Gammalite

He could start favourite !!!! lol........ Only 2 of the runners in this race, have EVER run a place in a race anytime. wow!. number 4 Silent Shadow has 2 x 2nds in 40 starts, so like Av Spitfire , has had a lot of chances with that many starts?. so number 11 Santeria with 3 x 3rds is the only other runner to EVER PAY A DIVI in the race. Race 3 The Pick and Shovel Pace at Oamaru !!! someone is going to dig themselves out of the Hole .....lol

I think with the punting as regards to Allstars and the short priced favourites the TAB just pays the same percentages of the hold No Matter who wins anyway, so no big deal to them. Short priced favourites are a Good thing for the TAB (If they Win) as the 'Winning Punters' are bound to return with more Bets. TAB loves it. The blokes punting against Allstars , probably do their cash in (quickly too lol) and then pack the shits and don't bet anymore in those races? seems the feeling I see in threads here. (OMG whats wrong with that 'Forbury' bloke? ) Just not a good idea to try and Punt against ALLSTARS in a feature race , as mostly just wasting your money , so is easy to see what you are saying, and that the Punters (and especially opposition Owners) are glad to have a break from all that, with the change that is approaching at end of year. I tried it once with $200 win bet on 'ex-pat kiwi' Aussie Tiger Tara, who got downed by The Fixer in the NZ Cup 2018, 2 years ago. Swore black and Blue to never punt against them ever again. So yes , your races will be more 'Open" now. and maybe you'll have a punt or enjoy a different result. I actually won't punt in them , as I thought it was great having only a handful of chances (usually the Allstars) and now will be too hard to pick .......lol.

Alas, ALL the five points you have put here seem quite Correct Brodie. Awful though , as when a Champion (S) is off the scene for whatever reason , the quality and Public Interest decreases. I cried for a week when Vinnie shot himself, and the Knight Stable domination ended here, after his amazing accomplishments. (Plus the fact he had young daughters, etc) And I was in an opposition stable lol. Don't think Australian Harness racing was ever the same after that really and bottomed out after that. It has never recovered and is still very low on the radar of the everyday SportsFan. If the All Blacks took time off , rugby wouldn't quite be the same , even though they are so dominant in their field. everyone loves seeing a Champion go round (nearly everyone) Vinnie had distractors too , but then he didn't drive as well as Mark and Nat lol. NZ harness racing won't get Champions like Allstars ever again. A sad day come the 31st December.......

Very lucky to be 4th really . Would of been 5th with Mark getting a little room with Amazing Dream. Hard to understand why Nat and Tim didn't drift their drives outwards another metre or so turning for home?? Sure, John Dunn always going to get first chance up the sprint Lane, BUT Amazing Dream would of come Roaring through inside his stablemates as well , and been in the picture . ?? Where's the TEAM driving when you need it ?? hehehe

Well that was the one the Dunn camp wanted most. A group 1 with Sundees Son. No All stars in it to win another G1. Mark drove the Aussie trained trotter well though. At least we got one horse over there lol..... So , Everyones a winner today.! The All stars fans, The non-Allstars fans getting a G1 win. Great racing New Zealand !! Well Dunn !! er... Done

Westeros can add to that list of not so Flash . And he gets on there twice as well . Had a second chance after causing False start and couldn't/ wouldn't trot.

Good morning New Zealand, What a day to be enthusiastic about our great Sport !!! FFA/ Dominion Day, history of great racing, If you're bored you are half dead already. A lot of the threads show a lot of grizzling and criticism of all things harness, which is surprising as thought there must be some fans still in NZ, that enjoy their Champions of the Track ? Maybe you will fire up today? Well here's a chance for some cash for you as the FFA is a gift . (for the punters) to Reinvest a redback (do you call them that in NZ?) after the $10 straight pick Tri on Self Sssured, Spankem , Ashley Locaz CUP trifecta , netting over $800 (Thank you Mark, you are a legend) Looks like Spankem, Amazing Dream, then Ashley Locaz today ? How easy does it get? BTW 'Beyond Words" has a beautiful draw in the race prior doesn't he? Hope the starter can get him away safely.

