TAB For Ever Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 15 hours ago, holy ravioli said: All you need is Ray to throw you a pie and a loaf...of bread. Exactly Ravioli.....Ravioli wasn't even a known word in NZ back then ,tho there was a good Harness horse called Giuseppe ! It would have been a Coup to have Ray around back in the day...he has been a fantastic part of Southern racing with ownership,sponsorship etc and runs a good business.Those square race course pies with the solid sludge passing off as meat filling was special out of those wafer thin heating cabinets which lost heat as the day progressed. At least the soy sauce was free. Ray's pies would have been welcome with lashings of Watties Tomato Sauce. Remember Jim Wattie....fed NZ from his Hawkes Bay base .....but moreso remember his horse Even Stevens. Went to Aussie at Cup time and thrashed the field in the Caulfield Cup and then easily won the Melbourne Cup then returned to NZ and fought out the finish of the Auckland Cup. Amazing. Jim kept most of NZ going with his Baked Beans and Sliced Peaches and Frozen Peas. The other business/racing man who I admired in Dunedin was George Barton , prolific owner ,firstly in Harness where he Number 1 and then after a squabble moved to gallopers and soon he raced Ark Royal ,who featured in big Cup races as well as Desert Chief ,Astra etc top Otago stayers. He often had RJ Skelton in saddle or RNMarsh or Deni Hadfield. That stable also had AJ Tweedie and AK Robinson as apprentices and both of these I have seen at the races in recent weeks so this yarn has some current interest ! Directly over the road from them on a sharp corner was Bob Heasley who in 1970 with businessman Stewart Falconer who drove a Rolls Royce and smoked huge cigars took their grey Kurdistan gelding over to Melbourne and snared the Melbourne Cup. In July BN had been slogging thru the Trentham mud , winning but gaining a reputation of being a mudder..That a story for another day ,cos it will lead on to Kumai [ owner TKS Sidey ,rider BJ Anderton of current day ] and that yarn takes a while. George Barton ,and his son Reg , were one of Dunedins top Butchers and their big store in CBD Dunedin famous for the illuminated pigs which raced around the facade of the building. They fed my family our meat , more like mince for us tripe for Mum. Another Dunedin butcher Wattie Latimer stunned many when his 10yr old Watallan [ Brian Anderton trainer] won the NZ Cup. His 21 st win for horse...its other owner was Allan ! its sire was Bellborough the Invercargill stallion who sired winners of 650 races. Watallans dam was a half sister to Baghdad Note ! Very close , a few paddocks along road there was the supplier of the excellent fast-food caravan at Forbury Park trots and other events in Otago...the best hot chips in town. Hot was needed as Forbury built on the windy beach only one sandhill north of the South Pole. Jim Brown trained many horses but in 1965 he sent one north to jockey WD Skelton in Levin and after picking up 3 x wins in CD towns they slipped up to Ellerslie and won the Auckland Cup .WD was a top jockey ,didnt train but he won with Lucky Son anyway.Thats what the Southern men did to the Northern folk back then...not only men cos Miss Edgar Jones did similar with Sailing home ! Jims other lucky son was Sydney who helped Jim sell hot chips , furniture during the day and played on wing for Otago. Jims brother Joe , who ran Miss NZ show , John Hore, Howard Morrison and Eddie Low also trained a bit in between his weekly town hall dance slipped up to Wellington and won the Cup with Reformed plus 3rd in Melbourne Cup. They no relation to Mick Brown who lived nearby andwon 3 x Wellington Cups with Great Sensation ! That another yarn for another time. Sydney still current in harness breeding from top mare Foreal and family and racing stars like Field Marshall in recent years ! Phew...this yarn gone too long.......when I typed the word Bellborough the Eiffel Tower flashed before my eyes.Now that Southern steed and his Hillis ,Hazlett whanau caused a lot of pain to the Northern wannabees.. Those really were the days of Southern racing ! