7 here ? and won 2 of it's last 3 , where-as nothing else in the field with any real form? . Why can't it win again with Blair driving ? it's a Mobile start too. AND No Junior misfits trying to push him down out of the running line either 😁👍. bring em' home Blair O o o

Is hard to believe that is the rule.? Every race meeting has Some races with a train of the last few in single file trying to keep in the running line. Drop to the fence and you're virtually out of it . (in a short distance race) If caught 3 wide after an early burn after the start , and you didn't restrain out of the gate , you just have to drop back to last in the running line , then proceed up the inner if you feel like it. Not Barge in like R. Harrison tried to in race 10 , and skittled Blairs horse. and caused havoc in general . He (Mr Orange) probably pleaded guilty so the lass could get another drive as, driving like that ( that lack of respect for drivers in the running line already) , she sure won't get that many.

Good to see that the NZ Metropolitan TC are running all 3 of the trots races as mobile starts this afternoon. That seems a very progressive move to stop all the shambles at the starts. And Auckland are running 2 mobiles and just the one stand in the last race with just 6 in it. The 2 yearold race has just 6 starters as well and Lincoln Farms have 5 of them !!. wow-wee they might have a good 2 year old year if can get that many going early on in season. Telfers with the other runner.

Here's a funny one I remember once. Took the blame for a junior that was out wide on a severely hanging in horse during the last quarter sprint up . I was trying to leave the fence from 3 back , and the horse in-between me and the hanging 3 wide horse ended up galloping ( with the driver giving us a great run-down on our breeding 😂, as he quickly dropped away ) Anyway . It was definitely the hanging horses fault ( or the driver not steering it properly) Stewards decided I shouldn't be leaving the fence ( in the days of running rails, no passing lanes) so you Always pushed out at the quarter or around that point if possible. I say what ? stewards say you're knocking other runners over . well I wasn't the one hanging all over them , but anyway felt sorry for the junior. so got em' off. Stewards say Gamma you want a week suspended or 200 fine? I say what again 🙄 lol. You gotta be joking, who has a spare 200 bucks while doing these horses. Stewards say righto see you in 2 weeks time then when you're back on track .

hahaha you should never admit anything to stewards Blackie. Ya Just the blame the horse everytime, no matter what. Although in this case Harrison was deliberately steering her horse inwards and it wasn't the horses fault that happened. Fancy sticking your wheel under Blairs legs in a race 😳🙄. He drives in a Lot of races and he'll remember you/her/it in the future . He'll light Them Up lol 😁 will be no favours given.