mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Was just checking out the horses records of some of the better ones in mid 70s and looking at the results it seemed to me how better the depth overall was and probably a better structured calandar regarding the open class Pacers,with the ratings system today seems they are all over the place,just a observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 13 minutes ago, mikeynz said: Was just checking out the horses records of some of the better ones in mid 70s and looking at the results it seemed to me how better the depth overall was and probably a better structured calandar regarding the open class Pacers,with the ratings system today seems they are all over the place,just a observation. era of YOUNG QUINN (4th 'goat ' behind Gammalite, Cardy and Lazarus? lol) Interdom at Auck, Miracle mile in SYD, but only the 2 x 3rds in the NZ CUP for Quinny. yeah it was good tough racing in the mid 70's for sure .... hard to win then , hard to win now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterthepunter Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 steel jaw what a horse he was 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 1 minute ago, Gammalite said: era of YOUNG QUINN (4th 'goat ' behind Gammalite, Cardy and Lazarus? lol) Interdom at Auck, Miracle mile in SYD, but only the 2 x 3rds in the NZ CUP for Quinny. yeah it was good tough racing in the mid 70's for sure .... hard to win then , hard to win now I'm sure any race is hard to win ,a maiden at Westport or the Interdom final,just looking back though it seemed better,Hutt Park and Forbury were strong,ran top races,ut seemed there were more races run for the top pacers and trotters,the trotters use to race at Greymouth and Manawatu,I know things change not sure if they have changed for the better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 There were less meetings but a higher quality,probably one thing that has improved is the length of the season in Southland,I reckon there are a lot of meetings today that could easily be dropped,sometimes less is more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, mikeynz said: I'm sure any race is hard to win ,a maiden at Westport or the Interdom final,just looking back though it seemed better,Hutt Park and Forbury were strong,ran top races,ut seemed there were more races run for the top pacers and trotters,the trotters use to race at Greymouth and Manawatu,I know things change not sure if they have changed for the better. Yeah pacers like Hands Down would go to Forbury , very good quality, Hutt park wellington Cup was something to look forward too. shame as gives others than Allstars a good race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 8 minutes ago, hunterthepunter said: steel jaw what a horse he was Sreel Jaw killed it in that NZ cup hunter just after KIWI won the Melbourne Cup too I think. Spoils shared ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 1 minute ago, Gammalite said: Yeah pacers like Hands Down would go to Forbury , very good quality, Hutt park wellington Cup was something to look forward too. shame as gives others than Allstars a good race. Look at Forbury last night,pretty average yet I personally like watching Forbury,they are at the crossroads,yes they have 10 meetings but the club wants more to make the venue more viable,that's a tough one,as in what's best for the club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 Moral of the story,change is always gunna happen but I dont think harness racing has really improved,but our society as a whole seems to be two steps forward 3 back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 7 minutes ago, mikeynz said: Look at Forbury last night,pretty average yet I personally like watching Forbury,they are at the crossroads,yes they have 10 meetings but the club wants more to make the venue more viable,that's a tough one,as in what's best for the club For these places to survive you need punting /punters. yes.. pokies came and then sports betting so the clubs are all slowly closing. I wouldn't bet at Forbury (unless good form horses raced there) as a pro punter these days instead of FUN punter, I Only bet on horses that show ability, win regularly , and always a chance. So in NZ , I nearly always Allstars, here I wouldn't touch Tassie, SA , trotters or Qld races unless a Group race like COLT THIRTY ONE ,( always gives his best.) There is hope though! horses like AMERICAN DEALER always give their best so would draw a punter and a crowd away from Allstars if they attend some smaller meetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, Gammalite said: For these places to survive you need punting /punters. yes.. pokies came and then sports betting so the clubs are all slowly closing. I wouldn't bet at Forbury (unless good form horses raced there) as a pro punter these days instead of FUN punter, I Only bet on horses that show ability, win regularly , and always a chance. So in NZ , I nearly always Allstars, here I wouldn't touch Tassie, SA , trotters or Qld races unless a Group race like