TAB For Ever

Maybe Chief you not noticing how bitter and angry you are getting toward me and your continued reference to the Messara report which myself and most level -headed students and participants of the NZ racing scene thought was very much needed . Too much personal interest , conflicted interests and lack of collaboration and escalating Admin had basically 'bankrupted' NZ racing. NZ racing was bankrupt , could not pay its bills .....insolvent. The Messara report ,tho not perfect , told a lot home-truths and made suggestions to get things back on track ,for a while at least cos the two main pillars of NZ Racing ,the owners and the punter could still enjoy their interests in racing over the ditch ....in fact punters were much better off betting into bigger pools with bigger divis and more races were beamed in to their dining rooms by the week. The main take out of the Messara report other than confirming that NZ racing was unsustainable in its current format .....it couldn't pay its bills and with owners returns around 25% that unlikely to be tolerated much longer....was that NZ's infrastructure was also on its last legs particularly with the actual track surfaces were stuffed . He said there was NOT one decent track surface in NZ..........and hasn't that proved correct as poor preparation ,maintenance and upgrading failures had proven Messara 100% correct. Add the worsening weather patterns , and stricter H & S protocols has made this even more profound. Other infrastructure , like buildings , accessories ,facilities etc were also below minimum levels ...........tho Racing largely now a TV sport still has many meetings where crowds are expected ,encouraged and an important ingredient in the sports sustainability. Group Racedays , Iconic racedays and Holiday and some weekend meetings. The examples you give ....Westland ,Avondale ,Levin and Foxton are infantile examples of you trying to score points and show how clever you are.....one never proves their cleverness by denigrating another person.......there is nothing so common in life as unsuccessful men with talent ,the world is full of educated derelicts ! Westland , a cost accountant would note this as immaterial. Avondale ....the facilities fall way below minimum standards and as this weeks trials proved ,like most NZ tracks it turns to a bog in winter once the rain comes. And better suited as a housing and community facillity in a big sprawling city.A disgrace ! Levin ....for whatever reason hasn't held racedays for many years , but has good equity and holds monthly successful trials.Seems to stay current and could still become part of future. Foxton...trials centre also , apparently refused to upgrade facilities so self inflicted status. Could be part of future tho the location does have 'water table' issue so prone to flooding and you conveniently overlooked recent postponed trials there. Attitude is everything in life and a better attitude and more collaboration from some of these closed and red stickered clubs/courses would have seen a far better outcome.Some don't even support or work in with neighbours etc Messara could not have foreseen the ineptness of the Track upgrades that he triggered. Te Aroha , Hastings Awapuni , Pukekohe and the big one Ellerslie. And don't you all just love putting the boot into Ellerslie.Who would have known that they would experiment with a first ever 'new' version of the Strathayr track system then rushed into use before it even 'complete'.But potentially a great facility with financial viabilty and essential for NZ's racing . Can't wait for reopen...Yes ! So as I sit here waiting to watch some 'day' Rugby and Aussie racing [ alot on non-turf tracks] ......no regrets the NZ racing on winter bog tracks where they head for outside fence canned...I compare with the old days where Winter racing on bogs was largely miserable saved by the Iconic NZ jumpers and NZ harness was postponed for close to two months . My preferred code ,Harness races right thru the year now cos they have decent all-weather tracks but they let things deteriorate before they reacted. Sound familiar ? Harness needed a Messara years ago cos they unlikely to recover. OK in Canterbury where still part of DNA. Some posters ...the tight five and the Chief himself will bang on with the usual same ole same ole and personal insults but these are just my opinions from years of participating and personal opinion. I know many will disagree , thats OK. As an owner I an affected by these postponements and stuffups. I pay training bills and also travel to meetings. Its an expensive hobby .I have learned some lessons over the years other than the fact that nothing is as common as unsuccessful men wth talent. Racing is an expensive hobby , breeding even more so .....both horses and humans ! No more breeding for me ! After my latest dabble into jumping horses ,I probably wont do it again. NZ weather is getting worse in its extremes ,water more like to hang around ,travelling to winter meetings now largely a no-no ,I study forecasts tho fog an issue. Kiwis like jumpers..on TV....but not betting on them . I OK with my horses racing on the Synthetic. I chose my trainers in the horse-areas where good training facilities and minimum travel for them. Rugby about to kick off...and can't wait for Olympics. Rugby ,like racing has money problems too ,also largely a TV sport and too slow to change. Also perception issues . And used to be well run by Volunteers , or so we thought. Their surfaces improved. An outsider /RWC changed that. Thanks for reading !

