Gammalite

yes that was the only race they broadcast here as it panned on the Sky channel . rest was just results only . what a turn up for the books too 😳 . Mark Purdon trailing the leader in a Group 1 and Not winning. Blanchards winner Beetastic paid $197 on the Queensland tote lol. Mark might be a fading star ? 😎😁 I thought the racing was very good tonight. Really can't see how Brodie thinks these quality horses and drivers are 'average' at Auckland. I enjoyed the replays just now, after enjoying the Brisbane Lions win tonight too at the MCG. very big for the town. NZ Cup winner Swayzee was way out at Parkes last night. That's like being in the middle of the Arabian desert in the middle of no-where lol. Now that is 'Average racing' out there lol🤣😂 what a comedown for a NZ Cup winner. don't know why they don't try and defend title ? I watched one local race and old Ray Green horse from years ago Northview Hustler won our Albion fast class FFA. he was chasing Vincent about 8 years ago 🤣. still going strong. Mark Purdon's Auckland Cup winning horse TURN IT UP just a shadow now of last year (when ran placed every start.) stopped to a walk tonight in that FFA as $2.00 fav. and seems he must be near washed up. rest of the racing was pretty 'Average' as Brodster would say lol 😄 so didn't watch it. Hope Auckland was successful in NZ and some people went along , so they can do more Saturday nights for entertainment.

The driving standard is very good these days , and they certainly have a crack more than they used too. I quite enjoyed Oamaru Hannon Memorial day last Sunday . some great racing . And you don't need Big fields either . they all get a chance when just 8 runners start. examples >> Blair Orange drove well to win the Juvenile Stakes with Rubira in a 8 horse field. Had to come from last because drew the outside gate. (John Dunn pushed 6 wide turning in lol in the small field, so shows even the good drivers have to stay sharp to win) And in the last race of the day Race 10 at Oamaru Blair Orange must of felt young again 😅 driving against 6 or 7 Junior drivers , and got outdriven in the end too. Was very entertaining for just moderate class horses , as the Juniors ALL had a great crack at winning it in a 8 horse field. KORBYN NEWMAN (who I have criticised at times so need to give credit where credit is due) , drove a 10/10 race to take Victory with Miki Bennett . They (all those juniors) all gave Blair quite a run for the money anyway . he ended up 3rd in that one.

some excellent points Tabman . All the blokes at my local tabs hardly ever bet trots . they just are used to the chances of their dollar going closer to winning betting on them , than the reputation and just the fact you're more likely to have something go drastically wrong in a harness race. (gallop) held up a long the inside , etc) so doesn't tickle their fancy to lose money like that. my guess is 90% of them not betting harness. is more of just an interest in racing than a money making pass-time. (a bit like racing your average horse as an owner really) As far as getting to Alexandra Park , they should race Every time Ellerslie does , and the club supply a Luxury coach to ferry as many patrons as possible across to the trots that could start an hour after the gallops are completed. two or 3 round trips if necessary. And have a nice mid-class bistro (affordable) for the patrons to enjoy dinner at the TROTS. would of lapped that up as a great Saturday out.

Absolutely . People like to sleep in on a Sunday so a night out on a Saturday night is a Much better idea. dime a dozen racing on Friday nights . Much better to have the good Metro Class horses standing out , like on a Saturday night as you suggest, and have the punters that Won at the gallops meetings during the day , ready to spend some of their winnings with some bets and a night out somewhere. brilliant for everyone 👍💰 Alexandra Park not far from Ellerslie for them to do it too. could capture new players/supporters. Average Racing comment is rubbish though. You have Mark Purdon racing , possibly in the top 6 Sportspeople of all time in NZ, and Merlin , who won the biggest prize races ever in NZ and beat the Aussies in the GRINS race , Sooner the Better (2nd in Oz biggest race the $mill Miracle Mile) , Duchess Megzit last week, top Auckland filly (who won a Group 1 at Addington in Dec at her last appearance there ) NZ leading trainers send horses round each week in Akld both Dunns and Telfers . Herlihy and Barry Purdon race every week. The quality is Very High indeed. just insults them to call them 'average Racing'. Who can you get there that is better ?? ( above average in your opinion )

Yeah , just usually quiet mid-week racing with not many there. 😂 Next week though they have their BIG night of the year, with the Kilmore Cup 🏆. There will be a Big crowd to see possibly last years winner ,(the Auckland Cup winning) BETTER ECLIPSE take his 2nd victory in the event. 3 years ago Anthony Butt won it for NZ and trainer Nathan Purdon with another Auckland Cup winner in the form of the great mare AMAZING DREAM.

