jess

I hear ya on that Centaur - I hate that too - yanking and sawing away on horses' mouths sometimes ... I read about the other rider with interest - I wasn't picking on the amateur - it just happened to be about the only race I watched today. And it gave me no pleasure or desire to watch more if I'm honest ... Sorry to repeat what I've said in other threads - but until they start taking races off these riders - they will keep bashing the horses. Stipes - you can do this - you need to man up (they're mostly male) & lead this! It's never too late to say you've not been adjudicating as well as you could have - and change has come. Send a message to all yr riders telling them that they will be looking at forfeiting their place & getting DQ for behavior of this kind - a fair warning if you will. Then start responding as you should. You will have it 90% cleaned up in a week. J

The amateur rider race today. The winning rider - said by the Trackside man to have "carried" his mount over the line (thrashed it over the line more like it...). Then went on to say what good riders coming through etc .. Good rider he well might be. But while our governing bodies allow horses whipped excessively to hold on to their wins- and do little or nothing to penalise this sort of riding (actually - we are rewarding it, in effect ...) - we can expect more of the same; more riders who thrash their horses & more people in the community who form the opinion racing is cruel. And when you have a fan (who breeds & rears & races horses) starting to believe they have a point - I think we have a problem, Houston. J.

Thanks Freda. That's really interesting. And how nice to red such a positive account of the way someone in the industry is going about their business. Rgds, J

Oh my - perhaps you are a well-heeled weasel. Or at least yr mustelid mates are ?. He's another who is outside my budget. I need to spot the good `uns early while they are affordable ... I certainly haven't always got it right but have managed it a couple of times - in one case the horse's fee is now more than double what I paid and another was 6-7 times the fee the following season ... I've seen some nice weanlings from Tivaci & some decent types by the Auret horse Unusual Suspect in recent months. Any of the new horses catching your eye Weasel? And Freda - any observations from a trainer's point of view seeing a range of horses from various sire lines as you would? Kind regards, J

Remember saying that I thought the hike last season from 7K to 12K was not justified and I didn't think he'd get many outside mares at that. And now he's knocked down to 6K for 2019. It's their business & decisions of course. But I think the horse has possibly been done a disservice with his 2018 fee - lost some opportunities and reduced his chances of better establishing himself early in his career. Not sure what they were thinking - and I'm definitely not bagging the horse - I like him. But just couldn't see 12K value in 2018. I hope he can succeed nevertheless - and that one day we'll look back at a champion sire and dream of getting him at a mere 12K ..... . Jess

Ah bless for that message - my mother's day mustelid. All I can do is look on. I be thinking hard about where to head in the spring, but that lad be too pricey for my girls .... ?

You're = you are. The wee apostrophe thingee indicates the missed letter (the a) of the full phrase. Your = expression of ownership (ie yours, mine etc).

I heard on the radio that the response has been a ban on some of the drugs previously allowed and whips can be used only "for safety" and not for just making the horse gallop faster. Can anyone confirm? Further details?

Short-sighted is right Freda. Overdue for change here. As much as some people on this forum bag the "greenies" - I too hate seeing horses beaten throughout a race. I'm happy if we go to 5 strikes or no whips at all. But it needs to be enforced properly. A friend's steed in the other code was beaten recently - by a head - by another horse whose driver bashed it in the straight (twice as many strikes as authorised). Fined a piddly amount (that the owner probably paid anyhow) - got thousands more for the winning stake by cheating. Yes CHEATING. And essentially - the stipes let them cheat. Until they start taking more serious punitive action when the rules are breached (whether those rules are as they as they are or if they are tightened up) - the whole thing's a joke and pays little more than lip service to either animal welfare or fair play. Maybe they need to start taking the races off these horses who are whipped too many times. My bet is that would tidy it up pretty quickly .... J.

From the Stipes' Report: "Track downgraded to Slow (8) retrospective to Race 1." Why a reading taken after Race 1 - and then a retrospective, downgraded track rating applied? (when no rain fell from prior to Race 1). Why was the track rating obtained around 6.30am relied upon up until that point? My questions are genuinely put. It strikes me as a strange way to do things - and maybe disingenuous. But I'd love someone to post some rationale to ease my mind & convince me otherwise ...

