Weasel

i thought i was the only one VC! She drives me nuts, to the extent that I wont watch the aftermath of Winx's races

We should all take a moment or two between now and Saturday afternoon to fully comprehend what we have witnessed over the last 4 years. For me, it doesn’t matter whether or not Winx bows out on a winning note – surely it would be a sensational loss – but more important is the recognition of her amazing deeds on the track and the inspiration she has given to thousands in the game who seek to be involved in any way with one as good as her. Strapper, foreman, trainer, jockey owner, breeder – crikey, even the person who foaled her down or the vet who fixed a problem, or a farrier who shod her, has a story to tell. The auctioneer who brought the hammer down and the under-bidder at the Queensland sale who missed out on her can dine out on the story for years. I regret that I didn’t see Winx in the flesh for any of her Group 1 wins. It’s like turning down the chance to see Phar Lap. I should have made the effort, for champions of the turf are inherently rare. I saw Kingston Town nearly 40 years ago - up close and personal at Mooney Valley and Flemington – and remember thinking that I would never see a better racehorse. He was magnificent -and he knew it. Winx is better. I recall the champion USA mare Zenyatta – unbeaten going into her swansong , but losing by a small margin to Blame in her finale – and how Octagonal and Lonhro went under in the QE2 Stakes, when odds-on favourites. I hope like hell Winx kicks the opposition comfortably on Saturday to get the triumphant send-off she deserves. We all love fairytales. But even if she does goes down, she has earned her place as the best in the Southern Hemisphere, and perhaps the world, since Phar Lap. Better than Sunline and Might and Power and Bonecrusher and (probably) Tulloch. Comparisons from eras long past are fruitless anyway/ Over 40,000 people will be at Randwick on Saturday to witness and farewell the best racehorse of my lifetime thus far. It won't bother me if I never get to see anything better than Winx.

for his sake i hope you're right mate..what part of Ozzie are you in/from? I have recently realised I know flock all about my Awesome Foursome RockStar teamies! (which may be just the way you all like it!!)

you forgot J) Bowman falls off (like he did in a Group race last year) so unlikely that hopefully the 40K+ crowd and millions watching on TV see what we wanna see!

I like Cead Mile Feailte in R7 at Otaki today FO $7.50 in an 8 horse field. (If you dont know, the name is a Welsh greeting, means "One Hundred Thousand Welcomes" She will be race fit now and the field is average. She is a Tavistock mare, ran 4th two starts back at Trentham over 2400m, then no good in the St Leger. Dropping back to 2200m today so may give plenty of cheek from the ace draw. Dead 6 conditions no problem. Two previous runs at Otaki (unplaced) were over 1600m.

By 'unthinkable' do you mean she gets beaten ? Or she is scratched?

My small business sponsored a race a few years ago and Trevor was the winning owner. I found myself having to present the miniature framed picture of a Maiden in the provinces to the co-owner-trainer of Sunline! Trevor was all smiles and very graciously (and without the slightest offence) suggested I could keep the framed pic because it had my business's name on it! He always said Hi and had a catch-up whenever our little group met him at the races, win lose or draw. RIP, Trevor.

What a stark contrast it was ...Weigh In (NZ) and Thoroughbred Weekly (Oz) ...both shows reviewing the gallopers with emphasis on the feature races and personalities. I marked them TW 10/10; WI 2/10 TW: Energetic, concise, fast-moving. Insightful info from three very different but engaging personalities who clearly love what they do and know when and what to say, and how to say it. Great production values (eg edited content - i/vs with beaten jocks, etc) and Greg Radley is in a league of his own as the key continuity man, allowing the other two their 'heads' and taking control whenever needed. WI: Dull, sluggish, lacking warmth, energy or obvious enjoyment of what they're there for. Little or no presence, charisma or spark from any of the three presenters. Sheldon Murtha is monotonous, boring, tentative and clearly lacks the confidence/knowledge to be a Radley. Sadly, these two 'flagship TV shows are a mirror-image of the relative states of the industries: Oz progressive, confident, up tempo, aspirational and high-achieving. NZ weak, depressed and depressing, unhappy, low-achieving and lacking even a hopeful attitude. Come on, Trackside. LIFT YOUR GAME. Train your presenters to have poise and presence, do their homework and come on-air with smiles on their faces.

good money for 2nd v 3rd

brilliantly summarised ATA

the only thing that can beat her is herself.

Is it wildly foolish of me to hope that a Governance restructure (incl the departure of most of the current culpable Board, and CEO JA) will be included in the Plan going to Cabinet for sign-off before May? Why would Cameron George be announced as a new member of said Board if it will soon be gone - unless he is to lead the new entity?? Too clever by half?