The timely ,significant and much needed Messara report looked at the overall situation and made calls that should have been made decades ago. Couldn't allow for every eventuality but those where the overall infrastructure was not sustainable into the future missed the cut. Some survived for trials and jumpouts and cos of tenacity of locals. A few minor hitches along the way were always likely and it has given the industry watchdogs ,official and otherwise something to bang on about . Without the sideshow and aftermath of a few abandonments what else would there be to talk about ? Every one-horse town can't sustain a racetrack .

As in business ,sport , politics etc leaders will pick on the slightest crumb of 'good news' and try to make a meal out of it. Smoke and mirrors...accentuate the positive. As pointed out the recent new Friday night Harness hooplah was able to throw up a 2% increase...the emphasis on INCREASE. Drill down and it really was nothing and most likely a decline.....the alternative would be to say it was a slight decline but really we were expecting a much larger decrease. So a win ! Obviously employees and those close to action can't speak out against their leaders and the few journalists remaining have to stay onside and Club members etc largely 'sheep' who stay in the flock and follow on like good boy scouts ! We will all plunge over the cliff together !

Oh no...Hastings jumpouts planned for today are not going ahead ! But lucky 123 horses went around in Jumpouts at Levin on Tuesday ! Plenty of youngsters being educated !

Probably ...Riding Shotgun.......you're most welcome !

Of course Alexandra Park recently was upgraded back up to a 'Premier' track , presumably by Entain ,as HRNZ demoted it from this status last year and stuck them on many Thursdays ! It therefore in the immediate future will continue to run Group 1 and elite races...at night under the ribbon. In a recent "Campbells Comments' interview the ATC President was defiant saying ATC contribute a lot to their stakes and he expects a bigger handout from HRNZ cos NZMetro gets much significantly more for its Derby and Oaks races than the ATC. And he pointed out that Auckland region has the biggest sponsors ,the biggest breeders , the biggest and best this and the best that ...on historical results obviously Entain thinks it has the biggest potential. It certainly gone to a low base currently.

There are different motivations in play......most seasons there are a few chasing the Premiership and others have personal goals. eg LAllpress is chasing her 2000 wins milestone. Others making hay while the sun shines as careers sometimes can be short....and winning races enhances reputations which leads to more rides in the 'bigger' races. As per my concern about the fog around this week a friend was leaving Nelson for Gold Coast and it took them 3 days to get to Auckland. Nelson usually stores the planes overnight cos of Maintenance work but even the evening flights weren't flying in cos the schedules so messed up.

Clearly I won Chief....... I'd be happy you posting "TAB For Ever you are a winner " and sending the money to the Salvation Army. Not many participated .....clearly I was the best of a poor lot....the cream of the crap ! But that's not unusual on most of the threads on here. ! My Puke estimate will be close to the actual and even if you say ZERO raced , my lower estimate still an astute one ! Were you the Guy who ran the Oyster raffles around the Pubs of Dunedin a few decades ago........5 doz Bluff Oysters...sell the tickets ,have the draw ,announce the winner as the Chief Stipe then exit for the next Pub then repeat ,repeat etc !

Any riders flying from North to South had better allow a couple of days to get there as this week many Airports been closed for some time with Fog being a serious issue. And most unusual to see the fog hanging around till 2pm and later.

NZTR certainly proactive...with their excuses . One would guess they possibly being moved from previous recent use and no 'buffer' time allowed for to save a few bucks !

And another name emerged while asleep....Takings won a couple of races and had speed. It was named cos the Otago daily Times headlines the day after Annual A & P show was......Show gate takings up ! Add in Showgates 31 wins and the total wins were quite impressive. Of course that was in the days before Syndicates and expensive stallions and there were a lot of Owner/trainers of note. The Kurdistans ,Bellboroughs ,Gatekeepers ,Mellays etc produced some big winners and hardy horses !

