Gammalite

It's usually VERY Quiet at the start , with drivers wanting to take position As Quickly As Possible, without OVERTAXING , OVER-EXERTING , or OVER EXCITING their steeds. not a lot of noise at all. At the other end of the race is a different Story. 'Bellowing bulls' springs to mind , in Oz anyway. At the gallops Damien Oliver sounds like a screaming BANshee .....lol He is VERY loud indeed.

Hahaha I'm always bragging , Win or Lose, because it was fun trying anyway ...... The Fixer, has fixed me up , as he won a NZ CUP as well !!! now I have half the field hehehe. Think Nat drove it to win too. Isn't she the best ???? lol..... Only threw the water on your 'Corners ' for this G2 race , so hoping you're back all Square and symmetrical after this event lol. for the rest of the card.

Well when you watch the fantastic camera work of the NZ trots , as the brilliant cameraman zooms in on the runner as the commentator says it's name going through the field , You can notice the whip placing /work of the drivers during Mid-contest to keep horses minds on job and 'Trailing up' well. Exceptional work when you watch it closely. So would be hopeless to throw it away all togeather , as would lose all that. Poor Jockeys, HOW ON EARTH are you supposed to count whip strikes in a race, craaaaazyyy. You've got jocks or drivers all around you , trying to mug ya , beat you for a run and to the post ..... one two, three , one two three .... well it's not a dance , and counting is Not Really on your Mind ...lol... Gammalite the horse had 3533 whip strikes on the bum across his 180 odd race starts ..... glad we weren't counting at the trots last century hehehe.

Well that is a huge Plus for the' less Vigour ' Whip rules is that the young women behind the scenes are now right on the pace and No predjudice against female jockeys and drivers remains. How good is that. Vic and Qld harness races full of young ladies now, and they win more than the blokes on average I reckon. At the Gallops Jamie Kah leads the prestigious Vic metro premiership, 1/2 the fields in SA metro thoroughbreds are female riders and at the trots Danielle Hill (even with one eye now after a crash) still goes round winning heaps. And Sydney (big boys club) has been broken down too, with Kathy O'hara and Rachael King winning regularly on Saturday metro these days. The NZ female jockeys and drivers absolutely doing Great Job too !!! esp Natalie Rass ! she's from both countries.....lol AND Winning Interdominions in and for both countries !!!! only Gammalite can match that with Interdominions wins in both countries. ........hehehhe Nat and Gammalite ,,,, a match made in heaven lol .... sigh.

Karrots , you do love your 'Cambridge corners' there in your home Waikato .....lol..... so looking at those inside draws. I'm not convinced !!! .......... (about your corners hehehe) there is a NZ Cup winner!, and a Miracle Mile winner ! in the race, and You Just Can't Get any better than that . Q .

What an excellent lot of points here Karrots !! each very well explained. Yes RULES are definitely there for a reason. and times have changed. and you (and Basil) are right , They should be followed. Maybe TRY a WHIPFREE race and see what happens ??? ASK the drivers? Horses have responded to vigorous driving/ riding in the past to get good results. No one wants to see any abuse of any animals , so a RAISED ARM and the threat of 'Pain' to the animal is Just NOT acceptable this century. Hence as I mentioned several drivers retired and some Jockeys (jockey vigour and style) retired to history as well. Dittman, Jim Cassidy and Shane Dye rode lots with vigour, but now the more 'Eloquent" Jamie KAH and Nat Rasmussen are shining the light for their sports , horses, and results. !!! (and of course the Ladies !!!)

Oh Ok I see ... yeah that whip thing been around a long time. Some people pay for it (a good whipping).....lol. I break horses in with a long whip , very useful tool. Horses are sort of used to it from the get-go. I think abuse is almost zero as far as I have seen, in Harness racing. and even thoroughbred racing. People love these horses !! Basil should be assured of that. They are treated and groomed better than the stable people mostly. ...

