Freda

So did I.

I'll be looking at NV if, as it seems almost inevitable, boosters are made mandatory for a valid vaccine pass. I've got a couple of months, so...

That's right. Read following post. Bruce Comptons wife. And the Ross Neal biso....oh dear. Bad enough but then attempting to cover it all up when the woman concerned died in the middle of proceedings..Integrity Unit indeed.

Just ask Bruce Compton.

Shreck lacked personal integrity. Might have been an ok stipe but....

Bollocks.

Make that ' most of the jockeys ' today... and an interesting little anecdote about the above-mentioned McCutcheon. In the room to dissect a ride of one D Walsh, the jockey was asked why he wasn't lying up closer to the pace on his mount, a last start winner from a handy position. Sir, said Walsh, the pace of the race was suicidal. If I had gone forward to match it, my horse would have been crucified. The pace of the race, said McCutcheon, is irrelevant. That was printed in a newspaper, I was so astounded at the comment that I cut it out and put it in a scrapbook of racing photos. If I hunt around I might be able to find it still.

Maybe we are a bunch of negative old farts.....we'll be told that anyway. But, in addition to the above, the fun has gone. Yes, I still have great owners/ friends, and the lovely horses that I work with are still the source of much pleasure, but overall, the camaraderie is missing. The hard cases who used to have us in fits have passed on, the helping hand extended, missing, the genuine delight in the success of a battler against the odds, absent.

Such good planning going forward. Meantime Dunedin managed to run without incident, although the rain affected the field sizes. We had a 'nostalgia' evening last night, I had recently had some old videos transferred to flash drive and, along with a few ( quite a few ) bevvies, watched races from the late '80s on. Inevitably, the opinions ranged from amusement at the older styles of riding, to surprise at how the dodgems so often seen now during a race were not so noticeable. The most surprise however, was the realization that those old tracks, many of which are no longer in use, seemed to ride well, and ( visually at least ) looked to be in good order.

Sure enough....we are now being softened up to the idea that vaccine passes will be invalid without ' the booster ' .

It probably would be.

He isn't.

Highly unlikely.

Actually, the hospitality suites could be thrown open for small gatherings, private, absolutely perfect. As a member pointed out to me this morning.

Much easier to be the big fish in the pond, rather than the minnow.

Whatever the 'reason' given for the AWT's, I don't think it is possible to shift a meeting at the drop of the hat. If there was a significant weather event making a turf track unviable, then yes, probably do-able with sufficient notice. I have heard of English jump events being put off because of snow/ice, and then moved to an AWT for flat events for the jumpers. Not what they entered for, but at least, all in the same boat, and racing together, in the appropriate grades...i.e. 3 mile chasers together, and two-mile hurdlers together. So, still a competition. But that type of extreme weather is unlikely here. Early in the season, Riccarton transferred a date to Ashburton, as the damage sustained by the Riccarton turf from the National meeting had not sufficiently repaired. But there was adequate notice in that case. Reefton may come in and confirm, or otherwise, but there have been instances on the West Coast where races have been put off, and the shift to another track refused by TAB crew, even though only up the road. [ Not the same as the affected club refusing the offer for commercial/parochial reasons, that's another scenario.]

Hardly surprising. Good luck to them.

If horses 'knuckled over' that can hardly be considered safe.

Gee, that's a faux pas if that is right, hope I didn't cause any offence.

If you mean Tayler Strong, he passed away recently.

What ?

Add our model to the list. We're back in 'red light' setting again - the whole country. Not a lockdown, but still...

If one of my apprentices had engaged in a speed duel 3 wide in front their ears would have been burning for a week. That's what you get from 4 claimers, not experienced and ( normally) classy jockeys.

Quite so. But, 'the rest' don't get t play with million dollar stock either. Some of them would make you and me look ok.

Yes. CWJ has long been known as a superb judge of pace, has had periods where he has been off the boil, but - as they say - class is permanent. I think Tina is also showing that she has a good feel for pace, too, her results at present are outstanding, and she can only get better with more exposure. I think I've mentioned this before - I questioned Chris O'Brien, many years ago, about his penchant for parking wide without cover when everyone seemed to want to be in behind the leader on the fence. He just grinned and said, the shortest way home is the one without a bump. He was a fine rider, probably didn't get the accolades at the time, of CWJ and G Davidson, locally - but he rode a helluva lot of winners at a time when there were really good jockeys around. Still plodding along in NSW I see. I recall Dave Kerr saying, that when he was young, a trainer could throw the colours in the jockeys' room and it didn't matter who picked them up. OPB's performance yesterday doesn't flatter him at all. As for OTB ? he has had surgery for a respiratory condition, clearly he's a very good horse indeed, but to place him in a situation where he may be vulnerable doesn't show much nous. And to add to my little rant ; if I ask a local [ Riccarton] rider to work a horse at a specific rate, I get a blank look, with one or two exceptions. Appalling, IMO. I doubt if it would be confined to Riccarton either, looking at the overall standard of riding.