Freda

Another from Timaru. As a training center it's flying.

That's a thought I've had too. Nothing is forever, and if Entain keeps getting in the proverbial, they may well divest themselves of a non- performer. NZTR needs to seriously address the programming/ handicapping issues and take note of area-specific field sizes.

VdD put a foot in a hole and knuckled over dropping Rohan. Track inconsistent, heavier in some places than others

Ffs ..Vanderdonk

Sanderson ( Rohan Mudhoo)

All but

Hard to fathom. Whatever the reason, the horse certainly lost it's footing. Didn't seem to be in a position to clip heels either.

No, they weren't! A very old set of mine, in good nick but the up to date screen-printed ones are much nicer and lighter too. Also a set of Greenwood colours, unused for twenty years and unlikely to be recommissioned now. Appropriate for the district too I thought.

I donated a couple of sets of colours to the organization a few months ago....for a kiddies race....dont think they'll fit you!

....and the Riccarton synthetic trials last week were abandoned through lack of entries. Go figure.

That other jock was worried too. Kept asking if it was his fault.

My stance on this- as well as the current discourse about Bosson - is that there would be a lot less careless/dangerous riding if infringements were properly dealt with. No way did Denby deliberately create the havoc she did....but shifting ground and tightening horses up happens all the time...and it shouldn't. And Denby will have to live with this the rest of her life. I recall Bosson nearly putting a young Gosen Jagoo over the fence, coming from behind him( the lad was leading) and going under his neck as he went past. Competitive riding it was called. Karen Parsons whose horse it was went absolutely ballistic.

Of course, I have to ask, why did a jockey of Bosson's class wait for a horse to 'twice duck away from the whip' instead of immediately swapping the stick over to keep it straight?

Good grief

Prophetic name.

Haha....just imagine the shambles here if that was implemented country wide!

I remember one of the greats ( Gai or Bart) rueing the stance taken on anabolic steroids, the use of which was rife years ago. He or she pointed out that steroids weren't used as a 'go fast' despite all the popular chat. But the benefits were that horses would become better 'do-ers' and keep their heads in the feedbin.

It was legal then too, I used to use it, there was just a specific withholding on it. Far too long ago to recall what it was. But omeprazole has no withholding and is the main drug of choice now. Some jurisdictions don't allow ranitidine at all but still ok here, but not sure how often its used instead of omeprazole.

...and he a chemist too....

Good process. The winter Riccarton poly meetings are programmed fortnightly for much of the winter. Didn't sit at all well with me although had to compromise to get the specific race required at times.

Shouldn't any funds accrued from sales go back to the ownership syndicates?

And I have to add, the T.A model isn't a charity. It makes money, not from stakes - which are incidental and go largely to the ownership groups - but from the structure of the operation. Heaps of it.

Neither of you are going to give an inch so I'll try and be devil's advocate; after an extra 3 hours sleep I need something to focus on on a Sunday morning... T.A can afford to, and do, bring some beautiful horses back into the racing mix. Horses that otherwise would be lost offshore, and possibly at a lesser cost without the competition. So, tick for the industry and also for the breeders. They, through their syndication model, bring in many owners that otherwise could not be part of racing at the elite level. Tick. They strive for excellence all the way, with the best riders that can be obtained, and with a training model that in most cases works extremely well. The last two trainers exceptional. Tick again. Owners are kept informed, both at the start with clear information and along the way with regular videos and updates. Tick. The opportunity to race in the superior Australian environment now a reality with the setting up of the Cranbourne operation. Tick again. Where are the disadvantages? perhaps the lack of real input from an owner to trainer might bother some. It would annoy me. But I wouldn't ever be part of things. If I had disposable funds, the chance to have a horse in Europe with Joseph O'Brien and Go Racing I would find exciting. But that's my choice. The perception that T.A 'squeeze' out potential purchasers and attract clients that otherwise may be with other trainers? possibly. But the sales ring model we now have is not the fault of T.A., rather the result of decades of mismanagement by NZTR, fuelled by breeders, to tilt the playing field to the north and for more money to be directed at the 'elite' - again, read the north. Again, that isn't T.A's fault but they've read the room better than most. Now the small and hobby breeder cannot compete at Karaka, their family business or passion for a few mares with their cherished foals now consigned, sadly, to Gavelhouse or facebook offerings. The chance of returns with such modest, or lesser favoured yearlings, also much reduced so the whole scenario has changed from decades ago where anyone could go to a sale ring and pick up a potentially nice horse for bugger all, with a bit of judgment - and luck. Entain's involvement has certainly given us hope, but despite comments from some, they don't [ yet ] run programming, handicapping, dates.

I think most of us love watching good horses, wherever they come from. I fail to see how local racing would be enriched by having those horses in other hands, or not having them at all.

Seemingly in Australia.