Usually the heavy Mesh drag can deal with it quickly , and they can often get a smooth surface (to have it not like corrugated iron) even during a meeting after a downpour. but if the ruts go too deep after particularly heavy run off , you need the grader with a big blade that would take several hours. with follow up spreading/ sealing/ compacting and that. Kilmore transferred to another nearby track for that days racing, after the damage in photo. Like Alexandra Park should be ok tomorrow , they were good to go the next day again.

you can get those deep ruts with heavy run-off sometimes. Think it is on the home bend at Auckland tonight where the camber is steepest they got some. Kilmore had the same problem after a downpour.

some interesting points . Another of the 6 Stewart Grand final winners was NZ prepared as well HEZA PUNK ROCKER who won the first race last Sat impressively (for 4 yearold colts/geldings) had 5 starts in NZ last year for 2 wins, and has only run 3 starts in Australia. picked up $75k the other night. so nothing wrong with Nz conditioners either. Victorian trainers are as good as any other state?. they are plenty good chop lol 😁😅There's plenty of them including the Gaths, who won Interdominions with old Nz trotters like Tornado Valley and the Miracle Mile and Nullibor million recently with Catch A Wave. Jess Tubbs has Just Believe trotting brilliantly and in the Pacing division Bettor Eclipse was 2nd in the Interdominion then won your Auckland Cup . Excellent 10/10 trainers IMO. Emma Stewart of course using the talent of Tubbs partner Greg Sugars and Kate Gath to steer many of their runners when they can. Of course you can expect First class results. Just as ALLSTARS have achieved the amazing 2, 3 and 4 year old success in NZ over more than a decade, these Victorian results are achieved almost annually now by the Emma Stewart stable because they Directly Set a large number of horses for it (and the Breeder's Crown ) over the years , and is their prime focus. McMullen and Dixon dominate our annual TRIAD here Qld doing the same thing . and Win nearly all the 2, 3 and 4 yearold finals each year by Concentrating quite a few horses on it. Telfer is attempting to Group place many young horses there now , in both Islands , in these sort of races , and with Numbers, and Experience , they will get better at it as years go by. They're doing fairly reasonable already. good luck to em'. 🏆 they have some 'Normal People' owners as does the Emma Stewart Lot of horses, (and Dunns) instead of Multi millionaires like Mark Purdon, Barry Purdon, and Grimson and Grant Dixon that own most (nearly all) of their stables equine number. so always cheer on Emma Stewarts (and Telfers and Dunns) for sure !!! a lot of regular folk supporters/owners/staff they do look after and try and win for....... which is fantastiiic , and great to see them so competitive in Group racing.

HRNZ are trying to put races on for the few competitors that are left. At a nice horse area. Hobart on a small island nation like the North Island ran with 45 horses the other night. If they Don't HARNESS RACING will Cease to exist. as the few left wouldn't have any races. A job of the HRNZ is to provide racing for the people , not return a profit for Brodie and his harness and organiser Hating mates. you guys so used to hating on your government and the like , you couldn't run a chook raffle it seems. If they can't come up with The Mega Tiny amount of $45k to $50k stakemoney for a Mega Tiny meeting each week to support the trainers like Chilcott and the few others , then that is is pretty POOR IMO. one Saturday galloper gets earns that piddley amount for a win on it's own . surely you can't begrudge $45k being allocated to 6 winners each Week . surely not ? why is $45k so much important to Canterbury than Waikato ? the trainers there NEED RACES for their owners. CAN em'all like Dog meat ya reckon ? absolute disgrace reading that. An analogy would be = like an airline CEO saying "stuff the regional centres , we're not flying there. That costs us money " not enough people support it . Let's just have the money making CHch- Sydney run where there are more participants so we make money faster'. the rest of the people can GO JUMP In the sea and start swimming to get anywhere lol 🤣

The Vic-bred Finals are ALL run and Emma Stewart stable wins all the Pacing Finals ok. Quinellaed them all too. with a couple of First Fours at good odds to boot. Jackie Barker won 2 Finals at 14-1 (2 yearold Fillies) and 16-1 (3 year old Colts) odds and beaten a nose only in the (3 year old Fillies at 16-1 odds as well . would of won in 2 more strides. What a treble that would of been for her. Aaron Bain syndicate horses were 3 of them . so there were bucketloads of owners successful on the night too. with a small piece of some pie each.

hope you got to see the 3 year old trotting filly. race 2. That was sensational performance . KEAYANG ZAHARA . now won 6 from 6 and burst away with a Sprint that matches the Pacers. (after working around field too) then took a sit . She'll be the next Scotch Notch. The Lee family should book her on the plane now for Trotting Derby and Oaks at Addington as she looks better than Sunny's Sister (who won both last December) at same stage.

