Freda

I think I saw one after ' Zealand ' ......but in the Rest of the World news, the headline reads ' Godolphin unleach son of Galileo ' .....really?

I've seen a lot worse, Mr Mustelid.....just have a gander at some of the stipes' reports....geez...

Absolutely. She has certainly stamped some respect on NZ form - even though we all know things aren't great - and if she steps up again next week we can hold our heads up....as producers/ handlers.....just not administrators.

I can also understand the ire of the trainers/handlers of the horses concerned, they will be questioning the experience/ability of those pronouncing sentence on their charges, and who can blame them?

I can't answer why the horses were allowed to gallop after the scan - but from a legal perspective, if there was any doubt at all about their soundness they could not be allowed to run. Imagine the can of worms if one had caused dramatic interference upon breaking down and someone had been hurt? Not to mention the publicity....

No, nothing like that - apparently came in after riding some pacework, sat down and had either a heart attack or a stroke. ...this from a local. Had an a health issue last year, so I was told.

As for Greenfields - it will be smack in the middle of suburbia and obsolete before it gets going.

I understood that ' the upgrading of selected tracks ' was conditional upon the sales of other tracks.... there isn't any money from anywhere else. Of course, if the NZTR plan of closing tracks continues on without being able to steal community assets, the state of those 'selected tracks ' which will be forced to hold extra racedays without any upgrade, will be interesting. The recent Gore situation - down for closure eventually - running its third racemeeting in a month on Thursday. . Winton, not allowed to run at its own track, sent to Ascot Park - hang on, unusable, what a wonderful choice for a track to retain - has to run at Gore. Masterstroke, guys. It would have been understandable if Gore had given the industry the middle finger, but, to their credit, chose to look after the hapless stakeholders.

Sorry about the three - peat....technology....

Where have I supported anything in this ridiculous discussion...?

Where have I supported anything in this ridiculous discussion...?

Where have I supported anything in this ridiculous discussion...?

Can you fellas not have such a long - running willy - waving contest?

The Sunday Market is held at Riccarton, but you would hardly expect races again the day after, surely? But plenty of other venues to utilise.....maybe a shortage of product?

Disagree. He is clearly fragile, they know he has soundness issues to a degree, they are looking after him, and good on them. After all, he is a gelding, it is in all their interests to keep him going and sound for as long as possible, he doesn't have a stud career to rush off to. Te Akau is very fortunate to have the skills of team Richards to rely on.

Please excuse the lines....I have no idea how they got there, and when I tried to edit out, it didn't work.

That's the way I'd interpret, too, Jess. From a racing/training perspective, I used to vaccinate 3 monthly, the immunity conferred is very short-lived, so my veterinary advice indicated. But I have to admit that in recent years, I haven't been as religious, every horse will have antibodies to EHV [ unlike back in the seventies, when it appeared in a largely naive population - again, as I was told ]. It seems that there is little concern from a practical point of view about EHV infections in racing horses. If there is, I haven't been informed. WRT the strain affecting breeders, I have little experience with that - viruses are of course a very different animal from the bacterial infections, i.e. strangles - but it astounds me that many trainers, when faced with a possible case of that, close ranks, swear everyone to secrecy and keep it all quiet. So, so stupid - and thoughtless, when transport operators and the point of origin of the affected horse should be notified so they can take appropriate measures themselves.

Bollocks to you too. Hell, I'm a style - free zone, Emm has it in spades ; i still think green shoes would have picked up the clutch purse and jewellery nicely and tied it all together. But, she looks lovely regardless.

World have tied in better with shoes the same shade of green....?

Very good post. It is most definitely unfair to place all the blame on to the racing industry when so many of the horses concerned are hacks or ponies, non-T.B. I did state earlier that there are sporthorse people [ mostly girls for some reason ] who take and re-home off-track horses. However, there are also many, who, lacking real skill, take these horses, lunge them over a couple of fences and then advertise as being ' promising novice, ready to go on '. It's not uncommon to see these horses turned over in a very short time, when anyone should realise the time necessary to school and educate for the new job just doesn't happen in a matter of days. The cycle of a confused and poorly-educated horse that turns out to be quite unsuitable being passed on...and on....just adds to the mess. But it is a very poor indictment on the practices generally at many abbatoirs, and also with trucking firms, where cattle and sheep are stuffed into spaces where they may end up underneath a press of bodies, suffocated or injured in some way. Seeing cattle and sheep herded off trucks with no ramps, or parked away from the loading bank so many of them break limbs as they crash to the ground..a huge issue and I don't know if there is even a controlling body for livestock transport companies, or a code of best practice. I did ring Marty Burns [ G.M and Horse Welfare NZTR ] and, in the conversation, suggested that an approach to MPI about welfare concerns over abbatoirs could be a starting point, he thought it was a good idea.

Yep, that was her. I thought she was great.

I'm not getting into your blinkers argument. But the observation about ' horses not run in mobs ' definitely makes sense to me. Some possibly are still in big groups, at least until sale prep. time...but a lot are kept carefully on their own in case they get kicked or hurt in someway. Factor in an owner/ breeder who.may only have one or two mares, perhaps a pony for company once weaned, and then add in the track rules at some public tracks which forbid more than two working upsides . Field shy? The poor buggers shit themselves.

I always liked Jayne, and she's improved with the exposure. I also loved the Sydney lass ( whose name escapes me ) who knelt down by the fence to talk to three lovely little girls who were there to enthusiastically support Samadoubt. It was a great touch, they do it so well, and we just....don't.

Exactly . She's a grand mare and I'm sure any one of us would be proud to have had the opportunity to race her.

Ive tried to be positive but it is near impossible when you take into account the obduracy and lack of vision in the collective mindset. The best opinions I have heard were uttered by Luke Radich. What a shame he isn't driving the bus.