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 1 hour ago, TAB For Ever said: Exactly Ravioli.....Ravioli wasn't even a known word in NZ back then ,tho there was a good Harness horse called Giuseppe ! It would have been a Coup to have Ray around back in the day...he has been a fantastic part of Southern racing with ownership,sponsorship etc and runs a good business.Those square race course pies with the solid sludge passing off as meat filling was special out of those wafer thin heating cabinets which lost heat as the day progressed. At least the soy sauce was free. Ray's pies would have been welcome with lashings of Watties Tomato Sauce. Remember Jim Wattie....fed NZ from his Hawkes Bay base .....but moreso remember his horse Even Stevens. Went to Aussie at Cup time and thrashed the field in the Caulfield Cup and then easily won the Melbourne Cup then returned to NZ and fought out the finish of the Auckland Cup. Amazing. Jim kept most of NZ going with his Baked Beans and Sliced Peaches and Frozen Peas. The other business/racing man who I admired in Dunedin was George Barton , prolific owner ,firstly in Harness where he Number 1 and then after a squabble moved to gallopers and soon he raced Ark Royal ,who featured in big Cup races as well as Desert Chief ,Astra etc top Otago stayers. He often had RJ Skelton in saddle or RNMarsh or Deni Hadfield. That stable also had AJ Tweedie and AK Robinson as apprentices and both of these I have seen at the races in recent weeks so this yarn has some current interest ! Directly over the road from them on a sharp corner was Bob Heasley who in 1970 with businessman Stewart Falconer who drove a Rolls Royce and smoked huge cigars took their grey Kurdistan gelding over to Melbourne and snared the Melbourne Cup. In July BN had been slogging thru the Trentham mud , winning but gaining a reputation of being a mudder..That a story for another day ,cos it will lead on to Kumai [ owner TKS Sidey ,rider BJ Anderton of current day ] and that yarn takes a while. George Barton ,and his son Reg , were one of Dunedins top Butchers and their big store in CBD Dunedin famous for the illuminated pigs which raced around the facade of the building. They fed my family our meat , more like mince for us tripe for Mum. Another Dunedin butcher Wattie Latimer stunned many when his 10yr old Watallan [ Brian Anderton trainer] won the NZ Cup. His 21 st win for horse...its other owner was Allan ! its sire was Bellborough the Invercargill stallion who sired winners of 650 races. Watallans dam was a half sister to Baghdad Note ! Very close , a few paddocks along road there was the supplier of the excellent fast-food caravan at Forbury Park trots and other events in Otago...the best hot chips in town. Hot was needed as Forbury built on the windy beach only one sandhill north of the South Pole. Jim Brown trained many horses but in 1965 he sent one north to jockey WD Skelton in Levin and after picking up 3 x wins in CD towns they slipped up to Ellerslie and won the Auckland Cup .WD was a top jockey ,didnt train but he won with Lucky Son anyway.Thats what the Southern men did to the Northern folk back then...not only men cos Miss Edgar Jones did similar with Sailing home ! Jims other lucky son was Sydney who helped Jim sell hot chips , furniture during the day and played on wing for Otago. Jims brother Joe , who ran Miss NZ show , John Hore, Howard Morrison and Eddie Low also trained a bit in between his weekly town hall dance slipped up to Wellington and won the Cup with Reformed plus 3rd in Melbourne Cup. They no relation to Mick Brown who lived nearby andwon 3 x Wellington Cups with Great Sensation ! That another yarn for another time. Sydney still current in harness breeding from top mare Foreal and family and racing stars like Field Marshall in recent years ! Phew...this yarn gone too long.......when I typed the word Bellborough the Eiffel Tower flashed before my eyes.Now that Southern steed and his Hillis ,Hazlett whanau caused a lot of pain to the Northern wannabees.. Those really were the days of Southern racing ! Mmmm seems you are... 19 hours ago, TAB For Ever said: Unlike now where an enthusiastic bunch of Southerners try to talk up the scene and grasp to any smidgeon of fantasy to exhort the achievements of the South. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 And the crux of that story was? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 16 hours ago, The Centaur said: These are just names to me but the horse Ribaldo links up with the name Murfitt. Seems part and parcel of the Riccarton scene. 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 9 hours ago, Special Agent said: And the crux of that story was? No real crux....just a bit of a YARN. When I see or hear certain names or things mentioned I immediately are reminded of word association games I played when young. For years I have read these racing sites and the constant reference to 'stuff of little consequence' actually wore me down and as its something I enjoy cos I do it in both codes I thought i'd tell a few yarns about my experiences and try to keep the personal bias , out of it. I want the future of NZ racing and breeding to be secure and prefer to talk about the bright future because a lot of Kiwis are employed in it for starters. The 'good old days ' really were the 'bad old days' but many look on the 1960's thru 1980's as the halcyon days of NZ racing and I can handle that era quite well...I say modestly. Certainly the South Island racing back then was often very memorable ,with some great horses and personalities. But