jess

No argument this was an idiot. Interesting though to hear the Police Summary of Facts which outlined his (idiot, drunken, disorderly) behavior in a very public area of the course before he decided to jump fences and go onto the track .... where were those members of the security staff hired for the day ... or the racecourse officials - or any other capable guardian in the vicinity? Don't get me wrong - this is one person's fault - and theirs alone. Just a shame no-one saw fit to intervene prior to the ultimate act ... Jess

Give me a flippin' break. Morphine contaminated hay? And morphine contaminated hay that no-one bothers to test before it's thrown to the cows? But then again - some ppl believed that tale spun about derby ponies hanging with the herd & swigging on da cobalt enriched H2O ... Some are not so green as cabbage looking ... or whatever that ole saying was ..... And here's another that may apply here - there's none so blind as those who will not see ... Greetings & kind regards one & all. J

Very good & well respected vet, Bill Stewart. And I believe his dad before him. There's some great technology about these days but I admire the likes of these guys who achieved so much with so little (as far as technical aids, I mean).

Spot on Freda. "doin' it all day, Ref". That "reinforcing the service" is AI by any other name. And those stud masters smugly chalking up 170 odd mares to their expensive horse are dancing on the head of a pin when they describe their practice.

Apologies - I posted that before I read the whole thread. My father used to tell us kids - "fools and bairns should never see a job half done". Clearly I didn't listen. And sadly I am no longer a bairn. Only leaves one option I guess .... 😜

Dr Bill Stewart by any chance MN?

You're right Huey. LL stable did go through a real soft patch - someone told me 100 starters without a winner but I have not researched that to check the accuracy. Anyway - I think the ship's been righted & having success again now - just as I'd expect of her. Again - I'd say some significant & various changes in that stable too - might have been some adjustments & accommodations to settle back into the rhythm. Also - for a long time she's had big numbers (& a diverse lot of horses of various abilities) - strike rate is not typically the stat she stars by - but nonetheless - she's won most races worth winning in NZ & I would never underestimate her ability.

Was in 2 minds whether to bother offering a contrary view but I will anyway. I imagine Anne more than most would wish she was having more success currently. And remember - she would not be alone there!! The others on the thread have all made relevant points. I doubt you could accurately say the former success was all due to Wayne - I am sure he brought his own particular talents to the training partnership but a lot more has changed than simply Anne now training solo: different location; different horses; different owners; different staff; different times. My other observation would be in the heady days I recall (Camacho, Elegant Emerald, Tit for Taat (5 Grp ones if I remember rightly) et al ) - Anne rode work too. And you'd go a way to find a better track rider in judging a horse by the way it feels under saddle. A very capable horsewoman I'd have thought & most would acknowledge, bloody hard working with it - I imagine her horses would be very well cared for (they certainly always look it). Those of us who are owners & have to choose a trainer exercise free will & that's where we can really express our "opinions" I guess. Someone raised Lisa L's patchy recent form - I'm sure she acknowledges this & isn't happy - but it sure doesn't have me consigning her to the scrap-heap or saying she's nil because that is most certainly wrong. As the saying goes - form is temporary - class is permanent. J.

Chief - cards on the table then - are you saying you actually swallowed (no pun intended) the infamous shared Cobalt trough defence from a while back?

What a lovely balance you folks have brought to the thread with your responses to the original post 🙏 Crossy - A bit harsh maybe? - either that or you are mates with Wayne and just taking the opportunity to have a crack at Anne .......

"..... and that your Honour, is the case for the defence" 😜😆

What do I want them to say? Well I guess they could always give the truth a go ..... 😜

Never said I was in favor of that Chief - please don't misinterpret my post. If you know of one, please feel free to quote me another example where this early on in the piece, such a quote has been made inviting an inference of innocence.... I am neither for nor against Te Akau. I am for fairness, transparency & a healthy industry. I do not begrudge Te Akau their success. However I find myself pondering the position if a sport/industry has a player in the game who is considered "too big to fail". What then? J.

Oh Freda ... please don't take me back to that vision of those poor elite 3y/o beauties - schlepping round in the ragwort pasture, trying not to set their beautifully shod & dainty feet in the cowpats ...locked behind the electric tape gazing at the green pasture beyond (but knowing in their hearts they're not bred to jump 😜) ... . forlornly following the silage wagon round when lunch is delivered ... trying to avoid those big Friesians who want to chew their silken tails ...and walking gingerly down the stony cow race to the waiting horse-truck on race-day morning It always makes me sad ....