well Mantra Blue was impressive. AKLD . wonder why Zac not driving? must of got concession of some kind I spose?. seems a strange one on one of the best horses going. (potentially) and at Addington young NathanP going ok without dad's help it seems. I think they said Blair pops in to Rolleston a couple of times a week ?. to work the team. So they WON the 3 races tonight they had Pacers in ok . The ConArtist, Vessem, Mr Kaplan. the LUBY loopy trotter needs a trip the beach to run along with Dunn's trotters though 😂

hahaha. they're all good races. just watch most without a bet too. Funnily enough a lot of folk complain about the stable-mates helping each other a little , but I just love it. Is so hard on your own , but when there's a few of you , it can really help put the opponents to the sword, and is fascinating to watch. will be interesting how they deal with Duchess Megzit later. (I know what i'd do 😁🤣) those 2 trots we mentioned already the Dunn pair, and the McCaffrey pair were spot on. I'd Tip Mark Purdon anytime. He had one drive tonight and so it would be BEST BET. but he ran 2nd lol. in race 1 beaten by Matty White . (Mark just a shadow of former self 😋?) The trot field in race 6 has the whole field in great form !! a true credit to all the Trainers there. I'm gunna go BOLT FOR THE HILL. as since when has David Butcher on the back marker ever had a good trotter? can't remember any . so i'll go for the amazing SPEEDING SPUR colours of the Dickies. whatta a fantastic trotter he was 🏆 (winning the Great Southern Star one year)

fair comment. Just looking at the McCaffrey quinella with the young trotters at Auckland , they did it very well. young Emily did a fine job there Had to laugh at Phelan with the 2 favourites as he galloped and baulked his stable-mate the hot favourite 'Meant To Be' into a gallop as well. I Shouldn't laugh at others , but seriously ?. You couldn't possibly bet on some of these races on Friday feature nights. both Addington and Alexandra Park full of galloping horses . is looking like Riccarton and Ellerslie 😂

well that was 2 unplaced runners , that weren't even in contention of running a place. up the home straight. No one was unlucky anyway. no con there. What do you think about Race 2 Addington just now though? race 2 13th Sept Addington. was Frazzled driven out well by Harrison? , or was the more senior stable driver John getting the rub of the green and all the favours aboard Ya Rite Darl . 😆😋🍻

you need Sires Stakes racing. Victoria has about the same population as New Zealand 6mill odd, so probably about the same in People involved in harness racing too . The Sires Stakes are a real crown for the breeders , owners and Trainers so need to be supported. Mark Purdon winning the 3 year-old Sires 10 times in a row in Cup week I think , so is matching the Vic Emma Stewart barn with massive results. simply outstanding training. The Big Race used to be the NZ Cup and the Interdominion . They tried to throw money at the last Interdominion , with it being worth a million. But it was a flop . the format is too tough on the speed horses of today, and no Kiwi's turned up recent years. The one thing SYNonymous with harness racing too, was the Interdominion Championships. , Standing starts are a relic of the past too. Too many punters lose their money once these days on a bad start and are put off always thereafter. so The NZ CUP has even had a lot of criticism for this reason. Speaking of which the CUP- showday NZ FFA double also a thing of the past . Copy That and Swayzee not starting in the FFA after winning the Cup the past 3 years. 😳 . that's so poor. And Likewise the Nz FFA winner Self Assured (for the past 2 years) , didn't start in the Cup !! the near best horse in NZ ? who has won a NZ CUp years ago . not even bothering to start in it again ??😳 OMG That is quite Un-believable that could happen. It shows that a TOUGH 2 Mile race like that Cup race is not in the best interests of the horse either these days? . and they don't even get a bloody handicap and can start off the front every year they compete too. 🙄. incredible. So the scheduling needs a serious tweek? . ( a week between the Cup and FFA is my advice)