its a nonsense to keep trying to build up the Southern's performance of late....for various reasons. I try to YARN about my experiences.I used to love going to heading Washdyke , both codes too . Then the thread turned to Mister Pompous who I know a little about , ditto LJ Molloy who I see around time to time . Mister Pompous [by Rapanni] was bred by Sir Henry Kelliher ,a prominent beer baron who provided a retirement home for Cardigan Bay on his Island in Auckland harbour. Washdyke had some great horses associated with it..of course Phar Lap and Grey Way were two of the best. From memory I remember 2 x good stayers Fieldmaster [NZ Cup] and good performer Royal Dell . Trainers included MJones,BT Jones , A Cowan , E Corboy , JacK Daly [Gay Doctor a favourite] K Hampton .Harness personalities included GD Shand , Paul Gallaher and many more .Plus at nearby Geraldine ,Orari there were many others both codes. Brosnans [Kerrytown] Sam Henderson [a good man at forbury] and the Pratts who I think had the good sprinter Flying View. Makikihi was close to and Clem Scott produced great trotters Le Chant and Stylish Major. S Edge [ NZ Cup] Washdyke used to have a lot of things it seemed to drift away from ..it had 2 x meetings between Xmas and New Year and it held some very early Grand National steeples .Its current Timaru Cup has a nice stake and usually attracts a couple of the Souths best horses and a fairly average field ,so often these good horses win as topweights and a few 10 year olds have won recently eg William Wallace and Gallant boy [topweight]. Other recent topweights been Who Dares Wins, Tommy Tucker ,El Chico .Final Touch [class mare] The Meista Tittsgittin., Eel Win . This year the race had more depth ...half [ 7 of 14] were horses trained in North Island or imports from North. One Co-winner had won 4 x races on Synthetic [ 3x Cambridge, 1 x Riccarton] and the otherwas a horse that has progressed thru grades quickly. Not surprisingly the topweights couldnt hack it but as top horses they won last week ! And you Special Agent seem to want to trip me up on Syntheic track facts...they have little history other than there are more going in as training tracks especially in big Aussie venues plus Cheltenham and Newmarket in UK.Yesterday Warwick Farm ran 7 of its 20 trials on syntheitic. All top trainers [ and jockeys] participating incl Chris Waller. So Cambridge has NO FACTS re its longevity os only opened less than 3 years.I've had 4 x horses trial and race on them , 2x horses have won ,the trainers like em. I really like the consistency of them. My young mates like betting on them .I really like the fact trainers arent charging hefty transport costs carting my horses all over to find variable traks. I think they part of the future ,a big part especially for training and trials. I'd support higher track fees to future proof them. Just my experiences ....and a bit of a Yarn ! Tell me ... what is your connection to racing, should you really even be concerned about the improvements , plans and upkeep of racing infrastructure ? PS I usully slip in a couple of small errors....in a recent YARN you may have noticed I associated Eiffel Tower with the sire Bellborough...of course it was Kurdistan, who stood in Riverton initially as private to Hazlett /Hillis Stable.Another one of the champ horseswas Loch Linnhe who was by Lomond who also did well in South. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Good luck with your lesser grade neddies on the synthetic TAB fan. Your trainer/s must be doing a good job. It's great too, at your age, that you still have a recall of southern racing albeit not your own experiences in the industry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holy ravioli Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 22 minutes ago, Special Agent said: Good luck with your lesser grade neddies on the synthetic TAB fan. Your trainer/s must be doing a good job. It's great too, at your age, that you still have a recall of southern racing albeit not your own experiences in the industry. His memories are his experiences,just as yours are. Always good to the stalwarts of the game reminiscing.Freda another one with some great anecdotes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 55 minutes ago, holy ravioli said: His memories are his experiences,just as yours are. Always good to the stalwarts of the game reminiscing.Freda another one with some great anecdotes. No problem on BOAY. However the Topic has meandered away from what is an important issue - upgrading the status of South Island races. Reminiscing about the past doesn't address that issue. Yes discussing it on an online forum doesn't either but it does start a conversation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 3 hours ago, Special Agent said: Good luck with your lesser grade neddies on the synthetic TAB fan. Your