COLT THIRTY ONE ,( always gives his best.) There is hope though! horses like AMERICAN DEALER always give their best so would draw a punter and a crowd away from Allstars if they attend some smaller meetings. But isnt that what I've been saying about some of the changes,Forbury are now only a shadow of what they were once,I dont think that is entirely their fault,go back to the 70s and 80s and compare and ask,how did he slip away like it has,one answer,administration,Dunedin still has good rugby,can it get back good harness racing,probably not but the decision makers of the day ain't helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, mikeynz said: But isnt that what I've been saying about some of the changes,Forbury are now only a shadow of what they were once,I dont think that is entirely their fault,go back to the 70s and 80s and compare and ask,how did he slip away like it has,one answer,administration,Dunedin still has good rugby,can it get back good harness racing,probably not but the decision makers of the day ain't helping. they need motivators like you Mikey!! Those holiday grass track racing days look fun , (as long as you aren't trying to win on the punt. ) very tricky with those big fields. BUT a nice day out , and people in the industry can earn prizemoney. With Forbury , you would need innovation. combine something with it. (Albion had a disco that kicked in upstairs after the last for a few years ) that was great. Dunedin a big city, cold to go out at night I guess , but what if say the Good Rugby team were there for photos one week? for photos , fun etc, or a good local Band invited to play and get tickets to their followers to attend . (PLay tunes between races or something) I don't know . just something extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 38 minutes ago, mikeynz said: There were less meetings but a higher quality,probably one thing that has improved is the length of the season in Southland,I reckon there are a lot of meetings today that could easily be dropped,sometimes less is more. Henry Skinner is a prime example of less is best,he had a heap less meetings in his day but a heap of better quality horses,now you got the same old same old week after week,sometimes day after day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globederby12 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 48 minutes ago, Gammalite said: era of YOUNG QUINN (4th 'goat ' behind Gammalite, Cardy and Lazarus? lol) Yeah lol alright. Second only behind the incomparable Cardy. Forget the other two. I followed this horse right from his first start in 1972 when his trainer thought he was a runners chance but showed the grit he was to show over and over again to get up and beat Marc Bohan, with a shit load of my money on him. Slightly down on form as a 4yr old , he exploded with either 19 or 21 wins (I think) in one season as a 5yr old. Saw him win at Hutt Park for fun that year. Nicknamed Garbage because of his propensity for eating everything he was given, he had a small blemish on his nose that glowed pink when he was on song and in the zone, which he was that year. Went to the States and mixed it up with their best FF allers . A truly great horse was Quinny, and my all time favorite. As an aside I saw Cardigan Bay at Hutt park when he was paraded around various tracks after coming home. Man he looked good and would have probably beaten most of those on track that night had he been given a chance. Long in body he was a machine ,even allowing for the accident to his hip during an Interdom trip in WA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 7 minutes ago, mikeynz said: Henry Skinner is a prime example of less is best,he had a heap less meetings in his day but a heap of better quality horses,now you got the same old same old week after week,sometimes day after day. We have ruined it for you Mikey in Australia sadly (and USA) by buying for the rich and syndicates anything that wins there in the south with ability and leaving just the average or not for sale behind. esp Perth WA (riddled with last start winner in NZ horses through all the grades. as Bond and Hall and Warwick for years have plundered your best stock. Racing is Triving There. I remember when Brian Notman sold Village Kid , after winning at Hutt park. we all said" thats a shame" , he could be something Big......lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, globederby12 said: Yeah lol alright. Second only behind the incomparable Cardy. Forget the other two. I followed this horse right from his first start in 1972 when his trainer thought he was a runners chance but showed the grit he was to show over and over again to get up and beat Marc Bohan, with a shit load of my money on him. Slightly down on form as a 4yr old , he exploded with either 19 or 21 wins (I think) in one season as a 5yr old. Saw him win at Hutt Park for fun that year. Nicknamed Garbage because of his propensity for eating everything he was given, he had a small blemish on his nose that glowed pink when he was on song and in the zone, which he was that year. Went to the States and