Freda

He's a lovely honest horse, tries so hard every time. But the winner came from behind him to win, so credit where it is due...even though only a head bob..! And tactically, Rohan has him sussed.

Have to agree with that.

I'm pretty firmly with Thommo and Curious here...IMO the current rules are confusing and hard to police. And the social licence is becoming so necessary for the tolerance of the general public ( those that actually give a shit at least ) that there has to be action, not the bumbling responses we see. Limit the number of strikes, require hands back on the reins for a mandatory number of strides and apply the penalties consistently.

They have been watering fairly consistently Anecdotally the track is in wonderful order.

Well, we have the much- aligned Colin Wightman to thank for this. Despite the concerns of many people, their opinions have been largely brushed aside and I very much doubt if anything would have transpired without his energy - as well as that of Mr Z. Although Col can go off at a tangent he loves a stoush and in this case, despite some rather creative language, has galvanized some action.

So, while admirable in intent, in actuality it is more meaningless fluff...remember the last contact you had with some of the above-mentioned.

Agree 100%.

Reckon so.

In other words, silly programming.

Good point

It would be a rare mistake for Bart Cowan to make - if in fact he is still at Te Rapa, I presume he is - because he is one of the best. I just can't imagine him being stood over.

Ya think? It's just same old, over and over again. As one wit said elsewhere, rinse and repeat.

Yes, a long time ago. Was considered far too early, and when the classics were 'rationalised ' the NZ Derby was merged with the Great Northern Derby. I could never see the reasoning behind that , I thought the Wellington Derby placement made more sense. The Wellington Derby seemed to throw up more genuine middle-distance/staying sorts too I thought.

Surely not. It's been hosing down.

As it was once...

Like Trentham.

Seems they will relentlessly continue to do what they have been doing....yee ha.

The stupidity of all this is astounding. Produce some facts, front foot the concerns and welcome feedback, ye gods, how draconian is this going to get?

Ashburton track well presented again...and Timaru stables to the fore.

Yeah....I was scratching my head when I read that!

Yeah....one of my owners said this morning...' when's the Caulfield Cup? I thought it was this weekend, but it can't be. No mention..'

Sad indeed. R.I.P Jonathon. Condolences to family and friends.

World's best?

The bit that particularly interested me was the bit about 'providing more revenue for lower grade racing '. Our administration hasn't got to grips with that concept at all.