Freda

Thanks, hesi....but I think I could already work out that unclaimed dividends were unpaid dividends. So where do they go? if put against 'liabilities' they would disappear without trace....

It was a serious question...!

What happens to unclaimed TAB/tote winnings ?

Sorry to cut into your fantasies, fellas...but back to the topic...Scandinavian countries have a very comprehensive health and welfare system too I believe...but I haven't looked into the funding mechanism there at all.

..and we are supposed to have faith in this same failed culture to oversee more renovations and reconstructions - with money stolen from some clubs? God give me strength... how does the 'turf specialist' get out of bed in the morning?

Thanks, hesi, yes a bit of balance for sure. I would still like to know how drug treatments are so much more affordable across the ditch, and by what mechanism are they funded?

Agree with the above posters...the mechanisms for funding, however, obviously differ from country to country, and interest me particularly. Pharmac is the agency , Govt. funded, which is charged with purchasing drugs in the most cost-effective way possible. From the material I have read, do overall a pretty good job - which doesn't negate my suspicions wrt big business generally - and it is also clear, that it is in the interests of drug companies to keep us all as sick as possible. Profit and greed, definitely. So, how does Aus manage the system - and is it a federal mechanism, or operated state-by-state? When Michael Joseph Savage, back in 1935, decreed ' free and available health care for all New Zealanders ' he couldn't have envisaged the plethora of treatments expected now. Elective surgeries aside, we have heart, lung, kidney transplants, cataract surgeries, dialysis treatments, oh, too many to list - and all available. In Savage's day, health care was as much to do with ensuring better sanitation and clean water, dealing with those awful childhood diseases like polio and diphtheria that we don't see anymore, as offering free surgeries. And, yes, Barryb, personal responsibility has a fair bit to do with our struggling health budget [ and please, people, don't think I am casting aspersions on those who have loved ones - or themselves - struggling with cancers etc ] . I have friends who are waiting for joint replacements, people who are comfortably off, several have insurance, one is very wealthy, and all could 'go private' and just get the surgery they need done. No problem. But, no, we'll wait and use the public system...because ' I pay my taxes don't I ? I'm entitled...' I have told them all [ they are probably sick of my opinions ] that if they were in enough pain, they would just do it as quickly as possible and stuff the waiting . An elderly acquaintance has her grandson lodging with her. He is a haemophiliac, and has come back from Aus to live with grandma because he can't get treament over there. Granny pays the St John's ambulance brigade the princely sum of $40 for their service to be available to come and take him to hospital whenever he has a bad bleed. She complained bitterly to me recently that the got a bill from St John's, couldn't understand it, 'because I pay for them' she said. How much? I wanted to know, she told me the sum. Turns out that the $40 she pays is per annum... As she also has had a son deported back here - now in goal, again - I had to bite my tongue to stop giving her a piece of my mind about her 'expectations' of our Govt and society generally.

Only b/s.

Repaired, perhaps...?

A few reputations....

Show Gate, Balmerino, Bonecrusher....Lord Module - and the very brave Scotch Tar. Not to denigrate recent champs Sunline, Black Caviar, Winx..of course.

Great stuff, thanks. One could wish, perhaps, that their choice of consorts for their girls was a little more adventurous, perhaps? I remember La Baraka, she wasnt the sweetest natured mare.

Yep, you're quite right of course.... Thanks. FTF....La Figlia was the filly bred by the Austins if my memory serves me correctly .

See if you can find any info re. Olgiata...?

What a lovely piece of nostalgia. Friends and occasional clients, the Austin family of Canterbury, later purchased her dam, the aging Olgiata, a gamble, but I think they managed to breed a filly from her. Pretty sure that filly wasn't of much account, but research may show if she had any reasonable descendants. ...and remembering March Legend....in 1975 [ I think ] we had a runner in the Canterbury Gold Cup, Afghanistan gelding Zebak. My then partner Mouse [ RJ ] McCann 'jocked himself off' and put Bob Skelton on the horse. Wednesday morning [ raceday] the owners, Mouse, and I were standing on the viewing stand watching March Legend warm up before galloping. He limped, hobbled and scrambled around for five minutes or so before setting out to work...one of the owners turned to the rest of us and said 'well, that's one we don't have to worry about ' ....in the absence of the great Balmerino, he won anyway. What a good horse he was. Zebak ran the race of his life to finish third.

clearly they don't have doubts.

....and some do it a lot....! How are you, Pitty? You have many well- wishers, that's for sure.

I think Mr Walsh also believes there should be a system change. NZTR should be indenturing these kids, training them properly and only then allowing them to work for selected trainers. . .and not permanently, but on a rotational basis.

Yep, agree wrt Durban academy, many of the Mauritius lads have attended too, and it seems to be a very good system. A mate of mine ( Irish) has given me much background info on the Irish apprentice academy also, that is also IMO a far better operation than we have here. I haven't seen anything from our apprentice schools which look as if there is any use in attending, which - again IMO - is why the trainers are so important in our system for achieving competence.

Lots.

I think it would be fair to say that often, a gifted sportsperson may not, necessarily, be a great tutor. Two very different skills. Imagine CWJ trying to teach anyone...there wouldn't be a lot said! And also, I'm pretty sure they aren't out riding work with the kids, and therefore can only go on what they see at trials and what they are told by trainers. Trainers have to have a lot of responsibility IMO....the two best apps in the south at the moment are Gosen Jagoo and Tina Comignaghi....both with the Parsons.....and the Andertons consistently produce good riders.

Surely, if anyone had been hurt - other than just a mere horse, ffs - Osh and/or Workplace Safety might have had a look? The ACC provisions have removed the right - or need - to litigate for personal injury, but H & S certainly can take action I think.

Yeah..and Jason is a very experienced rider who should know better. As a matter of interest, I see T Comignaghi was 'spoken to for easing the pace ' in that same race. I had a very good filly ruined when the leader 'stacked them up ' sharply, bringing two down. Nothing was said. But in this case, I don't think Tina 'stacked them up' ... she found herself in front by default, her instructions were to tuck in behind, so she did the best she could to settle the horse. But wtf is wrong with the other riders, could not ONE of them go on and make more pace? that was ugly to watch, with horses reefing and rolling all over the place.

Wet bus ticket Hesi.

While I am in the frame of mind to have a whinge..probably should be another thread but ...stipe control? A pet concern of mine. Just two incidents among probably many... Tanya Jonker on that Japanese thing, at it's previous start, settled back, sailed around the outer and bolted in. On Tuesday, it begins reasonably again [ was sent down because it was refusing to jump out ] , gets snagged back to last - and stays there. Was any question asked about the tactics? doubt it. The report merely states ' became unbalanced across the crossing' . Poor Director has tendons in his hind legs severed and is subsequently euthanased. The offending rider, a new apprentice, was out of her depth and struggling to control her horse; could be clearly seen down on the fence pulling its head around - finally, panicked, she hauls it sideways and straight over Director's hind legs. She'll survive, the horse didn't and its connections are filthy. Understandable. She gets a holiday. She could have been hurt herself, or hurt other riders. How about go back to the trials, lassie - or better still, give up? She has been thrown under a bus by her boss - who used to raceride [ and would have been the first to complain about a novice rider getting in his way ] and should have known the horse was too strong for her - and our system who allowed her to ride in the first place. She struggles to hold horses in track gallops ffs. No wonder punters have little faith in the offerings.