Freda

I find it very good too.

Oh dear.

In fairness I don't think it is the CJC as a club that is putting up the money - that couldn't possibly happen given the state of their finances. The Racecourse Trustees were, I think, the body to provide the funding. It might seem a small matter but they are a separate entity. I agree that a better use of spare dosh might be to try and foster - or resurrect - some two year old races. There are some who think the Guineas races will be lost down here. To have some smart rising three year olds trained locally, coming through from a nice two year old series, to support those Guineas races, seems to me to be a better way of [ attempting ] to retain these spring 3 year old classics than throwing extra stakemoney up.

Lord knows. The Timaru Cup has consistently had good numbers of decent horses. I think someone checked the ratings of the horses on at least one occasion that I'm aware of, and found the Timaru Cup quality far outweighed the equivalent N.I race around the same time.

...changes to ' improve the flow of 2 y o races in the northern region ' We down here don't have a flow to improve. And - while only nit-picking - why shift the Welcome Stakes to autumn? It's days are clearly numbered as a stakes race, leave it where it is and put another race on as a 'lead up ' to the Champagne. Doomed will know, wasn't the two year old race at the Midsummer meeting called the Challenge Stakes? Thats gone, put it there are as a lead up .

IMO - no. He isn't a great communicator, and so much of his freakish ability is innate - balance and timing, for example. Those qualities can't be taught. And he despises idiots.

On a par with using has-been jockeys-turned-trainers I suppose. Under the 'old' system trainers were the mentors and teachers, some were awful, others superb. Luck of the draw what sort a young hopeful ended up with. Something had to change, what it has changed to is not wonderful, obviously, although Noel Harris seems to be doing a pretty fair job. And being a good exponent of something - rugby, race riding, or mathematics - doesn't automatically make one a good tutor of that.

Trials were held at Ashburton yesterday, on a pretty warm day. Canterbury has lurched from wintery temperatures and grey days into sunshine, warmth, and blustery winds. How, with the limited resources available, they managed to produce a track rated initially at a Soft 5 - and although drying during the day, still remained forgiving - should be an object lesson to others. Hats off to Jeff McLaughlin [ former stipe and now club sec ] and trainer Snooky Cowan for their efforts. Timaru trainer Warwick Coles also does a very commendable job at his local track, producing a surface that has, in recent years, been presented extremely well.

And Entain will want every bit of exposure that can be garnered. They aren't, despite all the apparent largesse, a charity. They are in to make money. Given the superb track-in-the- making at Ellerslie, along with the new training facilities to be developed at Pukekohe, it seems pretty obvious to me that any new ownership enterprise will be based largely around that.

Looks very similar, IMO.

Actually I didn't, too early in the morning [ that's my excuse anyway, I'll stick to it! ]

Haha...be a surprise all right.

Specified to be high-profile and successful trainers who will give owners a great experience with excellent communication, stable visits, interaction with top jockeys, etc, etc....which probably leaves out most S.I based. Maybe Carston?

Ha. Not a chance.

The dog raced at Invercargill and Dunedin. He's a big dog, lord knows how he managed to scramble around tight corners, he looked like an eggbeater, but he managed to win three in an awful lot of starts! Running along the beach in a straight line, he is a different animal, much more fluent. He can't be bothered now though, he splashes half-heartedly for a few minutes then ambles along beside me.

Completely off topic, sorry - but my re-homed greyhound has a knotted muscle in exactly that area, and is lame when he gets off the couch [ which isn't often ]. I did wonder what he might have done, seems like that is what it was.

Yeah. I had two flatmates who were on jobseeker benefits, amd one on a sickness benefit. The sickness beneficiary went back on meth and is in goal - again. Now the other two are both on 'medically assisted' benefits. You couldn't make this shit up. No wonder unemployment is down.

I can't make it play properly....the bits I heard were plain unadulterated lies.

I wonder how the average Yank feels with the option of either Biden or Trump?

..unless you are unlucky enough to be a Uighur.

Shit. At that price I'll get over any desire to read any part of it.

I'll try and get hold of it. Meanwhile, have a gander at ' Party of One ' by Chun Han Wong. Very interesting indeed.

I think I can guarantee that Special Agent would be impervious to ' brainwashing ' in any flavour.

Great fun, good work by Kirsty Lawrence to get the concept organized and running. Supported by NZTR with enthusiasm too, I believe. The supporters, Mums, Dads, siblings, all had such a good time, many of them had never been to the races and they watched [ loudly !! ] from the stands, some of them will be converts for sure. As the kids - some of those ponies were not, exactly, easy to manage! next generation of apprentices right there.

Five years of guaranteed stake money; get in now, try not to get depressed with management in the interim. Whatever happens after that, the industry, whether the better for the intervention, or worse because of inept direction, will bear little resemblance to the one most of us grew up to work or participate in, in some respect - and love.