Freda

I'm sure he could learn. It wouldn't take as long as some of the current lot, they're still getting things wrong. And that's an irrelevant comment re. Reefton. It wasn't mismanagement that got the meeting abandoned and you know that well.

CWJ is an unfair comparison. His balance is/was unbelievable. I've seen him, first time ever on water-skis, stay put despite all efforts to tip him off. Incredible. As Curious has pointed out, the head-on will tell us more.

I'm not getting into the Auckland discussion, not my area at all.....but it seems clear that for quite a few years we DEFINITELY have had the wrong [ track] experts advising.

That last sentence is of much concern to me. Modern H&S rules now [ supposedly ] preclude riders and horses being put at risk in unsafe conditions. Yet time and time again we see races being run, horses slipping - or worse - and then the inevitable abandonment . At which point does Workplace Safety become involved? or does racing get a free pass somehow? We have Reefton abandoned without a slip, just a parcel of lies and stakeholders put to great inconvenience and cost. More recently, Trentham and Hastings abandoned. Does nobody actually LOOK and see how things are? Then Ellerslie, with all the hooplah, and slipping reported during the day. Money up of course, visiting jockeys, all that. So does that make the conditions somehow safer? No horses or people injured, I saw in a comment. The picture I saw of Pendragon on the turn clearly slipping badly - lucky to stay on his feet, I should think - begs the question, how could he not be hurt? maybe not seriously, but he had to have pulled muscles at least. And that's acceptable because 'the money is up ' ? That's just bollocks for mine. My understanding of Strathayr, is that it is supposed to provide 'cushion' and never become compacted and very firm, like conventional turf tracks. Also, the superior drainage in the construction makes it able to cope with flooding or heavy rain very effectively. I've never seen Mooney Valley have horses slip...or Shatin. So how did a shower of rain get the blame for all this?

Yes. Good points. I am advised, by someone who knows far more than i do, that maintenance is not up to scratch. I have no idea what level of attention is acceptable, or what qualifications would be necessary. But I do know that previous starter Kevin Ogden used to check them regularly. In any case, it should not be difficult to have the starting mechanism positioned in a way that accidental tripping of the switch just can't happen.

No, he didn't. The starter did!

Thanks Jess!

Don't be silly. The Ellerslie races will be terrific. And Auckland should be applauded for their initiative wrt the Strathayr. But 'the big stables don't bother....' - that's bollocks. The Marsh and Te Akau barns at Riccarton comprise mainly just those sort of horses, that won't 'cut the mustard' against the top horses. And who said anything about unsound horses? No one wants or needs those, although there are some, which with a bit of 'nursing' can still do their bit.

Spot on, Jess. As for the Chief demanding evidence - fair call, from where he sits. However, most reasonable people are NOT going to spout off and denigrate decent folk who have been caught up in some of this, however inadvertently. As for the assertion that some trainers need to 'up their game' and apply some of the professionalism and attention that the bigger players purport to do - also, a fair call. But the costs of so doing are enormous and well beyond most smaller players. Only the larger syndicates with horses aiming at top races can justify such costs. If a horse has to be prepared for an $18,500 - soon to be $17,000 - race, while regularly incurring vet bills into the thousands on the way, then I suggest that most of those owners would simply go and buy a better fishing rod. The wording of a document explaining the aim of some of the new licensing protocols made it plain that the top trainers would not need to compete with the muck at the bottom. I hope the intent of those documents was not as offensive as it appeared at first reading.

How indeed? We got the concession double there once! Castle Hill/Zebak. Grey Way the stumbling block - of course.

So, in my memory, we have had [ here in the south ] Wyndham, Waikouaiti, Winton, Tapanui, Beaumont, Waimate, Amberley, Rangiora, Blenheim, Nelson, Westport, Hokitika, Motukarara tracks all no longer raced upon. Hororata a bit before my time. In all this 'rationalisation' where are the savings? the benefits? In all this 'too many tracks' dogma, I haven't seen any specific figures to convince us that the right decisions have been made. In the last twenty years, NZ racing has been steadily losing ground and revenue has fallen at a faster rate than ever before. At one time, racing actually paid its way - and tax too. It should be absolutely flying with all those burdensome country tracks no longer needing funding.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who hopes your observations aren't retired as well. The small operator is finding it harder and harder, as you say - and as commented upon elsewhere, all the b/s and blather doesn't address the basic issues we all face. Just costs more money.

I read, through the gobbledygook, that they were running out of money.

Good point. However, that was - I stand to be corrected of course - an Entain decision, not a local one. The Southern mile series was in place before Entain's involvement, so definitely a 'local' initiative.