go watch some of the Olympics replays then. or soccer. Plenty of different sports with matches on all the time. some may extract a yawn though so take care. Harness racing races some of the most Exciting sights as far as competition in any sport goes on the planet, I watch harness racing because it is short bursts of action of some of the most Skilled horsemen (and women) , that we can watch each week. Plus I love animals as worked with them 30 years half my like exactly and it gives you real passion/compassion. Is very sad the beautiful sport is going so backwards in NZ ,. Or not enjoying Cambridge racing or mile racing, or slot racing or .. or .... no one seems to like anything anymore. sign of the times I spose , and the death of harness racing. I can't say how extremely highly, I admire and exalt the accomplishments of Allstars in recent years, and also Luke McCarthy and Emma Stewart , and Grant Dixon too after decades of hard 'Toil' . fantastic stuff. I'm still sceptacle about the rise of trainer GRIMSON and him taking the NZ Cup last year. 😂 the Queenslander (who went to the GRIN race at Cambridge) f..ked him up in the Group 1 Len Smith mile at Menangle last Sat when he had 4 runners in that , including the great NZ mare Aaardie's Express (who ended up out the back) nothing BORING in that race anyway 🤣 was action stations for top drivers Cam Hart and Callaghan lol. great stuff !!!! WINX used to be a very poor 'Betting' spectacle for years. but galloping folk didn't start yawning so that helped keep that sports HIGH Profile anyway. A true Privilage to see these great races in Aus and NZ (USA is too far away to get support)

The semi's are completed in the VicBred series. last Saturday at Melton the 12 semi's were run and Won for the 2 , 3 and 4 year olds with Fillies and colts divisions . you had to run in the 'First SIX' in the 12 horse fields to qualify for the BIG Finals. Emma Stewart Barn qualified 34 of their 39 Semi-Finalists . A staggering achievement really😳. They won 9 of the 12 Semi's run . beaten a head and a neck in 2 other semi's. The last race of the evening they didn't have one in 😅. (the mare that would of been in that one ran in the Eureka in Sydney instead.) finishing with 6 quinella's and 3 trifecta's.🏆 will they (Stewart barn) win All SIX of the Rich Grand Finals ?? some of the best training feats ever seen on the planet. a lot of the rivals are No Slugs . this is Group Level racing . just amazing.

Re: comment on the team driving you mention. Emma uses a variety of top drivers all the time , who are rivals when driving every other race. They just do the job for the stable as any Top Nz stable with multiple runners would do in a Big races with 4-5 runners in it or similar. Allstars used to use Orange, Williams, Cox and that in a similar manner in the NZ Sires Stakes racing , Derbies and that with 5 runners engaged. those races Very similar to what you are mentioning. just good strategy really. And yes you are right. From the PUnter's Point of View you mentioned . there is chaos. You wouldn't even Consider Betting anything on ANY of the ''Non Team runners in these sort of races . I actually find this exciting as half the field is eliminated as a chance straight up ! 😎 if you have Multiple Allstars or Emma Stewart runners. and my chances of collecting on my bets are way higher. example: Dunn's have just resumed racing a Lot of mid class horses there. 6 runners in the race. The Maurice Holmes Vase and New Brighton Cup were on recent weeks , and Immeadiately you know they will be the main chance as with several runners 'Not Knocking each other around" you must be a huge chance of them winning. I backed Dalton Shard both times (mainly because I know one of the owners who is a top bloke, and his horse is now Qualified for NZ Cup 🏆 !! fantastic) . would love to see that horse win it , but it won't.. A lot of folk betting took Charlie Brown in those 2 races at Addington recently ( cause John driving it ) but with several runners engaged he has other options (Trainer RobertD does anyway) and they did it well.

The TAB Eureka is run and Won. The leading stables in the country to the fore, with Luke McCarthy training and driving the winner as I predicted. He had jumped onto DON HUGO . an impressive winner. and picks up a cool $million dollars in less than 2 minutes ! great stuff. helps Harness racing Live on ! Stable-mate EYE KEEP SMILING (driven well by Sugars) running a solid 5th. The Emma Stewart trained runners finishing 2nd and 3rd and 6th . A mighty return. a fabulous training efforts . (Adding on to training the winner last year Encipher that beat LEAP TO FAME at 25-1 odds) a great training effort when not in home state. and finally a quick shout out to Queenslands best as well , Pete McMullen a close up 4th at the end of the Eureka with Wisper A Secret. picks up 100k and gave it a great shake for a minute. Congrats to the Champions of Eureka 2024 Don Hugo and Luke McCarthy .

you are pretty accurate with this i'm thinking. the boots are a protective aid in case there is an incident where the horse is caused to gallop or any sort of race incident occurs they've got some leg protection . esp for their tendons which are quite exposed at the back there. only a very few tap a knee boot these days. I think 2 of NZ's best pacers are out with tendon injury actually in AKUTA and MILLWOOD NIKE. possibly a loose shoe doing the damage with them. The poles are an interesting Apparatus. Most horses run straight without a pole . I remember it being used more as a ''concentration thing' at one stage. Gammalite in my avatar picture there has one on and Lightning Blue always wore won as well. The 2 horses winning 3 Interdominion Finals and a NZ CUP between them. They had a Burr strip wrapped around the Lugging pole midshaft , Lightning Blue also had a bit burr on the side of his head as well. Grant here put one on his stallion Colt Thirty One as well . who won about 50 races at Albion and contested the 2019 Interdominion at Alexandra Park . going the wrong way round with his pole there lol. made him struggle a bit to adapt. How they worked was , when the going got tough in a race and you were reining them up , or running the burr through mouth or anything like that , in the closing stages the burrs would sort of aggravate the horse slightly (like the whip does) by rubbing against them to keep these stallions 'mind on the task at hand' and almost sort of annoyed , if you like . Just like a person they go 'Harder' at it, when angry (aggravated/agitated) . just like with what whip use does with them. therefore are more likely to be closer to the Win than not .

