Freda

I know Dave Kerr was very explicit with instructions re. whip use. Mind you, in those days there was a lot of rider choice.! He used my apprentice Andre Gillett and the boy was always told very firmly not to hit his mount. He also patronized Damian Browne wherever possible because ' he was kind '. My partner, R.J.( Mouse ) McCann was told by his boss, Ned Thistoll, that the whip was for saluting the judge. There were enlightened people even back then - and further - in the remarkable Golden Souvenir - Soneri match race neither of those superb riders went for the stick. Bill Broughton and Jim Ellis...I think..Doomed will correct me I'm sure if I have that wrong.

Same! don't have any preconceived ideas, but it will be a great watch. Just shows it's all about the horse. Shame for the Caulfield Cup though.

Yes, unfortunately. It's a lesser of evils really.

No.

There are a lot of horses based there, and the facilities are acknowledged to be excellent....so presumably the scope and options are satisfactory.

Haven't been there for a good while but yes, as I remember that's quite right.

Cheap shot? How? That just confirms that those particular horses are not trained here, but elsewhere.

There is no dedicated grass pacework track here, and one gallop grass which might ( but not always) be available once weekly with luck, and weather permitting.

Neither do I. They must take them all to Rangiora.

Yep

The Riccarton T.A barn train on the synthetic.

Obviously, to both.

Interesting topic. Keeping away from Nairn and the original thrust of her allegations, I'm appalled at the apparent ease that so many seem to find in referring to themselves as 'expert ' in whatever and then proceeding to fleece the gullible. I've had a staff member ( with her own horses ) frank her stupidity by spending thousands with unqualified and barely competent practitioners getting a young horse broken in, having riding lessons, etc, etc, with predictable results. With a bit of advice and common sense the 'unbroken' horse came to hand quickly and kindly, her riding also improved from abysmal to fair on a tractable horse, even to the point where she managed to ride slow trackwork for a local trainer. The point being that these unqualified practitioners are able to make money with considerable risk inherent for many who get sucked in.

Yeah.

The good news is that x-rays and scans have cleared Brandon May of serious pelvic injury, and Bridget Grylls of shoulder complications as well. Soft tissue mainly, concussion for Bridget and possibly broken wrist for Jack Taplin. Yogesh Atchamah has a sore hand but usable, and Brett Murray's timely flying dismount kept him free of trouble altogether. Richard Stomper has a fractured sinus and will undergo surgery.

It did in this case.

I read it exactly as written...he is annoyed at the downgrade and thinks it will damage the industry. The downgrade is the logical result of a regressive industry, not the cause of it. He's just pissed that there is one less Grp 1 to play with.

Can't argue with the thrust of the post, dont necessarily agree with all of it but good points made IMO.

Maybe the lack of numbers of horses trained in HB is the reason? I dont know, I have no knowledge of the area but it is odd. You'd think one or two were worth the trip. And if that is the case, then the grand plan to renovated the HB track and then charge ahead with a Greenfields option looks very silly indeed. Sad though.

He seems to have sorta missed the point.

Agree. And the Derby ( IMO) has also been made less relevant by the same factors.

The casual remark from Ballesty about ' jumpouts and trials ' should have alarmed the hardworking Levin and Foxton committees. Clearly the need for well-educated horses to attend racemeetings isn't high on his list. Of course, it could be part of a Cunning Plan to force novice horses to trial on the despised polytracks.

Looking at the state of some of them, 100mill is a shade on the light side, IMO.

I'd forgotten that....but why co-opt Chris Waller on to it if it is for TAB advisory purposes...?

Yes, had been wondering about that.