Yep ... seems to want you to start at page one every time. Thought maybe it was a new initiative for the older BOAYer - in case our short-term memories needed jogging as to how the stories started ... ?

Don't know the man Ashley - just the public persona - the impressions I have got from his utterances/attitude/demeanor. Of course it looked bad on the lad's part when he was said by his employer to have left without a word - but I reserve judgement on the young man as I don't know the full story. And stories, as we know, often have two sides to them. J.

Probably the most maturity/insight/self-awareness he's shown the whole time is to be found in some of those quotes in the article above (if they are indeed what he said). I am pleased to read he has gone to another job (albeit one that I doubt was brim-ful of inherent attraction to the lad - so probably more a case of "running from" than "running to"). Good luck to him though. Hope he keeps himself afloat & with some sort of moral compass as he goes on ... we have enough lost souls who are off the rails in this country as it is .. All the best Wiremu (beautiful name) or Billy - or whatever it is that you wish to be known as. You have the ability to be both good and great. But the choice to be so is entirely yours. Jess

No worries NM - can take an admirable cut and still exceed my current income. Wish me luck. Might see some of you at Karaka (Book 1) next year. Should be loaded by then .... ?

.... you are probably stoatily right there Weez .... reminds me of the band playing merrily on while the Titanic succumbed to the deep ....

Beau I expect you are probably right - but if they ban whips they might have to up the ante (in terms of detection and penalties) when it comes to the use of things like jiggers .... I could imagine that sort of disgusting practice increasing if whips were banned ...

Ooooh Musty .... didn't see it ... but surely someone here must've My-Skied it .... It would be interesting to know what constitutes "inadvisable" - I'd be fascinated to know where the stipes draw the line on that big grey continuum which has free speech at one end and slander - breach of racing rules - hurt feelings/egos at the other .....

Answer to your question MM is yes. For a long time I have noted the lack of accuracy in that database and the delay in registering changes which I know to have taken place ... I am not familair with the obligations of the trainers or NZTR in this regard. And while it's not directly related I can't help but contrast this with the rather firm approach of the officials towards such things as mare returns - deadlines set and signficant payments demanded eg. to register the birth of the long awaited foal which then has to be destroyed at birth ...

Goodness me. It must be quite the org chart when you pop all that up on the old whiteboard .... who knew there was so much "stuff" to "generally manage". But I guess it's a good way to justify a swag of huge salaries when all the divisions are divided again and again ... with every imaginable portion requiring a general manager .... (I am thinking of applying for a job my spies have told ne could be imminent however ... general manager of the general managers ... wish me luck peops .. I think it could be good for BOAY to have someone on the inside..... ? )

... while of course I can't be sure of whom you speak MM .... my general observation is that some are wont to front frequently and flamboyantly when prevailing conditions are inclined to flatter ... but when the going gets tough - our fair weather friends have been known to become faint hearted and shy .....

I'm prepared to believe it in the absence of evidence to the contrary .... 14 is 76 less than 90 .... ?

? (was actually looking for a blushing face emoji ...). Thanks Weasel - I will accept the compliment with grace as it means something, coming from a mighty mustelid like yrself.. I shall miss our occasional exchanges if CS shuts the door ....?

BOAY stay or go? Completely up to you CS. I like it better than any other racing forum. And while there's a suggestion in this thread that the other channel has been cleansed now and once more become habitable by good and reasonable people - I would probably take a bit more persuading (and want to see a lotmore evidence) before I jumped back into those waters. But you are the one doing the work CS - so as I see it - it's your call, not mine. PS: reading that you and Hesi have fallen out is disappointing and sadly, reminds me of some other place .... remember - life is short fellas - and you'd be amazed how much stuff can be sorted out by a private chat - in person - in private - over a cup of tea or a beer. Especially if you both take respect to the table and egos are left at the door. All the best. J.

Sometimes you just wanna scream. We seem to have some hell bent on destroying, from within, any reputation or integrity that the industry manages to establish. Who needs enemies from outside when we've got insiders (some quite high profile) doing what they do .... (another thread on here relates to an individual this applies to in spades ....)