trainer/s must be doing a good job. It's great too, at your age, that you still have a recall of southern racing albeit not your own experiences in the industry. Interesting you won't even mention why you so negative about things and what your connection is to the conversation topic. Clearly just a 'keyboard warrior' ! And gather your facts ! Two of my 4 horses who raced and trialled on the Synthetic were premier day winners and one a listed big race winner !And for only one has it prolonged a horses career ,tho I did suggest to trainer to send it South where racing is much easier ,stakes are good and it a far cry from the Halcyon days I refer to . And my yarns are in relation to my personal experiences ,as working around stables/stallions you meet a few folk and visit a few behind the scene places .So sorry about that ! With the Wellington Cup around the corner....my favourite race ever.....a lot of YARNS are filling my head , most already recalled in recent YARNS . South Island racing folk really looked forward to Trentham racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 5 minutes ago, TAB For Ever said: With the Wellington Cup around the corner....my favourite race ever.....a lot of YARNS are filling my head , most already recalled in recent YARNS . South Island racing folk really looked forward to Trentham racing. Will you start a new Topic so we can get this one back on track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 7 minutes ago, TAB For Ever said: Two of my 4 horses who raced and trialled on the Synthetic were premier day winners and one a listed big race winner ! What about the other two? So you are disappointed that the trials at Cambridge have been cancelled and they are being held at Taupo instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 14 minutes ago, TAB For Ever said: Interesting you won't even mention why you so negative about things and what your connection is to the conversation topic. Clearly just a 'keyboard warrior' ! There is a policy on BOAY that anonymity is paramount. If someone wants to tell all who they are then that is entirely up to them. I see you have taken full advantage of that policy and arguably you are no less an anonymous keyboard warrior than many that post. This policy enables anyone in the industry to post their view without fear of recrimination. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 21 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: Will you start a new Topic so we can get this one back on track? The Timaru race has been mentioned in my yarns. IMO it well rated as a hack handicap. It has a nice stake , a good date and well positioned between NOV - mid Jan as a good pipe opener for top Southern horses. The top ones rarely do the Coast , maybe sailing home and Titch [ North] excepted. Expecting the race to be promoted IMO , not likely ,not justified. Delusional even ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 25 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: What about the other two? So you are disappointed that the trials at Cambridge have been cancelled and they are being held at Taupo instead? My horses all fine. Personally I'd prefer my horses to be stars on the grass but few are that good , most horses are plodders who win ZERO to one race ! But we all dream. You were the one who mentioned the trials being transferred to an earlier date. You clearly didn't know the reasoning. I had heard but chose not to do your work for you !You had had few new threads started so it gave you something to do and something for us to read. Clearly there was a too big a gap between trials... synthetic racing doesnt start till winter months ,plus many folk are hoping to buzz their horses along at this time to get a good sale. And empty the boxes for influx of new young horses to work on . You will have noticed recent trials at Foxton.Several Waikato horses trekked South for a stern test to impress for SALE ! Get with the program Chief ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 26 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: There is a policy on BOAY that anonymity is paramount. If someone wants to tell all who they are then that is entirely up to them. I see you have taken full advantage of that policy and arguably you are no less an anonymous keyboard warrior than many that post. This policy enables anyone in the industry to post their view without fear of recrimination. I'm not asking for a name......he wants to know who I am and what I up to.Early on my length in Racing questioned !!! I very ordinary ,and put my pants on the same way as the next guy. I just want to know from what angle he coming from....he could be a trainer , an owner , a club administrator. A regular race attender. Or a woman with hairy arms who smokes clay pipes out of a Catlins cave ! An easybet punter ! Surely you can