Freda

Oddly enough Andre wasn't popular with some, I thought he had some smart initiatives although didn't really know him personally. No doubt Gallop South was an excellent concept.

12 -,18 months? Is that a piss-take or does the April return mean next year?

But a shade sobering all the same?

Te Rapa most likely i'm thinking. Trentham, yes, central, plenty of history but the National and the figure8 don't really work for mine. Maybe. But there seems to be such a cloud over Trentham and its management and future that it doesnt seem logical to place it there.

Pretty clear people want grass trials.

Waverley for a Grand National...surely not. Awapuni ? Maybe, if its not stuffed up by its 'renovation '. IMO the only course that offers remotely similar challenges would be Hawkes Bay but that is about as likely as me having a runner in it.

I think there have been some tracks that have had their use discontinued but there doesn't seem to be the unholy glee to strip everything away. They understand tradition. A very experienced former racing executive said to me once, mess with tradition at your peril. And across the ditch, which given our social, political and ethnic similarities is the logical place to look, they seem to cherish and support their provincial and country meetings.

Maybe, but where?

I think I read somewhere a broken leg?

Looks like Belinda and Skippy were there...and Bristles !

Can you think of one who has actually LOST their job?

Yep. All explained.

Ah. Honest mistake. Sorted now.

Just had a look at Channel X - as I do, often, to see what is going on....and discovered a post from me that I didn't make. Nothing offensive but still not from me.

Lip service is the term.

Probably right. Certainly, they go hand-in-hand with jumping so not relevant in the South unless some effort is made to include a few more into programmes. No highweights in the south either.

Don't disagree with any of that, but no, I didn't mean the race series, just sales generally.

So would I. Isn't it sad that a country whose racing and breeding successes rested on the quality of its middle-distance -and further - performers now has its sales series' chock full of speedy Australian breds. As Chief says, that's where the money is. But it's a real shame to see the staying horse become less and less relevant, and with it, the ability of NZ trainers to condition such horses. I recall, quite a few years ago, watching The Ford Report, hosted by Adrian Clark and featuring Patrick Hogan ( wasn't a Sir then ). Discussing breeding, trends, and so on...Patrick said, I wouldn't want to be a young stud master now. Those staying horses, not what we need, this is the sort of horse NZ should be getting into - waving his hand at a stallion being paraded as he spoke. That horse was One Cool Cat. The selection of second-rate sprinter milers that followed did SFA for our racing and breeding, and set in motion the influx into Australia of the less-than-top end European horses that were, in the main, way better than anything local.

No. That's right, Snap is one who comes to mind. Oaks winner but by sprinter Schweppeshire Lad and never got further than 1400 [ I think ] as an older horse. Class is what makes a classic 3 y o.

IMO it isn't so much the Kiwi, but rather the effects of poor programming, dates, handicapping,etc,etc, that have for a more than a few years now facilitated - forced, even - the drain of nice horses across the ditch and elsewhere. The lack of depth is just highlighted more than is usual. That's all. Again, JMO.

Recent enough to have utilised the 'schooling fences' as they are now.

I think one horse ( Mamma Sans) has been issued a ticket but Oggie used to be able to do that

Love the analogy!

And a gripe of mine is the amateur race running on the AWT. Races are run at speed on that surface and for riders who don't have the opportunity to race ride regularly, things can happen much too fast. I have heard a couple of comments like ' bugger that, that was scary ' and ' not again, too quick, didn't feel safe '...and not from novices either, some that had been professional jocks earlier on.

Ditto. No. It does have some schooling fences but they aren't ( IMO ) suitable to get a ticket, more just to pop a horse over for a change in routine. Nothing special and no more than should be available at any training facility.