Have a crack at it Happy Sunrise !!! You nearly won this race in your last NZ raceday start. Ricky May (red armbands) steering you to 5th in the NZ FFA in the best (closest finish) race I have ever seen. Nearly 6 in a row across the track , and the whole field in the photo. A Purdon horse winning (just like this year ) with AGH on Luxary Liner pipping the Cup winner My Lightning Blue (in the centre there with lugging pole), right on the line unfortunately.

Wow , no wonder the kiwis do well over here. 1.54 early 90's? that's way too good and fast. Now 1.51 ? Is that Addington ? ALBION PARK here quite quick and does 1 mile to 2100m races. Have looked up Nov 2000, 2010, and 2020. here's the times for the race card. Nov 2000 = 2.01.5, 1.58.9, 1.59.6, 2.02, 1.59.6, 2.01, 1.57.4, and 1.58.8 Nov 2010 = 1.56.4, 1.59.3, 1.57.9, 1.55.2, 2.00, 1.58.4, 1.57.2, 1.59.4 Nov 2020 = last Sat night 1.55.7, 1.54.1, 1.54.3, 1.54.4, 1.55.6, 1.55.9, (1.54.7 COLT THIRTY ONE) and ........ 1.53.3 from horse ONE CHANGE from NZ, unbelievably fast good horse, now 5 from 5 in Australia !!! you kiwis sure know how to make a good fast horse, that's for sure!!!!! so a 6 second progression in 20 years here. Year 2000 horses would be beaten 60-70m in 2020.

Mate , the only times that count are the races. Nearly all between a mile and 2 miles in distance. You miss the point as we are talking about those race times. A horse sprinting out of the mobile a 12. whatever second, furlong means nothing to nobody. yes I see you are trying to say that is the speed thing you are talking about. very good Winning times is the best guide to show the evolution from last century to this. And Agreed , Chokin very worthy competitor for this century. Too far ahead of his time? 3. 55.2 for the Cup this week ! Amazing!. That starter did a good job?

Ugly looking things those Cane Toads are too. Ashley Locaz ran a 1.51 over here in Brissy recently. Don't remember seeing anything near that time being run in NZ last century. They're going 25 point something quarters , sometimes these days. crazy He appears to be only third best there? But do throw him in the Trifecta tomorrow in the FFA . he's pretty quick. Spankem too quick ? Easy trifecta like the Cup for Allstars? Let's hope the starter doesn't stuff it up again !!! (or Did He?)

Spankem 1.47.7 in the Miracle Mile last year. Weee bit faster than last century pacers. Yes Chokin a true champion and won a NZ Cup to celebrate this great time of year in NZ harness racing (won the FFA as well on tomorrow) , what a ripper he was, 2 miracle miles as well in 2.00 and 1.56.2 Spankem by 50-100m possibly head to head?

3. 55. 2 for 2 miles yesterday. They're going Pretty fast these days... Noodlum and Lord Module would be way back up the track somewhere, and they were 2 of the best ones.

They went a lot slower last century. And you could use the Whip Way more to scare them on. Lots of horses would clamp their arses down a bit and almost slow up if you hit them too hard with the whip driving. Now banned. So it's all about the noise that makes your moderate runners stick on a bit. NZ drivers way better than Aus ones . Vinny Knight and Jimmy O gave some of their drives a terrible flogging, (but got results!! Whip and Noise combined! lol ) Makes me tired just watching Jimmy O win the Christchurch Interdominion with Lightning Blue. Phew....... Deafeners/ hoods etc have made better racing than Whip driving ? Is a Better look anyway ...........

They do make them run Faster than they Would without them though. Not as many horses are keen to run flat out to their absolute Maximum as you think. Train them to relax when on a helmet (drop the bit to conserve energy) and when you pull off their back at the 1/4 or whereever , you pull the plugs and bellow and roar , and storm to Victory !!

Absolutely!! . Noise is your friend out there. These days you can't use the whip much so its all about Noise. You are scaring the horse to victory. Drivers used to whack the dust-sheet, the wheel disc, the running rail even, to make as much noise as possible to make them 'run-on' Pulling the ear-plugs initiates that moment , and the horse responds more often than not (for a few metres anyway lol ) BTW , jockeys are louder than ever, screaming at their mounts up the straight. Scare to them to run faster. Not allowed to use the whip like before to make the noise. You can hear Damien Oliver from the grandstand . He is very loud......lol.

