World Drivers Championship picks , tips and credits

[Gammalite]

Starting at Kaikoura for 5 heats the World drivers Championship will be underway from Sunday .

10 great drivers from around the world competing to be World Champion . 

Let's post some support for Blair Orange to take the Title and join Tony Herlihy MNZM and Maurice McKendry MNZM who won the title on NZ soil. Blair light earn himself a Commonwealth Order of Merit like those 2 great drivers should he win it .

The Galah has posted some original thoughts on the first few heats , so lets discuss here . (i'll repost his post) 

[Gammalite]

Posted By The Galah today is 

looking at the horses orange has drawn,it would be a surprise to see any of the 5 horses he's drawn at kaikoura run in the top 3.

so you would think his chances have already taken a real dive.

I guess all he can hope is he draws some of the better chances thereafter.

G hall jnr has drawn what you would expect to be the 3 hot favorites in all 3 heats on the sunday and another likely favorite in one of the 2 heats on the monday.

he clearly has been the luckiest from the draw of horses,by a long way. 

thats why the tab now have him a clear favorite.They have him at $2.50 ,which actually seems rather good given he should end up a clear leader after the kaikoura meetings,it just a matter of how far he is in front if his horses run up to their recent form.

Edited 5 hours ago by the galah

[Gammalite]

1 minute ago, Gammalite said:

looking at the horses orange has drawn,it would be a surprise to see any of the 5 horses he's drawn at kaikoura run in the top 3.

I don't know about that Mr Galah. 

He'd have to be a strong chance of running Top 3 with Ohoka Cobra (heat 3)  and Aldebaran Crystal (Heat 2) ?? Blair has driven both of those into placings in the last few months at Addington . which is much harder than here ? 

I actually think they'll both WIN. 

5 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

G hall jnr has drawn what you would expect to be the 3 hot favorites in all 3 heats on the sunday and another likely favorite in one of the 2 heats on the monday.

young Gary Hall NOT at ALL used to driving Trotters. They'll be a chance of galloping on him lol 🤣 even though he has over 4000 wins to his name , very few were trotters.

and in Monday's 2 Pacing heats Gary is on the rank outsider in Heat 4 , ( the Dutch bloke looks a certainty in that heat on the nice Pacer It's Tough. should win by lengths.

and in Heat 5 Gary is inside of 2nd row with a $1.80 favourite Semba. can't win from that draw unless the number one horse leads can he ? and it's the rank outsider of the field. Blair drove Gem N Em (his drive in this ) to victory at Addington just 3 weeks ago. He'll WIN this for sure at 15-1 !!!!!  go the Gem !!!👍🍻💰💰 

 

[the galah]

1 hour ago, Gammalite said:

I don't know about that Mr Galah. 

He'd have to be a strong chance of running Top 3 with Ohoka Cobra (heat 3)  and Aldebaran Crystal (Heat 2) ?? Blair has driven both of those into placings in the last few months at Addington . which is much harder than here ? 

I actually think they'll both WIN. 

 

alderbaran crystal,if it wins i will do a streak down the main street at luchtime . But that won't be happening as its no chance of winning. its been going ok lately,but is simply racing out of its grade. 

ohoka cobra,well maybe it can run 4th at best with a top drive .

I know your a positive thinker gammalite ,so i hope they do go much better than i rate their chances.

1 hour ago, Gammalite said:

 

young Gary Hall NOT at ALL used to driving Trotters. They'll be a chance of galloping on him lol 🤣 even though he has over 4000 wins to his name , very few were trotters.

and in Monday's 2 Pacing heats Gary is on the rank outsider in Heat 4 , ( the Dutch bloke looks a certainty in that heat on the nice Pacer It's Tough. should win by lengths.

and in Heat 5 Gary is inside of 2nd row with a $1.80 favourite Semba. can't win from that draw unless the number one horse leads can he ? and it's the rank outsider of the field. Blair drove Gem N Em (his drive in this ) to victory at Addington just 3 weeks ago. He'll WIN this for sure at 15-1 !!!!!  go the Gem !!!👍🍻💰💰 

 

interesting observation about the trotters for g hall,maybe it is a factor,but they are both horses that normally are pretty safe to trot all the way.both very hot favorites. Semba at $1.80 does seem a bit short and as you say,its draw is not ideal as it may get stuck on inside,but he should look to get it off the inside early you would think as if it runs up to its best form it can still go close after doing a little work. 

munroes mate halls other horse,yes it looka a  roughie and can be moody,depending on who drives him. Hes capable of running top 4  or 5 ,but hes has a couple of hard runs fresh so you would be hopeful rather than expectant,of him running much good.your point about the g hall not having driven as many trotters,i suppose applies to several of the other drivers having driven pacers.

it will be interesting to see how they all go. good luck to the aussie.

[Nowornever]

2 hours ago, Gammalite said:

young Gary Hall NOT at ALL used to driving Trotters.

Same would probably apply to the lads from Europe jumping on the pacers.