Maybe you thinking of Show Keeper [fullbro to Showgate ]who won the Ashburton Cup fresh up ...2200m won by 5 l. My friend and flatmate who used to help out with the horses said he clocked the fastest 1000m gallop ever in his final gallop and Gordon said it could have won the Open sprint.A very good stayer Gordon engaged top apprentice Brent Thompson in Benson & Hedges and he got caught on fence till too late,...as favourite! You named Showgates 3 x foals above and the 2 x Honey Crepes won 10 races. Honey Crepe was a Dud. NZ Cup winner Middy [Messmate- Subtrist ] won about 20 races.A stallion who stripped his leg in Invercargill Cup. Sandy [Afghanistan- Subtrist] was a brilliant chestnut who got caught in fence,He could have been special too. Other nice winners were Minglow [Mum of Showgate who won first start at two then later open sprint at Trentham], Minglow also produced promising horses Going Some and Troilus , both ill-fated. Rose Gate[ Subtrist] won 4 or 5 bled and died in a race at Riccarton. Take Your Leave and Boy from Dundee were other good winners .A earlier good mare before Gatekeeper was Swan Queen and her foal Afghan Queen[Afghanistan] was a useful winner. A good winner early on was Cobble [The Cobbler] a fast grey filly who won a few at 2 and was 3rd in NZ Oaks .....he raced in yellow and white colours when GBT owned horses in partnership with a feed merchant Reeve .Cobble was a shy breeder with a cyst in oven but was served every year and eventually got a colt by Gatekeeper. Gordon never sold his horses but he gave the 4 yr old called Sports Gate to the farrier and wife [ BHarland] and they may have won a race and bred a couple to him.He may have given away Take Your Leave as well.He got embarrassed if his horses misbehaved at races ! In the early daysGordon trained at Wylies Crossing close to Mosgiel and he had an open handicapper called Woodcock.Prior to that he had a horse Master David who won as a jumper .He then bought the original Wingatui racecourse called Mosgiel Park. His horses were rarely boxed and in paddocks the size of Rugby field. Other winners he had were Double Gate , Rustic Gate,Big Ben and Tarata. The smart thing Gordon did was in late 50's he bought two nice yearlings at Trentham sale.He was a prolific reader of bloodlines and loved the Eulogy Family. His two yearlings were Minglow and Subtrist ,the latter a daughter of NZ Oaks winner Sublime. Il Tempo was also from that family.I think Gatekeeper was bought quite cheaply after only racing a few times.He had a sunken back so not a stunner but related to twice Melbourne Cup winner Rain Lover !. Minglow was a prolific breeder but her early two My Glow[ My Pal] and Desert Glow [Afghanistan] had blemishes and non-winners . I think I cover 10 who won at lest 5 x races ,all from memory so maybe a few more. But wait theres more ....Gates Ajar was a fast horse who won several races . Enjoy the read !

Agreed. But any theories how an ordinary Owner/trainer with his own ideas on training ,feeding , old-time remedies can produce other multi -winners. I can probably think of at least 10 of his other horses who won 5 races and 3 of those 10 races or more !

Gee dirt and clay tracks are hugely popular around the world , even in Australia !

Well Chief looks like I am the winner of your comp. Only 99 at Avondale today , somewhat disappointing but I guess $600 for a day out seen as a deterrent for many especially on the bog track...1min 20 plus for 1200m and 1.06 for 950 and heading to the outside fence not such a great guide for punters or CV for sale. And after a few scratchings tomorrow 85 should be bang on. I guess you will want to pay out early , and get in the post so the bikkies and any treats stay fresh. Post to ....Winner c/o Headquarters Restaurant , The Viaduct , Auckland Attention L. Molloy He's my Uncle !

Fair point...I used to dress up the plough before gallops with tractor and blades , break up the frost .. Back in the day there were few trials until they used for qualifying purposes . ShowGate never attended a trial...maybe the Kurdistan's Mellays ,Gatekeepers etc just sturdier ,

Very proactive lot at NZTR. Add up those racing tomorrow in North plus the popular jumpouts on this week and one wonders where all the horses are heading ! I still am intrigued why such an infatuation with trials ,other than to show some zip for a good sale overseas. Certainly more Yarns on here about the trials than any racechat !

You not starting to bully me as well are you mikeynz ? When I was there three weeks ago the place looked fantastic ! Have you ever attended a decent race day there ?

The menu for 2 yr olds in the South Island hasn't been too bad this year , often in past Northern horses have come down to boost the numbers. The Listed Champagne Stakes was worth $65 k prior , boosted to $80k this year in early May. Then there were maiden race options and trials leading into $35k race on 22 June at Riccarton . then this week 21 July $35k race at Oamaru ,into Cashmere Plate at Riccarton early August and another race two weeks on. A two year old I involved in from North is looking at coming down to take in one of these races .Southern footing often firmer than North in August !

The world is full of Educated Derelicts !