Yeah I know, you need 'some' rules. I just see the 'Conflict of interest' by Stipes too much unfortunately. i.e want you to achieve best possible finishing position, BUT penalise you If you TRY TOO HARD. What I am saying is IMO Tim Williams and Sam Ottley in the race where they got suspended WERE NOT particularly vigourous at all , and being a GROUP 1 ,, well ,,,,aren't you doing everything you can to win it . Rare Chance indeed At Rangiora this Sunday , some drivers will be coming up the home straight ,looking like they are Nursing a BABY !!and putting it down to sleep. ............... Fine by me. (I won't be backing them) But a Group 1 , wow, I reckon you just go for it !!!! (ask Michael Walker) Basil called Mangos Thick to lead this thread. A little unfair assertion I felt. I Think ,Mangos must of been trying too hard . (conflict of interest ?)

Well Basil, the Northern stewards did 'React" for you and suspended Tim Williams AND Sam Ottley in the GROUP 1 Cadueus Club 3 year old classic on December 11 at Alex park. Horse shit decision as 2 'senior'drivers fighting out a GROUP 1 , and they are Penalised ??? A chance for the miracle of someone staving off the ALLstars in a GROUP 1. and the dumbass stewards step in with crap rules. ..... Should of thrown the Kitchen Sink at it Sam !! (La Rosa) as might of got the 60k first prize, and got suspended anyway.

Hey ! that looks like Jacinda dealing with Brodie !! (or the other way around ...lol) Could be Karrots helping the Chief deal with BOAY Dissinters !! watch out Gammalite !! yikes.!

Harewood is definitely Hannibal the 'Master tactician'. leader of the team and on Scoreboard. Roman is 'smooth talking , suave' Peck. Karrots is the 'Master At Arms " BA Baracus..... with lots of jewellery !! lol..... Leaving Gammalite as the "Howling MAD " Murdock in need of a good psychiatric Hospital !! hehehe (but good at flying choppers) hehehe

Hi Karrots, you are "on the boil' and ready to go already with selections In. !!! super organised like Jacinda ! Shame you have 4 trots on the card to make it harder, more gallopers than Flemington. but reckon after your dazzling display at Auckland selections (Beating the Experts) we could Get a job with the media .... heheheh ...when we give them a Pummeling again !!! lol.....

Not bad at all Mikey. I would grab that Number 1 Auckland Cup winner on the list (and Number 3 on list as back-up and maybe The NZ CUP winner) and zip over to Victoria for 2 months and win $ 1/2 mill. !!!

For your helmet Hunter ? maybe "Bloss with the Goss" emblem for you. and Labour Party great big 'L" for Brodie

Better RP under your name or on your silks, than R.I.P anyways! lol...

Whip driving is such an Interesting topic. !!! All punters want to see some 'effort' to get their 'Bets" home first. Mangos has been around for Donkey years , sometimes it is hard not to be tempted to 'Chase' harder ?? with whip. The horse Gammalite had 90 wins (15 Group1's) a record. without Hard Whip driving , might of won 10 races (no group1's) and been battling with Spitfire on the Nelson circuit. ........lol. In the 90's as the whip rules changed in QLD , Many , many drivers retired (including myself) as just couldn't change to a 'wrist flicking motion" if that is the requirement. DixonSnr, Thomas , McMullenSnr, Belford, Dickson, Nieman winnners of thousands of races ALL GONE in the 90's. The Stewards LITERALLY came down the stable area after races , Looking for welts on the Horses Bums !!!!!!!!!!! I swear that's true !!! many fines and suspensions then. So NOT JUST NOWADAYS has the whip been a Problem?. NOWADAYS , no BIG men left, just fine jockey size Boys and girls , that just let them run. NO pulling horses these days......