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, Nowornever said:

Same would probably apply to the lads from Europe jumping on the pacers.

yes that will make a big difference. they won't be used to the slightly more contact that the pacers (and therefore Blair and Gary Hall) can tolerate and dish out during a Southern Hemisphere pacers racing 

this will give Blair and Gary a big advantage ( although I see the first 2 Kaikoura races are mobile trots Sunday so advantage lost in those first 2 races )  

Blair (Nz) and Pete McMullen (Aus) copped the same in Europe 2 years ago in the 2023 championship, finishing down the ladder driving trotters Only through the series . they're slightly more tricky to keep balanced. 

[mikeynz]

Do you think if Blair Orange won he could claim to be the best in the World if he's only half as good as Dexter Dunn?

[Gammalite]

30 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Do you think if Blair Orange won he could claim to be the best in the World if he's only half as good as Dexter Dunn?

He could definitely claim to be his 'equal' should he win this year . and be the equal of 5 other greats as well.

This is surely Blair Orange's  BIG big chance to join the list of World Champions.

The winning  SIX x  Nz World Harness driving Champions are Kevin Holmes (1979), Robert Cameron (1983) ,

Tony Herlihy MNZM (1985), Maurice McKendry MNZM (1991), Mark Jones (2003), Dexter Dunn (2015)

[Gammalite]

James McDonald with a great warm up drive in the first race today .

The man from Canada winning on the Dunn runner Judine in race 1 at 8-1 odds. gets a great sighter of the track.

Perhaps drawn One in Heat 2 with 'Holly Highlander' in Race 7 at 10-1  ? ,

and a Mark Jones trotter in race 5 named 'Switch On' also at 10-1 could give James another winner too ?

How good are those 2 trotters ?  

[Blackie]

Holly Highlander has plenty of gate speed, will probably pull the favourite through and he should find the top.

[Gammalite]

8 minutes ago, Blackie said:

Holly Highlander has plenty of gate speed, will probably pull the favourite through and he should find the top.

Gary Hall Jnr does the good Aussie thing and finds the top in Heat 1 . that's the way to do it Blackie. Hoof-in it out in front,  while the goings good.

None of this galloping out the back like the 2nd and 3rd favourites did in that first heat lol 😎.

I still hope Blair can come good and take the Title though for his home fans 👍🏆.

 

[the galah]

On 30/10/2025 at 8:13 PM, the galah said:

alderbaran crystal,if it wins i will do a streak down the main street at luchtime . But that won't be happening as its no chance of winning. its been going ok lately,but is simply racing out of its grade. 

 

blair oranges drive,alderbaran crystal  finished a long way back as predicted.Should have been 200/1 instead of the 26/1 it was at..

no need for a streak today.

actually the 2 heats so far have pretty much played out as expected.

Theres was quite a difference in the level of recent form of the runners and they have finished spread out like browns cows.

i don't know,but i looked at those fields and i thought,thats unfair for those drivers who had drawn the lesser chances.

Why didn't they start the champs at methven on friday in mid grade pacing races. They would have got full fields with ballots and they would have been far more even in quality than what they've got going to kaikoura..  

But hrnz chose to discard methven and instead provide the drivers with the big difference in quality of horses at kaikoura instead. Strange that.

G hall is doing everything right and so far the 2 hot favorites have performed as expected for him.

B orange,well nothing wrong with his drives,he simply was on a couple that were running against far higher graded horses. he managed to get 5th in the first heat,although well beaten off,he passed a couple of gallopers and a couple almost down to a slow jog at the finish.

heat 3 coming up soon. Some pacers and a full field.

 still  a huge difference in the recent form of the runners even in this heat.

the race about to start.

Ruskinoff the favorite. Get on betfair gamma and back it to lose. I don't see it running in the top 3 but its favorite for some reason and one of the trackside presenters bet of the day....i will watch it and see.

Edited 15 hours ago by the galah

[mikeynz]

7 minutes ago, the galah said:

blair oranges drive,alderbaran crystal  finished a long way back as predicted.Should have been 200/1 instead of the 26/1 it was at..

no need for a streak today.

actually the 2 heats so far have pretty much played out as expected.

Theres was quite a difference in the level of recent form of the runners and they have finished spread out like browns cows.

i don't know,but i looked at those fields and i thought,thats unfair for those drivers who had drawn the lesser chances.

Why didn't they start the champs at methven on friday in mid grade pacing races. They would have got full fields with ballots and they would have been far more even in quality than what they've got going to kaikoura..  

But hrnz chose to discard methven and instead provide the drivers with the big difference in quality of horses at kaikoura instead. Strange that.

G hall is doing everything right and so far the 2 hot favorites have performed as expected for him.

B orange,well nothing wrong with his drives,he simply was on a couple that were running against far higher graded horses. he managed to get 5th in the first heat,although well beaten off,he passed a couple of gallopers and a couple almost down to a slow jog at the finish.

heat 3 coming up soon. Some pacers and a full field.

 still  a huge difference in the recent form of the runners even in this heat.

the race about to start.