Hi Jess. Have been wondering, with your prolonged absence, if all was well with you? your eloquence, humour and wisdom have been missed for sure. Every time there is an abandonment we have an 'investigation' by NZTR personnel, a report, and guidelines 'going forward to prevent a recurrence'. Clearly, the guidelines might just as well have been written on toilet paper. This just happens over and over. Poor Elen Nicholas is in hospital, a horse has been lost, how lucky that someone wasn't killed? Regional managers were recently put in to advise local managers, and under that scenario, we had the debacle at NZ Cup time two years ago. Overseen by the regional track manager of the district. Tracks have been closed over the country, at the whim of head office with little consideration for the knock-on effects. We now have more racedays than ever before, fewer tracks and those left are under huge pressure to be up to scratch. Add modern H&S requirements, quite simply, the model is not fit for purpose. Should the H.B management have known there was a problem? of course they should have. But they aren't alone. And no one is implying that injury to horses and/or riders is what they wanted. Of course they didn't. Do they just rock up on raceday? it seems so. Information from other turf jurisdictions would be very interesting indeed. Our resident statistician might, if he can be bothered, find us some data to that effect. One thing is certain, more revues and more statements will be ensuing.

Disgraceful. All the while patting themselves on the back in a mutual wankfest about how NZ racing will captivate the world. Get the basics right, you clowns.

Don't agree. Excellence should be rewarded, and loyalty goes both ways. Those jockeys who might be feeling aggrieved would, in most cases, think nothing of getting off a regular mount for something they think is a better chance.

Well, call me naive - or stupid - but, overall, I think the concept of a 'summer carnival of racing ' with the significant stakemoney, has to be a plus. We've been going down the gurgler at an ever-increasing rate, something had to happen. Whether this is exactly the 'thing' remains to be seen, of course. I'm less concerned than many about two 3 year old races on the same programme 'diluting' the quality of the Derby field. If the lead-up alterations produce runners that have the breeding and exposed form to be real chances in a 2400 Grp 1, wouldn't that have to be better than dodging non-stayers in the process? Now the brilliant ones have a decent alternative. There is still the issue of programming, dates [ for the other periods, and particularly in the south ] and average to awful tracks. Poor riding, inadequate stipendiary control of the same, the perception of 'rules for some ' all issues that need to be addressed and there doesn't seem to be any reference, or intention, to remedy some of that. There is a new requirement upon licence holders to comply with an on-line 'training' module to update knowledge. I have no problem with learning, I try to keep up-to-date with anything that might be relevant or interesting. But there will be some who struggle with the concept for sure, alienating folk who may have been involved for a lifetime. Similarly, the RIB visitations to 'inspect' one's properties. Again, no problem with that, in principle. But to have some non-racing twat tell a trainer that a horse is 'too small' defeats the purpose of checking welfare matters. [ no, not me, haven't had the pleasure yet! ] All this new - and no doubt expensive - fluff, but basic problems still unchanged. This is a bit removed from the head topic, I realise. But our biggest, most successful and closest neighbour in racing has always supported - and promoted - the provincial and country races. They are recognised as being part of the fabric of society, and often where families and youngsters get their first experience of racing. This has been pointed out many times of course...but the new raft of changes, while positive in the main, does not address the challenges facing the grassroots of racing. The five year involvement of Entain looks great, in the lolly-scramble that is ensuing. But wagering revenue is what sustains our industry. Will turnover as a result of all this increase enough to double revenue? because it will have to do at least that if we aren't to go down the same path as before.

Sorry, but I fail to see how a 1500m race and a 2400m race will interfere with each other.

Also a half to Locally Sauced....also a very tough, sound and genuine bloke who has had a long career.

She's trained at Rangiora. Probably appreciates the beach.

A few nice ones might make their way back. Others, Malaysia, riding clubs, the zoo?

Yes. Mick Murfitt stood Ribotlight, the sire of Ribaldo, at his Riccarton Stud. The Austins also bred full relations Fiore, a very good mare, and Ribadire. He was an interesting horse, badly afflicted with stringhalt but able still to win races.

Yeah, Postie was there when I started with Gary, fresh out of high school. I wasn't allowed to handle him though, he was aggressive and much too much for an inexperienced kid. He won at Trentham in front of the Queen, Gary was so proud. He hadn't long taken over Chokebore Lodge when I started, and did have a few pretty useful sorts around him. Dick Preece, the previous incumbent, relocated back to the Chathams to be their priest. The Douglas-Cliffords of Stoneyhurst, Cheviot area, were the patrons, and supplied the stable with horses regularly. ] Their Ribotlight mare Foxtail won the Manawatu Cup, travelling mate Elvin Spark won a minor race on the same day. Sparky held some sort of local record for the number of starts in a season. Mellay gelding Audaciter won the Coongy Hcp [ I think ] in Aus, and a mare I had a bit to do with - she was no star though - was Astral Row, by Long Row, who became the ancestress of the globe-trotting So You Think. I think Gary might have handled Ribaldo too, as a young horse, but he was later trained by owner-breeders Margaret and Colin Austin.