Be careful Doomed , the Chief been going into bat for Ruakaka lately. You are correct in saying that the Ruakaka fields at weekend were shocking particularly when the very good stakes are taken into consideration. They weren't a lot better last year either and only 25 horses in the first 4 x races on Saturday was dismal. Ruakaka with it's good footing in winter seems to be losing it's charm. Trainers like Ritchies ,Te Akau , Rogerson,Pike, Manning and Wallace usually take horses there while SCole,Clotworthy only took one each and the locals who often dominate CGibbs and Bradley just had 2 each. Geez ,there were only 7 races as well ! Of course the main road has been closed over the Brynderwins[sp] has been closed with a windy detour in its place ,tho open again recently. But it a fair trek from Waikato ! And Chief bemoans Ruakaka only got 7 x meetings next season ,that brings it back to what it was a few seasons back before disruptions gained it a couple tho they were 7 x race cards. And it still retains 5 x Saturdays which gives it great exposure ....between Aug and Sept 2024 and two in June /July 2025. In view of that its Turnover often disappoints ,and the mentioned ' Punting Comp' has been attracting up to 20 teams in recent years and will no doubt still be held. It largely competed for by various Bars and Clubs from around the region .The Club gets sizeable grants from their pokies ! The club does advertise ,but Northland a big area and Ruakaka quite a distance from anywhere. I used to attend the races there a bit and back in the day did a little job there on occasions. Overall the on-course tote is low but may improve this year ,as well as 5 x Saturdays they have their usual day in early January plus a new date for Xmas at the races 7 x days before Xmas Day.

Plenty of lessons from over the ditch Doomed , thats why we inevitably employ their folk for jobs in NZ and why when things got real desperate we defaulted to a guy called Messara to try and talk some sense into our clubs etc and maybe learn from their experience with a lot greater numbers of Clubs ,horses and participants in general. Plus racing is still in their DNA. Maybe not so in NZ where neighbouring clubs may not collaborate ,work together ,and generally have much time for each other possibly ! Maybe see them as competition and tho some may share use of equipment etc . Maybe see the demise of their neighbour as a chance to get some more racedays as opposed to putting on an outstanding day themselves and earning extra recognition that way. I have a friend in that Donald /Horsham/Warracknabeal region and he tells me how some 9 Clubs ,including Ararat and Murtoa also work together and share resources such as Administration and equipment etc and tho each club has a Board/Committee they come under an umbrella of Wimmera Racing Club with a Board etc. These 9 clubs hold over 30 x meetings a year. Of course some will say that RACE hasn't turned out so well and there are cetainly clubs in parts of NZ who operate as a Co-Op with common Administration. Of course economies of scale need to be taken into consideration and tho I dont have exact numbers on hand from memory I think Victoria racing twice the numbers of Nz. Victoria has 10,00 horses in training, 500 meetings on 69 tacks ( NZ has about 5600 horses ,287 meetins , 50 tracks. ) NSW has 12,000 horses in training ...nearly twice the breeders and owners that NZ has.. Messara tried to get some of these messages across ,but many doubters....as there had been for over 50 years. All spilt milk and hindsight now !

More memory bubbling to the surface... Meadowbanks trainer Gordon Morrison Stu Campbell scored several wins with Tricky Michelle and trained a usefil trotter Francis JayBee after Phil Williamson. Other trainers...Wayne Ferguson [Son of Letty], AGeorgeson ,RWilkie, AClyma, Harley, Fergus Mathieson, ACayford,BO'Connor A lot of hobby trainers !

Dunedin trainers or Trainers close to Forbury Park would be one of the smallest books printed. No mention above of Alan Clark [ The Fiery Ginga] who must have won over 50 races from Dunedin area .A lot of small time dabblers over the years.I see Eian Lamb mentioned ,who could forget the tiny Pat The Monkey. Other names from my memory from decades ago would be DSimpson, Hansen, KRobertson, Bill Cadogan[Mosgiel] and Viv Anngow [Car Dealer] and George Mills [ Butcher] .One of first females Letty Ferguson ,Paterson [Mosgiel] who trained his pacer Forest Gratten around the streets. Then the dude that trained good horse Meadowbank.Out at Wingatui Syd Brown from a galloping family had his own track and trained a few before sending his good ones to Tim Butt[ Foreal, Field Marshall]. He had a recent winner with Tony Herlihy ,Skipper. Shame the city of Dunedin and the Harness folk there let the Sport disappear.There were always horses trained nearby at Palmerston, Waikouaiti, Lawrence, Balclutha etc