Ruskinoff the favorite. Get on betfair gamma and back it to lose. I don't see it running in the top 3 but its favorite for some reason and one of the trackside presenters bet of the day....i will watch it and see.

Ruskinoff just won lol.

[the galah]

7 minutes ago, the galah said:

ruskinoff the favorite. Get on betfair gamma and back it to lose. I don't see it running in the top 3 but its favorite for some reason and one of the trackside presenters bet of the day....i will watch it and see.

great stuff. double crossed at the start as expected , not looking in a good position,but they go very hard and the gap comes in plenty of time and sneaks up the inside to win. That greg o'connor can pick them. Glad i never had a bet in the race as i would never have backed that one.

[Gammalite]

3 minutes ago, the galah said:

great stuff. double crossed at the start as expected , not looking in a good position,but they go very hard and the gap comes in plenty of time and sneaks up the inside to win. That greg o'connor can pick them. Glad i never had a bet in the race as i would never have backed that one.

The Galah trying to go against the young star Carter there and not paying off. Greg O and Mick G are so excellent at their knowledge it's incredible. they know the sport and characters so well it's like second nature to them.

 

18 minutes ago, the galah said:

Get on betfair gamma and back it to lose. I don't see it running in the top 3 but its favorite for some reason and one of the trackside presenters bet of the day....i will watch it and see.

Could never , ever pick or back anything to lose in life. even if I hated them. They are trying or competing to win , so always wish everyone well in every contest.   and may the best (or luckiest ) on the day ,take the Victory 🏆.  

[Gammalite]

23 minutes ago, the galah said:

i don't know,but i looked at those fields and i thought,thats unfair for those drivers who had drawn the lesser chances.

I think what I'd do is run 10 races for the 10 drivers ,

and have them all start one race in every Barrier position from one to 10 each.

Like then , they all get one pole marker each across the series , one or 2 second rows . every saddle cloth number once each. and then draw whatever horses into those positions according to their rankings. 

DOVER TERRACE the plunge horse is in the next Heat. first round for Pacers. Is he 'Red-Hot' today ????😉

[the galah]

14 minutes ago, the galah said:

great stuff. double crossed at the start as expected , not looking in a good position,but they go very hard and the gap comes in plenty of time and sneaks up the inside to win. That greg o'connor can pick them. Glad i never had a bet in the race as i would never have backed that one.

ill have another go in this race. can only go better than the last one. Spirit down under to win and nasana to run in top 3 multi. paying $10.50. i've never taken a multi before,maybe todays the day to start.

[the galah]

5 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

I think what I'd do is run 10 races for the 10 drivers ,

and have them all start one race in every Barrier position from one to 10 each.

Like then , they all get one pole marker each across the series , one or 2 second rows . every saddle cloth number once each. and then draw whatever horses into those positions according to their rankings. 

DOVER TERRACE the plunge horse is in the next Heat. first round for Pacers. Is he 'Red-Hot' today ????😉

i like your thoughts on how to make the series not as much down to luck.

Dover terrace. Its a former kaikoura horse,but a massive rise in class from a non win wednesday race, to today run against a horse who ran 3rd last start in a $50,000 listed 3yo race. Thats what i was meaning about the huge difference in recent form.

[Gammalite]

Viva la Italia . bellissimo driving lol 😎

[the galah]

12 minutes ago, the galah said:

i like your thoughts on how to make the series not as much down to luck.

Dover terrace. Its a former kaikoura horse,but a massive rise in class from a non win wednesday race, to today run against a horse who ran 3rd last start in a $50,000 listed 3yo race. Thats what i was meaning about the huge difference in recent form.

well dover terrace ran a very nice race after galloping.May have placed had it not galloped.

spirit down under beaten fair and square by the other class horse in the field ,scrunch. Just the spreaders and inexperience of scrunch put me off it a little ,but it ran up to its recent form and was simply too good.Spirit down under just a tad disappointing, although the winner has looked good and shouldn't be underestimated going forward. 

nasana,got a nice run but dropped away in straight. thought it should have run better.

you were right about b oranges drive,ohoka cobra.a good run for 3rd.

Edited 14 hours ago by the galah

[Gammalite]

12 minutes ago, the galah said:

Dover terrace. Its a former kaikoura horse,but a massive rise in class from a non win wednesday race, to today run against a horse who ran 3rd last start in a $50,000 listed 3yo race. Thats what i was meaning about the huge difference in recent form.

yeah . it couldn't pace very well so was quickly out the back today,  I bet they're glad it didn't gallop at Addington with all the money on 😁.   Blair drove a good race then . Can't wait for 'GemN Em' tomorrow 👍

Speaking of huge difference in recent form I have a Grimson like beauty for you.  a big one from our 'slow' Thursdays.

I'll pop it on a thread for tomorrow . 

 

[mikeynz]

I note the Italian guy has a interpreter, I know many men who have one as well, it's called the wife 🤓