Freda

Well, whaddya know....All kosher again.

Not helpful. Just goes direct to ' news but will not progress further to forums. Managed to access on laptop yesterday but the phone is still unable to get past the home page. I noticed ( on the computer) that upgrades were in progress so that might have something to do with it. Pity.....content is now generally pretty banal but there are still a few excellent posters - Red Rum and We're Doomed in particular come to mind - whose thoughts I really appreciate.

Clearly not.

There won't be any 'Park' left soon.....it will all be housing with a track in the middle.

Good.

Carrie McCarthy, Euripidies Lionel Pratt, Cloudy View....

I liked Hedley's contributions....

Pfft.....I agree, Mark is a decent bloke and very approachable....but how bad can a rider be to cause his horse to fall arse over kick on the flat in a straight-ish line? Just get Foskett to come back and give some advice to the Dunedin staff......?

Nope, course not. Just more head scratching from officials and no decisions anywhere.

....and the autocorrect decided ageing was agreeing....

Couldn't agree more. And to Jess - dont apologize, I agree with you too....but I couldn't quote your post because my phone is agreeing and doing the weirdest things. Look at the races Tina Comignaghi wins, she does flap with her whip but really, what a waste of time, she can't use it but her mounts just keep giving for her. The English model might look a bit ugly to our eye, but the strong upper body is the key there....and how many bashers do you see in HK? As Thommo says, it wont take long to positively select those free going and genuine sorts....and - as for punters - who wants to drop a heap of money on a horse who doesn't want to be there?

I find it somewhat ironic that Irishman Downs and expat Pom Higgins seem very adept at the bash....wouldn't get away with it at home

Wondered if that debacle was going to get a mention..yeah.. running start for one...the eventual winner...that portion of the track around the corner is known as Puddle Alley for obvious reasons; Neill Ridley said yesterday that it has always been a shit of a corner. Some years ago I had a runner down there - Finians Rainbow, ridden by Lisa Young and no slug in the wet - slid for 50 metres on his belly in that exact same spot. The track was closed and 'fixed ' after that, winter racing/jumping was held at Oamaru for a season or two. Worked, obviously.

Stunning!

No, no....its lost whatever appeal it had ( to me ) in the days of Lord Module, etc....

The day whips are banned - or their use drastically reduced - there will be a good number of jockeys looking for a new job....

Now that is a good idea.

Poor Bart He did a great job when he was at Riccarton, he looks very uncomfortable spouting that b/s.

Simply awesome, what a brave girl.

I stand to be corrected....and as a horse lover of course the idea of a horse drowning in its blood is abhorrent...but I cant bring to mind any horse dying on a NZ track as a result of EIPH.

I do.

Yep, good on them indeed. That bone remodeling stuff, the name of which escapes me, I believe may be indicated in some cases too.

Looking at the Wingatui / Wellington fields, numbers look healthier down south than in the CD.

I'm not sure of the exact criteria - and I'm only asking a question - isn't NZ HOTY based on NZ form...?

It's always the way, that one fk-up outweighs the 99% of times when everything goes smoothly....but the point Thommo is making ( very well IMO ) is that the checks and balances aren't there to prevent the inevitable mistakes...and its not just the wrong colour paint or the omission of the baking powder, the lives of people and horses are on the line. That's why critique is so important, not to be dismissed with a ' I'd go to war with these guys' attitude.. as if they shouldn't have to EVER stand scrutiny.