Trentham!

[Joe Bloggs]

WTF? How incompetent can you be? one race and it's all over rover, all those poor buggers that have travelled their horses hundreds of kilometres, hundreds of dollars, just unforgivable, did anyone think to gallop on the track at 6-30am? or has there been a torrential downpour?..........it goes from joke to choke, where's the midget Aussie, nah it's all the committee's fault ain't it?

[Freda]

I missed the first, so didn't see anything...but yeah, not good at a premier track this time of the year.

Just what Chief has been saying, ad infinitum,  how the soil structure in so many tracks is stuffed.

[Huey]

20 minutes ago, Joe Bloggs said:

WTF? How incompetent can you be? one race and it's all over rover, all those poor buggers that have travelled their horses hundreds of kilometres, hundreds of dollars, just unforgivable, did anyone think to gallop on the track at 6-30am? or has there been a torrential downpour?..........it goes from joke to choke, where's the midget Aussie, nah it's all the committee's fault ain't it?

BS got it sorted don't worry, well his ticket home that is!

[Joe Bloggs]

Ever since he set foot in the country it's been a disaster, he leaves with his bank account loaded and the industry rooted.....don't let the door slam you on the arse Bernard, on second thoughts..........

[Huey]

It's gotten so bad now that no one really blinks an eye anymore when a meeting in NZ is abandoned, 2 this week going well.

 

[Huey]

Love Summer Racing ....

The Passion , the beauty, the glory and the abandonments !!!

[Reefton]

21 minutes ago, Freda said:

I missed the first, so didn't see anything...but yeah, not good at a premier track this time of the year.

Just what Chief has been saying, ad infinitum,  how the soil structure in so many tracks is stuffed.

Remarkable coincidence - all these places where 'the soil structure is stuffed' have all been in the past renovated by the same sort of expert he claims to be.

So what conclusion are we forced to draw?  Given every single one they have touched seems to be afflicted(at least in the early stages after 'renovation' and in some cases forever)

I sorta kinda think it might be the experts who are the problem

 

 

[Freda]

11 minutes ago, Reefton said:

Remarkable coincidence - all these places where 'the soil structure is stuffed' have all been in the past renovated by the same sort of expert he claims to be.

So what conclusion are we forced to draw?  Given every single one they have touched seems to be afflicted(at least in the early stages after 'renovation' and in some cases forever)

I sorta kinda think it might be the experts who are the problem

 

 

I kinda think you are right.

Although, I note that overseas ( and was it Eagle Farm or Doomben that was buggered when it was 'reconstructed? ) places like  Ascot can renovate their royal turf without fucking it up.

I know Peter O'Malley fixed the fix at Greymouth....and I was at Reefton when he was told by the venue inspector to put 4 ml - or some such inconsequential amount of water - on the track there.

He refused.  Waste of time, he said.  Not enough time to soak in, not enough, will be slippery and I'm not doing it.

Track raced fine.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Freda

[mikeynz]

Cant they race tomorrow?

[Joe Bloggs]

21 minutes ago, Reefton said:

Remarkable coincidence - all these places where 'the soil structure is stuffed' have all been in the past renovated by the same sort of expert he claims to be.

So what conclusion are we forced to draw?  Given every single one they have touched seems to be afflicted(at least in the early stages after 'renovation' and in some cases forever)

I sorta kinda think it might be the experts who are the problem

 

 

Touche!

[Joe Bloggs]

Nah can't race tomorrow, Bernards playing bowls.......or pocket billiards....

[Doomed]

Unbelievable. I notice Taranaki was abandoned midweek and not a single comment anywhere. Everyone one expects it these days. What a bloody fiasco. And the features have been moved to TeRapa. Bloody hell. I can't imagine an abandoned Sydney meeting would ever be moved to Brisbane. Why not move it to Cromwell, that raced really well last week? Why not move the features to Awapuni?

What a shambles. 

 

[Doomed]

6 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Cant they race tomorrow?

The track will still be f-ck-d tomorrow. Might be time to close down Trentham.  Sell Trentham and invest in a state of the art track at Timaru. That's the way rationalisation should work.

[Huey]

4 minutes ago, Doomed said:

The track will still be f-ck-d tomorrow. Might be time to close down Trentham.  Sell Trentham and invest in a state of the art track at Timaru. That's the way rationalisation should work.