Hence the trouble you are having with all the starts you guys are complaining about......... The horse is the greatest variable, once they start dancing around and cannon into your runner , even the best educated horse( immune to the radio and dogs barking , before the days of Deafeners??) can often be upset by another trying to sit in the sulky with you. I remember having to push others off me quite frequently while close togeather waiting for the tape to go. I think that photo just above from the Chief Stipe is just beautiful and looks like every horse had a chance to get away IMO, without being interferred with by others . (a real problem previously)

Granted the "run-up start" does seem to favour those running up the fastest, but the whole idea is to get the field away safely in every stand start race. As Galah says there are a LOT of Variables. The main one is the horses themselves. As a former race driver with a lot of stand experience, (rocklea that race every Sat in Bris was so small a mobile barrier couldn't be used) I Can Say this method is much more better than making them stand up to the tape for whatever length of time and then possibly get a fright and swing sideways when the tape is released. Horses are Very Anxious at this point as you might imagine, like they are when going into the barriers at the gallops. It only takes one to play up a bit to upset some others as well. Sometimes the driver can't avoid this and the starter has No Chance of predicting that. You guys must of seen that a few times. ? horses swing sideways taking out another runner, or blocking the second row. At some tracks the tape would thump the outside fence (NZ and/or Aus) and make a hell of noise and frighten the crap out of the outer drawn horses (even just the sight of it sometimes) and cause chaos. They could swing/ duck and dive in all directions. The 'run up start' looked great in avoiding all that stuff, I must say compared to what used to happen.

Looked up to see what went wrong and why Allstars have missed one. Seems in the trot FFA the current Interdominion Champion now trained not by Mark/Nat even though Mark drove it. Must have unsoundness issues maybe? Specialist trainer? So All stars were Three out of Three G1's technically Chief . Not a bad day at the Office. Enhance your Calm now in Aus and first start last weekend in Vic, was 5-1 ON, and ran 2nd.

Ashley Locaz is a pretty good horse mate, BUT under team driving instructions which is fair enough, 3 back along the pegs he went. Happens every galloping race where jocks are given instructions. If I was driving Ashley Locaz for you JJ if you were owner (in a different stable), I would hold the lead and say to Mark "Tough titties Mark , I'm gunna try and win this thing, you'll have to sit one-one behind Spankem when he comes round the field, and try your luck from there lol." Maybe I'd win the the race for you !!! (or NOT ,lol)

No nonsense JJ, In my races you worked for the lead. And worked hard too. or abused them lol. Gammalite left in the death most times. ( One great night at Auckland squeezed in behind Poppy though) Didn't see Spankem or Self Assured having ANY TROUBLE WHATSOEVER with the lead hand ups. Not many pull out from trailing the leader and go round to lead. (as Happy Sunrise predicted) TEAM driving at it's Very Best !! on full display for you !!. Did you not see it ? And good luck to them I say !!

Pull out the mobile then. an extra 400-500 runup might tire Marks horses a little more (or Not) Lord Module rearing up and giving them 50 was cool, Wouldn't of won either if Sunseeker didn't drop to the pegs (forgetting there was a couple of North Islanders there and wiping them out) so Cecil got in from 3 wide trip. lol. Gotta love that TEAM driving !!! beautiful .....

That is AMAZING . get much faster and they'll be competitive in the Melbourne Cup 2 miles lol. Self Assured had 4 starts winter 2019 in Brissy and mopped the floor with us. 4 wins. Ashley Locaz this past winter popped over to Brissy and had 2 wins (1.51 in one of them) and a second to Colt Thirty One , who is our best here (but hopeless in Auckland against the kiwis) managed to Fluke a half head win over Ashley Locaz one race. It's only a fluke if you beat Mark and/or Nat in a feature race these days !!!

Not average time though. Did he say 3.55 odd?? far out!!, would of lapped Gammalite, Poppy and Blue, lol

Just tuning in from QLD for the big race. What an easy Trifecta that was !!! $80 in QLD and HAPPY accurate as usual, with his prediction here also. Number 1 barn strikes again !! lol .... and again and again....