That open trot was quite a funny watch tonight. The ORDEAL Cup race 5. They sure love a lugging pole on their open class trottersin NZ . 8 of the runners had a near side lugging pole on ! quite extraordinary . I've never seen so many in one race. You could see them all clearly with the great camera work as they zoom in on each runner going down the back straight the last time. The cameraman does wonderful work with those images on all the South Island tracks. including the large grass ones. first class vision. Amazingly the only horse in the top 8 with out a lugging pole as they thundered down the back straight was the favourite Mighty Logan. The horse that really needed one too 😁, as it ran off on the first corner and put 2 rivals out of the race lol. just so much Irony !!!

yes that was a very 'unusual circumstance. An 'officiating Steward was warned off for life 😂, for being in the know of what horses to swab (and which ones Not to, at country NSW meets ) Cameron a very good driver at the time from quite a famous family. they had a rare grey horse called LOMBO POCKET WATCH that won millions about 15 years ago. think it set near the Australian record for consecutive wins . Wonder if they were swabbing it ? 😋 (tongue in cheek). Blake Fitzpatrick still been going at Menangle many years now and a 'trotter' specialist mainly, They're a bit like the Williamson Family over there with their exploits and success. Greg Bennett was like Blair Orange , the states leading reinsman. He must of done more devious things to not be relicensed after serving his time I spose. I thought it was 7 years he got around 2013, so must be having trouble getting back in as you say. Hey ! as a Bird lover Mr Galah, you would love the beautiful Kookies that come round here each morning . They perch up on an aerial (here's my neighbours just now at 6am) and let rip with some great song. There was 2 pairs of Kookaburras for a long time, but one got hit by a car during a low swoop near the near-by bushland in June. I took his body off the road (wasn't me that hit it , I was just going past and saw him ) and then I burst out crying for some reason. was just such a sad moment 😭. Cars do so much damage too wild life around Australia (and no doubt NZ as well) it's just sickening. Anyway 2 months on from that, the one who lost his mate is still hanging around with the other couple for company. the song is down one beat , but the 3 sure make a Big Noise still. fantastic.

probably with noting that 3 races earlier , DENIFOSTOVA also drew the outside barrier on a Telfer runner in the Junior drivers race. Driving Medina Magic. Again had to drop back to the rear and DID try and mount a run from the rear out wide on the final bend. Sort of lost some ground as they straightened and was still last at that point . Balanced up and came home well for 4th in the 9 horse field. was quite a margin from winning (4 lengths+) so she would of been taking that all into consideration by the time the last race (the race in question . no one is criticising that effort. finishing about same distance from winner. Perhaps she thought she would try something different the 2nd time round to try and get closer ?Can't blame her really . and the outside Barrier is always a' Pig of thing' to Get anytime. and Denifostova had to do it twice in one night , the poor thing.

It's the richest race in the world for harness racing. so I do realize without NZ involvement the interest would be weak . but ever hopeful, tried to stir a tiny interest for harness racing fans. a bit like ignoring the Cox plate if you're a racing fans lol. The Nz slot race is Better ! the race by Grins getting great runners from our 2 countries and not restricted to 3 and 4 year olds like the Eureka. Just Believe winning the Slot trot and Rowe Cup double. and the last 2 Interdominions. seems strange to Not have top notch NZ trotters after decades of dominance. 'Sundee's Son' and 'Muscle Mountain' Not going to Australia to race did a bit of damage. the 'Aura' is gone. and now the Aussie Pacers are taking over. Grimson with the last NZ Cup win, Sugars won the Auckland Cup , Dixon will win this years Cup with the Interdominion Champion. Not many Nz horses even good enough to tackle the Interdominion these days. the end of it's great history could be near. Slot races are easier money. Could be Years before Nz win aNZ Cup or Interdominion again? especially with the top of the tree Mark and Nat (Allstars) sort of scaled right back. NZ harness racing Feature races could be in real dire straits ?.