I saw the Dean McKenzie segment and in complete frustration turned it off before the end...total waste of time - and that includes the questioning...Mick Guerin and Co need to learn to ASK ONE QUESTION AT A TIME, preferably a brief one! McKenzie spent a lot of time saying nothing of relevance - unless he thinks we need to be told again what we already know (eg the background to MAC and its terms of reference). Our job is o "make operational the recommendations of the Messara Report..." (For goodness's sake, we knew that in December!!) It is little wonder that the real racing stalwarts and stakeholders i this country have had a gutsful of their 'leaders' and 'powers that be'. All we can do now is wait and see what, if anything, is in the May 2019 Budget for horse racing based on the recommendations of Messara/MAC. My instinctive feeling is that, if there's Sweet F A (apart from a new track or three to appease the big breeders in the Waikato) you may as well give up on transformational change in NZ. What is needed NOW most urgently, IMO, is a plan to increase stakes to ALL owners.

same problem though C ..daily/nightly meetings involving the three codes makes it impossible to update form, print and distribute in the time available. I think a better way to do it is to establish a media organisation that includes PRINTED FORM for the weekend/premier/public holiday events and leave weekday form guide to online only. You cannot be all things to all people with such fast turnaround of fields.

TAB .pdf format in several options for all fields here and overseas

I guess my question was related to whether they made it hard for themselves by making it too expensive to buy each week in hard copy...and by limiting what you can read for free reduces the digital site traffic, making it less appealing to the advertisers (unless you have a high subscriber base, you cant make a good case to advertisers). I have seen a number of specialist publications close down as the digital age takes over..but it strikes me that high circulation and 'free to readers' content is most likely to succeed... racing as a specialist industry, though, is not print-friendly when there are daily updates/changes/new information becoming relevant. TI probably should have gone digital only long before now because of that ...but it is always easy to look a cow in the arse from behind. Perhaps that is still an option, though I can understand why current owner(s) have had a gutsful. They tried very hard for a long time in a tough market with little or no help from the governing body.

Can someone enlighten me on The Informant business model? I have always liked the publication but baulked at paying the price to subscribe I like hard copy and online access to relevant topical info. I used to get irritated at TI cos you could only read the first par of a handful of articles, having to pay for full access online. Many large and small publishers - probably all of them, really - have had to make a decision ...a free/cheap publication with high circulation/reach, or pay to read it edition by edition and/or annual subscription at a cheaper rate. Perhaps the biggest difficulty for TI was having the time needed to collate form updates, print and distribute nationwide when there are so many minor meetings weekdays/public holidays etc. Sad to see the demise of another independent publication.

and still the pointless comparisons go on ...ATA's comments were not comparing Anderton with Tiley..or anyone. Why can't you get that?He was suggesting the greater opportunities that would come for Campbell if he moved North. More meetings, more rides, more tuition, more winners, more exposure to more industry experts...none of this is in any way disrespecting a legendary Hall of Famer.

hero worship?? For goodness sake, ATA simply said ..and I quote him again ..Tiley or someone of that ilk...

like the countless pm's I receive telling me to "keep it up"... PLEASE NOTE, BOAYERS None of the pms to to which Thomass refers have been sent to him by me.

Lord help me... ATA simply mentioned in an early post: Get him up North with Nigel Tiley or someone of that ilk and the he could be ok. You've taken it as a slight on the South Island/Brian Anderton etc etc and therefore are missing the point. I dont give a toss if Corey hooks up with Tiley, O'Sullivan, Sharrocck, NGH or whoever ...THE POINT IS he's more likely to acquire the skills he needs to be successful if he moves north. The standard of riding in the South Island is known to be very poor right now and David Walsh can't be everywhere at once!

You are still missing the point ..and so the Mustelid shall give up at this point and point his snout in a more rewarding direction (anywhere will do).

Reefton, having read your various replies, it seems you are determined to see the Anderton / Tiley comparison as some kind of criticism of Anderton. It's not. ATA (and I, and others) simply are of the view that a move by Corey Campbell to the North Island and Tiley/NGH mentoring would be better than saying in the south. It doesn't matter how many Group 1s Tiley has trained. He has a superior record as a jockey; the Nth Is has more horses, meeting and opportunities for young jockeys, and the South needs more help from experienced senior jocks a la Walsh (who cant be everywhere at ones).

Maybe not, but you can certainly question the standard of riding in the South Island. It is very poor. A promising young rider would certainly be better off relocating to upper N Island for better opportunities, more meetings ..no aspersions cast on Mr Anderton or Mr Walsh, outstanding in their profession..

I don't think hat;s the key point, Reefton... the key point is location of the trainer/stable and related opportunities/contacts/meetings ...NGH could help him a lot I'd say, but not when he is based in the bowels of the deep South.