let that info out of the box yet still remain anonymous . I mean I not a scammer asking for CC details. I add a bit of background to my YARNS by divulging I have horses and trainers which have shaped my views ...then the horses abilities get questioned , ditto the trainers. All three trainers are Group winning trainers, two considered among the best ever in NZ ...legendary.Just like the Aussie ones supporting Synthetic tracks in Australia as recently as yesterday ! Stick to the original thread Chief , and be fair ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 38 minutes ago, TAB For Ever said: You were the one who mentioned the trials being transferred to an earlier date. You clearly didn't know the reasoning. Yes I don't know the reasoning. I can only assume it was trainer and supply reasons. However as I pointed out there will have only been 2 trial meetings at Cambridge in the last 4 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 1 hour ago, TAB For Ever said: I had heard but chose not to do your work for you ! The reason is? 1 hour ago, TAB For Ever said: Clearly there was a too big a gap between trials... synthetic racing doesnt start till winter months ,plus many folk are hoping to buzz their horses along at this time to get a good sale. You are missing the point. The synthetic surface is supposed to provide a consistent surface with regard to firmness ALL YEAR ROUND. They also need to be used all year to be profitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 1 hour ago, TAB For Ever said: I just want to know from what angle he coming from....he could be a trainer , an owner , a club administrator. A regular race attender. Or a woman with hairy arms who smokes clay pipes out of a Catlins cave ! An easybet punter ! That's up to them to say. It is also irrelevant as on BOAY everyone's opinion is valid regardless of their experience. Are you sure you didn't go to Christ's College? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 4 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: The reason is? You are missing the point. The synthetic surface is supposed to provide a consistent surface with regard to firmness ALL YEAR ROUND. They also need to be used all year to be profitable. They are being used all year aren't they and in the winter for racing? I agree that 30mill could have been better directed in light of the existing track infrastructure but I still think they are a plus to what we had. We now have another semi-synthetic at Ellerslie that won't be used in winter, possibly can't be in the NZ climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 2 hours ago, curious said: They are being used all year aren't they and in the winter for racing? I agree that 30mill could have been better directed in light of the existing track infrastructure but I still think they are a plus to what we had. We now have another semi-synthetic at Ellerslie that won't be used in winter, possibly can't be in the NZ climate. I had no idea Ellerslie wasn't going to race in the winter. Is that the intention? Is it going to be like the Perth situation with Ascot and Belmont? Presumably Pukekohe is the Belmont in this case. I thought Moonee Valley raced all year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 2 hours ago, curious said: They are being used all year aren't they and in the winter for racing? Apparently not. Why not hold trials there instead of Taupo? Are they sponsored by the transport companies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 44 minutes ago, Doomed said: I had no idea Ellerslie wasn't going to race in the winter. Is that the intention? Is it going to be like the Perth situation with Ascot and Belmont? Presumably Pukekohe is the Belmont in this case. I thought Moonee Valley raced all year round. There are no meetings scheduled for Ellerslie after 25 May through the end of the season. I think there is a fair question whether the Strathayr can provide suitable footing at that time of year in our climate anyway but we'll never know if they don't race on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 44 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: Apparently not. Why not hold trials there instead of Taupo? Are they sponsored by the transport companies? I thought there were heaps of horses going round on them every day. 100s at Cambridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 52 minutes ago, curious said: I thought there were heaps of horses going round on them every day. 100s at Cambridge. Obviously not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 If not, why not? TAB man might know because his horses are trained there and he is prepared to subsidise the track by paying higher training fees. I wonder if there are others like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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