One of the issues is the geniuses have closed down most of the back up tracks or are in the process of doing so or alternative venues.

That venue plan has worked wonders for NZracing!

Too much self interest in NZ racing and its got us to this point, more and more of it to come  as well. 

Youre right no one notices anymore when there is an abandonment, mind you does anyone notice when the races are actually on in NZ either?

[mikeynz]

6 minutes ago, Huey said:

One of the issues is the geniuses have closed down most of the back up tracks or are in the process of doing so or alternative venues.

That venue plan has worked wonders for NZracing!

Too much self interest in NZ racing and its got us to this point, more and more of it to come  as well. 

Youre right no one notices anymore when there is an abandonment, mind you does anyone notice when the races are actually on in NZ either?

Did I read that New Plymouth was put off midweek, if that's true I can honestly say I didnt even know.

[Doomed]

54 minutes ago, Huey said:

It's gotten so bad now that no one really blinks an eye anymore when a meeting in NZ is abandoned, 2 this week going well.

 

Don't worry Huey, the AWTs are going to solve this problem with abandoned meetings.

[Huey]

38 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Did I read that New Plymouth was put off midweek, if that's true I can honestly say I didnt even know.

Yes I believe after a few races it was deemed unsafe.

[Doomed]

One simple question that someone more expert than I might be able to answer (well most are more expert than I): Why is it that I can never recall an Aussie meeting being being abandoned because a track becomes slippery and yet it happens in NZ all the time?

And one extra question. Why is it that I attended most Central Districts meeting for a dozen or so years  from the early 80s and can't remember a meeting ever being abandoned and yet now it happens regularly? 

There is obviously a problem that they have tried to address cheaply by watering tracks heavily, but that clearly hasn't worked. 

The AWTs were supposed to end abandonments, that was the major justification for their introduction at great cost, but I can't see that they would have prevented either of this weeks abandonments.

[Reefton]

1 hour ago, Freda said:

I kinda think you are right.

Although, I note that overseas ( and was it Eagle Farm or Doomben that was buggered when it was 'reconstructed? ) places like  Ascot can renovate their royal turf without fucking it up.

I know Peter O'Malley fixed the fix at Greymouth....and I was at Reefton when he was told by the venue inspector to put 4 ml - or some such inconsequential amount of water - on the track there.

He refused.  Waste of time, he said.  Not enough time to soak in, not enough, will be slippery and I'm not doing it.

Track raced fine.

Peter often did things he want supposed to(or didn't do things they wanted him too)

The time the Trotters hammered it a week before in the rain - Peter got a twelve tonne vibrating road roller onto it next day - it might have had bare patches but they were flat bare patches.

When one G Foskett saw the thing parked off the track he simply shook his head.  Not that I ever had a cross word with Garry - he was always pleasant and accommodating but he knew the track would be presented as good as it could possibly be.

I just can't see what there is to lose in ripping all these dodgy tracks with a mole plough like they did Grey - at the end of the day what have you got to lose?  You are aerating it two foot down and possibly creating drainage channels as well.

 

 

 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Ah, we have our share of abandonments here too Doomed, mid meeting also, BUT, the torrential rain we get here in QLD especially can leave so much surface water on the track it's deemed dangerous by the jocks, mainly......it doesn't happen en masse though but the Trentham scenario happens much too often, horses slipping?  The suits will pass the parcel, no accountability, until there is the third world stigma still sticks.......unfortunately.

[Peanut]

As an owner of horses that were pointlessly transported from the Waikato to New Plymouth and Trentham this past week I can say definitively that I will never ever race a horse at either track again.  Heads have to roll at both Clubs. 

 

[Doomed]

26 minutes ago, Joe Bloggs said:

Ah, we have our share of abandonments here too Doomed, mid meeting also, BUT, the torrential rain we get here in QLD especially can leave so much surface water on the track it's deemed dangerous by the jocks, mainly......it doesn't happen en masse though but the Trentham scenario happens much too often, horses slipping?  The suits will pass the parcel, no accountability, until there is the third world stigma still sticks.......unfortunately.

I have no problems with meetings being abandoned because of torrential rain, no one can do anything about that, but no excuse when you get drizzle on a good track.