Spot on Joe. 100%. Surely a bit premature to start exonerating the "accused"/dismissing the "evidence"?

Good for Lisa getting a gong. Certainly not trying to rain on that parade in any personal sense - she seems a very nice person & is as deserving as plenty of others on the list. But all in all the NY/QB honors thing leaves me cold. Too many ppl getting them on questionable merit. Just my opinion. John Key reintroduced the knighthoods - and why? - so he could land one for himself? I found that rather calculating and repugnant (& how very different from Helen Clark). And lots of people get them for just being good at their jobs. So what? If they're good at their jobs they're bound to be getting rewarded accordingly. Even sportspeople are a similar kettle of fish IMO. And politicians can seemingly get awards just for sticking around long enough .... (& having a crony who'll nominate them). I would rather they were the preserve of genuine acts of philanthropy, altruism and people who do really good and great things for others. And even saying that - not all philanthropy is created equal! I know of a man who had racing interests who got to be a Sir on that basis - & yes it's clear that he spent considerable money on charitable causes. But I always wondered when it came to this extremely wealthy man - if he had simply just paid his taxes in NZ (instead of utilizing offshore tax havens) - whether more money would have been reaped and more good done with it that way. Mind you - you don't get accolades and a knighthood for paying your tax do ya ..... I remember a lovely old woman who was a gardener. She used to strike cuttings of plants (perennials & so on) and grow them on & sell them from the driveway at her home. Now her house was a very modest affair and over the years, her hard work earned well into 6 figures (that is one helluva lot of little plants - as they used to be mostly $2 apiece!). I was in awe. It was clear she could've done with that money for herself & her husband - upgraded their home, had a nice holiday or whatever. But no - she went on for years giving every cent away (I can't recall the charity now but I think it might have been the local hospice). Now that is what I'm talking about. J.

No worries Chief - hopefully most people here won't let you down by being silly or libelous. How to fact check if not in media? Ensure one is well informed I guess & apply some common sense & intellect to the information gathered & the sources from which the info originates. The media is generally not high on my list as a port of call when it comes to determining the facts of any matter. Sound cynical? You bet! 😜

Mark & Huey - good points fellas. These CEO gigs (& those occupying them) have survived all the amalgamation malarkey nicely! - and are they really needed? I presume with such a lofty title the role is handsomely remunerated too ....? On the other hand, folks - & I'm no expert in matters of racing governance - but if AR was working an "unsustainable" 70hrs a week - perhaps we should employ TWO CEOs. Clearly there is a lot of very important work to do and so it looks like we actually need two very important people to do it. Chairman Paul Humphries is standing in currently. I understand he is a pretty busy businessman himself - besides his racing role/s - running a large construction company. And now he has taken on this role as relieving CEO. So based on AR's version - someone please get Mr Humphries a cape!

Chief - you have nothing to fear from me - you should know by now I operate here within appropriate boundaries - as have the others on this thread. And I have no idea what you have heard & class as "salacious gossip". Speaking for myself though & in relation to what I have "heard" - I have reason to believe a fact check could well find it more accurate than what I've read in the media. J.

Fair call Chief .... have to say though - there has been considerable restraint exhibited by the good & mature folks here at BOAY on this thread - even when taunted by reportage such as we see coming out now. Sometimes it's possible to feel one's own intelligence - however modest - is being a teeny bit insulted. There is no elephant in the room people. You may have noticed in the corner, an enormous grey leathery-hided mammal waving around a particularly long & flexible proboscis - he's currently on loan from the local zoo. But there is NO ELEPHANT.

Ha! I chuckled a little at the "technically" too .... and as for the second most wealthiest - again - had me pondering just how that "fact" was arrived at - and the grammar simply made me wince ....😜