mixed it up with their best FF allers . A truly great horse was Quinny, and my all time favorite. As an aside I saw Cardigan Bay at Hutt park when he was paraded around various tracks after coming home. Man he looked good and would have probably beaten most of those on track that night had he been given a chance. Long in body he was a machine ,even allowing for the accident to his hip during an Interdom trip in WA. About the same time as Young Quinn was another tough Southland horse,Hi Foyle,driven by Henry Skinner,there wasn't a big race that H W S didn't have a go at,one of the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, Gammalite said: We have ruined it for you Mikey in Australia sadly (and USA) by buying for the rich and syndicates anything that wins there in the south with ability and leaving just the average or not for sale behind. esp Perth WA (riddled with last start winner in NZ horses through all the grades. as Bond and Hall and Warwick for years have plundered your best stock. Racing is Triving There. I remember when Brian Notman sold Village Kid , after winning at Hutt park. we all said" thats a shame" , he could be something Big......lol That's always been the problem for Southland,these days there is nought much coming out of Southland that's reaching great heights,hardly any turnup on cup day now,as I said looking back I think those days were better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 4 minutes ago, mikeynz said: About the same time as Young Quinn was another tough Southland horse,Hi Foyle,driven by Henry Skinner,there wasn't a big race that H W S didn't have a go at,one of the best Hey in that big 74' NZ Cup Hi Foyle and Quinny fought out 3rd behind the amazing free legged pacer ROBALAN. and Hi Foyle 2nd in the Grand Final of QUINNY"S big Interdominion win at Auckland the following year !! great memories for some readers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 This is why I think harness was better in the 70s,top pacers started in August and slowly built up with big races at Addington,Forbury,Ashburton Oamaru and Kaikoura then cup week,after that it was on to Auckland Cup,late December,then after new year consistent racing back in the mainland,one season Forbury raced the open class pacers 7 times,problem today is there ain't no depth,harness racing needs a good hard look at itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globederby12 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 In fact in any other era Hi Foyle would have been top dog. He was unlucky to race at the same time as Young Quinn and to a lesser degree Robalan who was on the wane by then although still a beautiful horse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 Then Luner Chance from Gore followed by Sapling Gore,Trusty Scot,Wyndham,Trevira,Winton,they just kept coming,now even the tracks are dissapearing,strange but true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 26 minutes ago, globederby12 said: Went to the States and mixed it up with their best FF allers . A truly great horse was Quinny, and my all time favorite. You are extra lucky to of seen both the Champions of all time. !!(Quinny should of got on a Postage Stamp like Cardy to be immortal too) Mikey was just talking about Henry Skinner who drove Sapling to just Nab Quinny in his retirement race for 3rd. 1980 Auckland CUP and the queen of the Park won Delightful Lady from Lord Module , BUT Young Quinn !!! wow ! the only time I ever saw him , and the best 4th you ever seen by a retiring horse , after he returned from USA , and was running 2nd last a lap out and trailed up into the mix , right up there with Those 3 greats in his final run. . What a beautie !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globederby12 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Yep and he only had one lead in race before that Auckland Cup where he ran second to Trevira way up north . A truly astonishing run in such exalted company, which kinda said it all to his ability. One of my most endearing memories of harness racing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 3 minutes ago, Gammalite said: You are extra lucky to of seen both the Champions of all time. !!(Quinny should of got on a Postage Stamp like Cardy to be immortal too) Mikey was just talking about Henry Skinner who drove Sapling to just Nab Quinny in his retirement race for 3rd. 1980 Auckland CUP and the queen of the Park won Delightful Lady from Lord Module , BUT Young Quinn !!! wow ! the only time I ever saw him , and the best 4th you ever seen by a retiring horse , after he returned from USA , and was running 2nd last a lap out and trailed up into the mix , right up there with Those 3 greats in his final run. . What a beautie !!! Does Harness Racing reach such heights these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globederby12 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 No . Being an owner now has kept the flame burning but the halcyon days are long gone. Sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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