[nomates]

My take on today for what it's worth .

Firstly nothing has changed , we have been seeing meetings abandoned for unsafe surfaces for many years and yet no major track refurbishments have ever been undertaken , mere tinkering . The establishment of A/W tracks will not resolve a situation such as todays because we don't know the track is dangerous until racing has commenced , so the first big lie that they perpetrated about A/W's has been laid bare , A/W's will never stop us having abandonments , and therefor save the industry lost revenue , how much was lost today ?

Secondly for me , today's abandonment and subsequent xfer of 2 Group races to Te Rapa next week is a window into the future , CENTRALISATION , as in all major racing in the North . The reason these races were moved to Te Rapa is because if they had been put on at Awapuni next week the fields would have been decimated , the northern trainers simply wouldn't travel their horses down to the CD twice in a week . So how long till they say " well wait a minute all the good horses are up here , why are we doing all this travelling ? " , even more so with the huge upgrade in stakes with the new ATC .

Then how long till the Guineas races are xfered north , it has been a point of serious discussion for a number of years , nearly happened this year . They say all the best horses in these races come from the north what's the point in travelling all that way with young horses . How long till the calendar and best races are programmed to suit northern trainers and BIG owners . Have your guineas CRC they will say , we will just put on a Great Northern Guineas and the horses will stay home .

CD racing is dying , numbers are poor on the whole and decreasing , and whilst numbers in the south are strong , overall quality is poor , and i'm not just knocking SI racing for the sake of it , they still produce some good horses but they are few and far between , and i mean group quality , and along with the quality of horses the riding is of a very poor standard . It is what it is .

I'm not suggesting that they are trying to kill off racing in these districts , but they will be happy for them to play a very secondary roll in the overall picture of NZ racing . Will it work for the overall betterment of NZ racing , i don't know , i would suggest no one knows but it's what they want .

So while today is hugely disappointing for us hard core supporters and the local participants , i believe those with the real power and say in the direction of NZ racing wont be crying , more power to them .

How long till this becomes reality , how long is a piece of string , i would think sooner than later , maybe 5-10 years .

This is just my take on it , i try not to get too involved in these discussions these days , here or in other spheres , as being so passionate i get very frustrated and emotional and i  find it detrimental , i'm not alone in feeling this way , many people that i have known to be passionately involved have drawn back because it gets them so upset . It saddens me greatly .

Good luck to you all .

[Doomed]

The interesting one will be the Wakefield. 6 of the 9 acceptors were from the north anyhow, it will almost certainly end up with a better field at Te Rapa. Surely next season people will say why allocate a group 2 to Trentham when it will get a much better field at Te Rapa? Group races are supposed to reflect the best horses in the country rather than being allocated to each region, especially groups 1 and 2.

[nomates]

34 minutes ago, Doomed said:

The interesting one will be the Wakefield. 6 of the 9 acceptors were from the north anyhow, it will almost certainly end up with a better field at Te Rapa. Surely next season people will say why allocate a group 2 to Trentham when it will get a much better field at Te Rapa? Group races are supposed to reflect the best horses in the country rather than being allocated to each region, especially groups 1 and 2.

Most group races in NZ are dominated by northern stables hence why eventually the call to base the vast majority of those top races up there will become louder , makes sense when you see how weak the rest of the country is . The Coupland's mile , the NZ cup and the Metrop , the G2 race for mares on the Wednesday , all poor and deficient in strong northern horses  at the cup meeting and they were poor races , outside of the 2 Guineas the rest of the meeting was pretty ho hum .

As for the 2yo's in the CD , the 3 that missed a run today now have to travel north , they along with any other 2yo in CD hoping to make the Karaka 2yo now only have the 2yo 1100 mtr race at Awapuni in 2 weeks to qualify via a CD race before the karaka race , nothing else programmed for the CD in the 5 weeks leading up to the big race . About sums up the attitude towards the chances of any CD hopeful .

Plus those 2yo's that were headed to the 40k 2yo at Te Rapa next week have now been shunted , oh that's right they have a 1000mtr race for 12k programmed for them 4 days later , happy days . Whatever was looking to qualify via Te Rapa now has to win at Pukekohe to guarantee themselves a start without having to going back to the races . Sometimes they get forgetful and even shaft the northerners .