Freda

Not really, no. There have, in the past, been good plans involving much work presented to NZTR but no discussion, and probably not even looked at in depth. Was chatting to a northern based trainer yesterday, he thinks that once Auckland is up and running the major stables will set their sights on the regular and well-staked races there, leaving the outlying and provincial areas out in the cold. I would like to have confidence in Head Office to keep a viable flow of races for the rest of the peasants but unfortunately, I don't. In fairness Bruce Sharrock is always ready for a chat and is, in himself, very personable. But that's his job. Whether he gives a sh*t really is hard to ascertain. As for the article about Andrew's thoughts - while I certainly get his concerns, at least there is still the opportunity to race the horse elsewhere. What is wrong with hopping across the border for weaker company ? It's still Australia! Plenty of horses in NZ find their way down south when deemed uncompetitive in the north, that is in itself not a bad thing. Keeps owners in the game with the opportunity to race a made and educated horse that may have shown quite a bit of ability, and can be purchased at generally very modest cost. Owners, if they are still keen on a particular horse can keep their interest and just race it further afield. There are also trainers who regularly race horses to drop their ratings to get them to a level where they can be competitive. Done regularly in HK too, for example. The thing that does concern me is the rush [esp. down south] to squeeze out smaller clubs and reduce opportunity away from major clubs - read Riccarton in our region. That in itself does nothing to attract new clientele with the homogenised diet that then becomes the norm. The point of difference that has been so attractive for years, of country/provincial racing offering opportunities for the less competitive horse, is steadily being removed. While Auckland may 'future proof' racing in the northern region, I don't see Riccarton doing the same for the south.

My knowledge and understanding of things wagering-related is very limited. However, I think that any 'privileges' and so on are extended to the BGP group because overall, they don't win. Therefore, a positive for TAB. If they were successful [ made an overall profit ] they wouldn't be treated the same. And - as alluded to - they attract enormous interest among a younger set.

No, harness racing won't be wanting a rail. They use marker pegs.

Apparently the running rail now has to be removed and replaced by marker pegs. So any negotiations about private jumpouts would have to be carried out with the harness crew I imagine. Just gets harder and harder.

Godolphin seem happy to use her.

Add Wellington, which has allowed itself to be dicked around repeatedly, altering the time-honoured WFA 2400 lead up into the Wellington Cup - even changing the distance of the Cup, ffs, to the detriment of not just the fields but the business of owning/training stayers. There are still plenty around who can train the distance horse, but - as pointed out elsewhere - doing so is less and less attractive as the opportunities and flow of races is constantly fiddled around with.

That is yet another example of messing with what used to work, and work well. Avondale/Waikato Cups, Queen Elizabeth, and into the Auckland Cup. Good races in their own right and perfect lead ups to the Auckland Cup.

I think you might mean Leanne Isherwood

You would think so.

The 'one region' designation has been given as a result of the horse numbers [ esp in the deep south ] which have been steadily dropping for years. So no amount of petitioning is going to get NZTR to change their classification. The fact that the dates/programming [ that elephant again ] have for years reduced the attractiveness of training/owning in the south, along with the reduction of venues/screwing of small clubs financially in favour of the big boys, as well as the collapse of jumping, are all factors which have produced the current situation. The loss of notable owner/breeders from the region, Hazlett just one who comes to mind quickly. Relocated trainers who have seen the writing on the wall [ Didham family, the Richards' , the large team of Ross Beckett formerly Riverton based ] skew the statistics too. Some factors, such as the cessation of jumping, reflect societal perceptions too, that can't all be put at the doorstep of NZTR, and economics also. But for 20 years or so the writing has been on the wall. To say that there has been an agenda to produce this, however, I think, gives too much credit to successive administrations.

Time on the sideline as a result of serious injury might be expected to be a bit of a hiccup in a stellar career, would it not?

The place will be the poorer for your absence.

I have pointed this out before.... the Sth Island is now considered 'one region'. Tim Mills advised me of that when we were discussing programmes at one stage.

Seems so.

Absolutely. I've felt - and have commented [ more than once ] - that it is not just stake levels that send owners/trainers across the Tasman. It is the encompassing structure. The dates, the programming within those dates, the lack of flow, the inability to place one's horse to its advantage, and instead running where you can get a start, frequently well out of one's district and at considerable cost.

He's certainly an excellent speaker, I attended a Bomac seminar years ago where both he and Ken Browne were down to address. I imagined being bored shitless, but on the contrary, both were riveting speakers and kept us all entertained and informed. But that didn't give him a mortgage on visionary ideas, quite the contrary.

Is it though? We don't have clearly defined metropolitan/provincial/country areas. For a small nation such as NZ, maybe met/provincial would be the more logical categories, but regardless, we don't have them. And many of the biggest trainers are based at the likes of Matamata, which would be deemed a country town and is certainly not a large city. I think that categorisation of that type is unworkable in our country. And that was the very idea that - from my recollection - started the downgrading and subsequent underfunding of smaller clubs, to the detriment of all. John Wheeler started the Queensland winter campaign idea, and floated the idea [ to the then RIB incumbent Garry Chittick ] about 'grading' clubs so they could be termed ' country' or otherwise, making it easier to place NZ horses when racing over there. As there wouldn't have been a training centre in NZ further than 100km from a GPO at the time, we were all effectively categorised as 'metropolitan'. Don't know how that works now, obviously we have GPO's although it is next to impossible to find an ordinary, stand-alone Post Office. The closest one to me is lurking at the back of my local bookshop.

Thought you would be noticing this. Only problem, that 'Ellerslie dump' has just realised millions from a part-sale, and has spent millions on refurbishing itself. And, if I'm reading it correctly, the approach to the state Govt was made by the ATC. Riccarton could realise huge dosh from a similar approach; but by the time the slash-and-burn policies of NZTR have been completed there will be very few trainers left to benefit from a purpose-built, state of the art facility in Canterbury. One can dream....

JMac is successful anywhere. He's just bloody good. But he's still human and can make mistakes, all of us can and do, so we don't need a dissection of every error whether real or imagined.

I see the occasional reaction still from that gentleman.

And there is a very valid point. How many apprentices - and under-used riders generally - actually bother to WATCH races? glue themselves to the screen to take in the skills of said Allpress ? as well as Kennedy/Bosson/Zahra/Rawiller/Moore/Moreiera/Buick.......et al...most that I know [ and nice people, all of them ] will go to the pub and play the pokies, go home and watch Netflix..anything but focus.

Dilution ? 🤣

Hopefully.

It's a topic very important to me, to see young people achieve their dreams, and excel in their chosen path. But for a fair while now our riders, especially down here, have been moderate at best and often appalling. While the old 'indentured to a trainer ' system was deemed to be past its time - where the boss managed everything about the lad's life and career - the newer system with mentors coming in and the apprentice school system and content being modified could not, IMO, be considered a sensational improvement.

I'm sure you would be correct in that. Lisa can be pretty snarky when she wants to be ( for the record I have the utmost respect for her, and get on with her very well ) but she is not always popular in the jockeys' room and can be very critical of a difficult horse. I suspect that the spray would be to do with the ability of young Kauri to adequately manage his mount, and the bigger issue which has been commented upon here and elsewhere, the overall standard of our riders particularly many apprentices.