Colours for Brodie !! since you can't get a bet on and maybe should RACE a Horse instead !! ROYAL BLUE with a big Bat Logo on. BAT is TAB spelt backwards lol , since you think they are going backwards... I think royal Blue is your TAB colour? it's green in QLD

Thanks Chief, looks quite interesting and complicated !!! And to think I used to just rub AloeVEra tonic on the tendons each day ..... hahaha

What is this Blood spinning thing you and Hunter are always on about? I only have heard it here on BOAY , It must be legal ? Does it help the horses go faster for longer maybe? Why aren't all the trainers using it then if that's the case? Don't they want to keep up ? Sundee's Son trotting pretty quick, maybe could he be blood spinning. Afterall, Notice the Dunn's one of the only opponents using those UGLY nasal strips slapped on their face. yuck !! (make all these beautiful horses look so bloody ugly IMO ) Trying to keep up with the technology.

Actually Isn't that very tough on NZ trainers if they have to hand in the Training Licence if away from the horses for a time. Seems Like being suspended or disqualified. What if they , EXAMPLE wanted to drive around Australia for a couple of months like a tourist, could they keep Training licence while PHONING IN to the foreman ?? A time frame involved ? Chris Waller has 'permanent ' stable here in Queensland , and probably doesn't see some of the horses he 'trains' live for months. (computer training) quite happy to collect the training fees of the clients using his NAME. Seems very unfair for the harness folk to me. (Who actually must be forced to do the Hands On work) to keep their licence like Mark , Nat and Cran. compared to 'How many barns can I have? Waller.'

Cran has been INVISIBLE at the trots for quite a while now. So he's just been to doctors actually. But the Doctor said "Sorry ,I Can't see you now " !!

Family support mate, Family support . the dads /relatives are VERY experienced and know what to feed , how to work-up , how to treat, shoe, race the whole lot ......etc. Anthony Butt for example good driver , but having Derek Jones NZMM as Grand-dad gave him a Wealth of Knowledge on Training. Therefore , he and Tim have been very successful. (as trainers) ALL IN THE FAMILIES mate. Roy was pretty good to say the least , before Barry and Mark came along.

I believe Tony Herlihy (and Suzanne Purdon) son went to Canada years ago too. Wouldn't it be great for Him, Dextor Dunn and Ross Wolfenden to return and run Professional stables in NZ!!! Just Their FANTASTIC NZ Harness NAMES alone would attract clients !! such an opportunity now to win BIG races without ALLStars in picture. They could run Syndicate horses for JOE PUBLIC and everyone could get some Fun and Glory !!.

As Mark Purdon takes a break after the big Auckland Cup win , was looking at whether he was the best I have seen driving NZ. Perhaps not. Gammalite had quite a few NZ visits and as well as Interdominion and an Auckland Cup victories often had to take on 'WOLFIE" or watch his magic on many occasions. Mark P has the distinct advantage of nearly always driving own trained horses. Wolfie did with Cardigan Bay as well. Tony Herlihy MNZM was killing the junior ranks early 80's and setting records , but I remember Wolfie jumping on horses in big races and lttle races for Trainers Big (Roy P) and small (armalight trainer) and just winning ! ALL (most who could anyway) trainers would give him the reins whenever possible, Even horses he didn't usually drive, and get a GREAT RUN for that booking.!! e.g Wonder if anyone remembers some of those SCOTCH TAR freakish wins?, ENTERPRISE romp in Auckland Cup, HILARIOUS GUEST beating quality field in Messenger. RONDEL interdominion? Wonder why his sons Glenn and Ross didn't continue after setting up? injury maybe ?

No motive. just people saying what they think and hopefully 'Having fun" . bit of stirring involved. Can't understand HAPPY SUNRISE (an exceptional poster) leaving because of an ID crisis with Noodlum. JJ is naggy like an old housewife about that too. BUT why ????? no one else is declaring identity. AND Shouldn't !! MUCH MUCH better to be anonymous as saves on personal 'Attacks" , e.g on the Dog chat they got 'very Nasty once they established ID's of posters, and destroyed the Chat. FAR FAR FAR better to enjoy the good times !! (great racing) and fun chat with some smart learned Anonymous folk. BUT they should APPRECIATE THEIR CHAMPIONS more !!! hahahahahah