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300203423/racing-boss-steps-down-citing-personal-reasons So here you go - here is the "real" story. Nothing to see here folks - and of course it is a vague variation on the other 2 trusty old chestnuts when it comes to explaining hasty or awkward exits: 1. Leaving position to spend more time with family 2. Leaving position to pursue other (unspecified) opportunities I'm a realist & have long since given up on the notion that the stakeholders anywhere, are told the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth. But then the mischief in me takes over and I start thinking - if we aren't (or can't) be utterly, transparently forthcoming with all the facts - let's dispense with the same old-same old boring script - & at least apply some creativity and imagination to these press releases. I am thinking more along these lines: 1. Leaving position after being attacked by a woolly mammoth (hitherto believed to be extinct) in the Palmerston North City Square - now hospitalized & doing well but expected to be a protracted recovery/rehabilitation required so relinquishing role. Hunt for woolly mammoth continues - please remain in your vehicles or indoors if visiting Palmerston North until otherwise advised. 2. Leaving position to attend a retreat in outer Mongolia (which specializes in achieving intensive weight-loss) in the hope of fulfilling a life-long dream to become a jockey. At 68 years of age & tipping the scales at a portly 120kg, s/he did not see any barriers to this new direction & s/he leaves with the full support of the committee (& as a token of the committee's appreciation - a gift of a one-way air ticket to Ulaanbaatar). 3. Leaving position after failing to turn up at work for a month - enquiries reveal s/he has likely been abducted by aliens. Updates to follow as they become available (a Givealittle page has been launched accepting donations so aliens can be contracted to remove several other individuals from the organization's executive team. Please give generously - aliens don't come cheap) Apologies. My imagination can run away with me sometimes. Getting back in my box now. Bye. J.

Greetings and a kind wish to you Freda! Yes I have been quiet - and it's been quiet round here on the odd occasions I've dropped in. Esp on the breeding forum - but in saying that - I could have tried to rev up some conversation by posting there (not that I've had a great deal of success in the past ...) - so in fairness, I must shoulder my share of the blame for a lack of traffic there 😛 I have been busy working (to support the tribe - and I don't mean the human tribe!) & playing with the ponies. Have new foals but not doing any breeding this year - I will miss the wee tackers come next spring but we all have our limits - mine being time & dollars. I always pay my bills before the due date (usually as soon as they arrive, really) & I will never get myself in a position where I can no longer do that. Even talking to providers I deal with - there are far too many racing people who leave a trail of bad debts. And I will never add to that list. Also - as much as I try to be optimistic (as you must, to survive in this game!) - I do hold grave fears for this industry. Getting back to the thread - without delving into the details - I do reflect here in NZ we do tend to get very starry-eyed & bowled over when someone from Aussie applies for one of our higher vacancies. We seem so flattered by them gracing us with their interest we appear to lose our minds & our ability to do due diligence and give good consideration to what we need & what we might be getting. I am sure you can think of examples of this. What is even more galling is the lack of accountability by those who appoint the "duds" - they seem to carry on their merry way, enjoying their fat salaries & corporate hospitality at premier race days. We are very slow learners. But then - how can you learn a lesson if you are never prepared to admit when you err? (when I look back, I've learned way more from my mistakes than the things I've done well - it hasn't always been fun making the mistakes but many of them have at least yielded some benefit & I definitely don't tend to repeat them!) Anyhow - summer is here. The hay paddocks are ready so just need the weather to play nice. Those conventionals seem just a wee bit heavier each year it seems - but I'm pretty sure that's more about me than the man who bales the hay! And what that reminds me, is that if we love our horses - keep doing it while we have the health to allow it. I probably won't be up to wrangling TBs when I'm an old duck so I'm doing it while I can. You know that saying - about the outside of the horse being good for the inside of the man (or woman)? That's the thing for me. They can be frustrating & they will break your heart sometimes - but I just love the bloody things. Much as I have incredulously asked the other half when he arrives home - how it can take so long to play a round of golf - he sometimes asks me how it can take that bloody long to feed half a dozen horses. But you see it's not the feeding - it's the hanging out with them - the smell of them - the feel of them - watching them in the paddock just being horses - breathing in the breath of a foal who is just learning to come up & trust you. All that stuff. Well back to the grindstone - work to do; mouths to feed. Happy days to you one & all. And personally - while it is not always PC these days to profess to have favorites - if the Chief Stipe was to issue an award for reasoned opinions, humility, intelligent discourse and humor - Freda - I've never met you in person, but you get my vote. Jess

Ahhh Mikie. Well that's where I went wrong - I only started with a very small fortune. And it's disappearing fast! best I breed a champion STAT!!! 😃

Ha Mikie! - nothing hallowed about my circles ... just another horse-lover who follows a bit of racing here 'n' there, breeds a few, races a few ... and will probably at some point retreat with an empty wallet & my tail between my legs 😜