Freda

I can too. The Hazlett jumpers I recall particularly.

A healthy industry has to have strength at the bottom levels. Throwing an extra 50k or more at Grp 1's won't stop the exodus of promising horses which can earn good money without being elite runners. Those with modest performers are still struggling, and the 14- 15k industry day stakes, while certainly better than the 7k on offer only a few short years ago, goes nowhere with the ever increasing coats across the board - and don't forget, we had 7k days some 30+ years ago [ ..and some pretty fair jockeys too, you could toss your colours into the jockeys' room and it wouldn't matter who p

Unfortunately Goodson - along with his then sidekick, one G Purcell - demonstrated his lack of understanding of the nuts and bolts of process, when given the work done by two educated statisticians on the effects of handicapping policies, allowances, and so much more. All done pro-bono, and probably consigned to a drawer somewhere as clearly neither understood one side of it. Why he should now have a silver bullet, I fail to comprehend.

Unfortunately, makes perfect sense.

I don't buy a lot of meat, but use the local butcher when I do. There is a direct Market for fruit/vegetables just up the road, far better value than the outrageous prices seen at supermarkets for the same. Also, I keep to what is local and fresh [ mostly ], there is no need to buy Australian tomatoes [ taste like wet cardboard ] or Californian grapes...on the whole I manage ok. And I don't have an income that I can waste. New World otherwise for grocery items, the range of products I find far superior.

Ha....neither am I!

Tell us please.

We care all right. But the solution isn't so easy. I have some ideas, but many others may have differing ones.

I'm playing Devil's Adocate here....maybe the terminology was ' jumpouts' and/or 'barrier trials' ? Neither of which come under 'trials' that are official and which have results shown on the NZTR website.

It will be as the others...it will suit some, not others. As do many tracks/surfaces. It is the notion that wet trackers, set for a grass meeting with soft/heavy ground, will happily switch to a track where they will be required to produce 22 sec final sectionals. That is a flawed premise.

Sad indeed..as is the magnificent jumps course at Riverton now not wanted. Oamaru, at one time, held jumping for Dunedin while the Otago R.C renovated their track..seems all so pointless now. But, a wee bit unfair to say the ' south has given up'. They had no choice. I know that plenty - Jo Gordon for one - did an enormous amount of work to try and retain some of our traditional structure..all to no avail.

Timaru trainers are certainly punching well above their weight. I wonder if anyone in the echelons of management has actually noticed? With Aaron Tapper's stud now standing two pretty useful looking stallions, there would seem to be plenty of upside in the area.

Just let the bloody thing go North. Sad, but - although I love the jumpers - it is a travesty to see five horses running for good money [ although, fine if you can get some of it ] . My boy was the last horse to gain his ticket and race over jumps from this centre. Three runs for me for a minor place, spelled for the next season - and, nothing. No jumps races any more. So he went to the Myers barn. Now in new ownership, he won a steeplechase at Te Rapa a couple of months ago. So what's the point of a survey? Isn't it bleeding obvious?

Wouldn't a survey be more useful if it included as many as possible?

No.