Oamaru.

[mikeynz]

Good noms but despite that and a good track 7 races and small numbers mostly, this is a poorly scheduled meeting, date wise, Riccarton on Saturday yet last Sunday as a example nothing, this date may have been better for the AWT and give Oamaru a better deal

[Doomed]

Good 4 at Oamaru and heavy 10 at Riccarton, certainly shows why Riccarton needed an AWT but not why the SI needed one.

[mikeynz]

Every track in NZ is heavy yet Oamaru has a good 4, maybe that feature meeting at Riccarton should be moved  to Oamaru, it's not like that always but generally North Otago is one of the driest places in NZ  but it shows though that the tracks need a good spell, Oamaru havnt raced for 11 months, yet Riccarton gets the shit beaten out of it regularly and yet they want less tracks doing more racing, it might work in oz with a warmer climate, not in old NZ though.

The issues of closing either Oamaru or Timaru is interesting in itself, Oamaru is probably better for harness, Timaru for gallops, so  will there be compromise?

Edited June 22, 2022 by mikeynz

[mikeynz]

9 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Every track in NZ is heavy yet Oamaru has a good 4, maybe that feature meeting at Riccarton should be moved  to Oamaru, it's not like that always but generally North Otago is one of the driest places in NZ  but it shows though that the tracks need a good spell, Oamaru havnt raced for 11 months, yet Riccarton gets the shit beaten out of it regularly and yet they want less tracks doing more racing, it might work in oz with a warmer climate, not in old NZ though.

The issues of closing either Oamaru or Timaru is interesting in itself, Oamaru is probably better for harness, Timaru for gallops, so  will there be compromise?

Maybe they may meet in the middle, close Timaru and Oamaru and reopen Waimate, simple

[nomates]

26 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Every track in NZ is heavy yet Oamaru has a good 4, maybe that feature meeting at Riccarton should be moved  to Oamaru

Most of the horses racing at Riccarton will want the wet track , and to be fair i have seen plenty of heavy tracks at Oamaru , just having a dry spell . 

[Shad]

Isn't the case of winter horses for winter racing, 99% of the time we know what winter conditions bring, some will be well suited some not, wouldn't you base your plan on which ever conditions suit your horse.

[mikeynz]

Hey I know it's winter and one expects winter tracks, but Oamaru running 12000 dollar races just two days before 30000 dollar races at Riccarton , seems a bit weird to me, little wonder the fields at Oamaru are light but as I've often said, what do I know.

[nomates]

17 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Hey I know it's winter and one expects winter tracks, but Oamaru running 12000 dollar races just two days before 30000 dollar races at Riccarton , seems a bit weird to me, little wonder the fields at Oamaru are light but as I've often said, what do I know.

It's not weird they are 2 different grades of race meeting , Oamaru mostly mdns and horses that might not have made the Riccarton fields or connections felt they were more competitive at Oamaru , and as much as i would like to put it down to NZTR incompetence even they wouldn't have been expecting a G4 at Oamaru .

[Freda]

7 hours ago, nomates said:

It's not weird they are 2 different grades of race meeting , Oamaru mostly mdns and horses that might not have made the Riccarton fields or connections felt they were more competitive at Oamaru , and as much as i would like to put it down to NZTR incompetence even they wouldn't have been expecting a G4 at Oamaru .

You don't feel it's a Cunning Plan to make Oamaru look irrelevant so as to justify it's closure?

[Freda]

15 hours ago, Shad said:

Isn't the case of winter horses for winter racing, 99% of the time we know what winter conditions bring, some will be well suited some not, wouldn't you base your plan on which ever conditions suit your horse.

We try. 

[Ludwig]

7 hours ago, Freda said:

You don't feel it's a Cunning Plan to make Oamaru look irrelevant so as to justify it's closure?

I am surprised that Oamaru has lasted this long. A couple of crappy winter dates, there are no trainers based there, and local interest would be about zero. It's a different story when it comes to the harness side, though. That seems to be it's future 

[nomates]

7 hours ago, Freda said:

You don't feel it's a Cunning Plan to make Oamaru look irrelevant so as to justify it's closure?

Their not that smart you wouldn't give them that much credit to be that cunning , just the usual bullshit planning , been happening for decades .

[nomates]

16 hours ago, Shad said:

Isn't the case of winter horses for winter racing, 99% of the time we know what winter conditions bring, some will be well suited some not, wouldn't you base your plan on which ever conditions suit your horse.

As Freda says most try to plan but it always amazes me how many times i see a horse that clearly doesn't like wet tracks kicking off a campaign in April/May . 

[mikeynz]

1 hour ago, Ludwig said:

I am surprised that Oamaru has lasted this long. A couple of crappy winter dates, there are no trainers based there, and local interest would be about zero. It's a different story when it comes to the harness side, though. That seems to be it's future 

Maybe they could shift Oamaru gallops to Washdyke, then at least they could run that Sunday feature meeting in July, then logic would then suggest that if either Oamaru or Timaru were to close then shift Oamaru trots to Timaru too, then there is no future for Oamaru at all, not what I would do but if one has to go then logic should be applied.

[Shad]

4 hours ago, nomates said:

As Freda says most try to plan but it always amazes me how many times i see a horse that clearly doesn't like wet tracks kicking off a campaign in April/May . 

Why would you, would seem a waste of time and money, or are owners in a hurry to get them to races 

[nomates]

26 minutes ago, Shad said:

Why would you, would seem a waste of time and money, or are owners in a hurry to get them to races 

You'd be surprised at the number of owners are nieve to things such as this , or a syndicate where the trainer just does as they want , big stables in particular need numbers in work to keep things ticking over financially . I can tell you the syndicates i am in with my small percentage as are many others , it becomes too cumbersome to ask everyone so trainer and syndicate manager decide , i just have to live with it , but i knew going in . Also some owners can't wait , hardest lesson in racing , patience , everybody has made the error . 

[Doomed]

21 hours ago, nomates said:

It's not weird they are 2 different grades of race meeting , Oamaru mostly mdns and horses that might not have made the Riccarton fields or connections felt they were more competitive at Oamaru , and as much as i would like to put it down to NZTR incompetence even they wouldn't have been expecting a G4 at Oamaru .

There is really very little difference between the horses that contest each grade of racing in the South, and even in the North most of the time. They are pretty much interchangeable. In this case the ones who wanted firm tracks went to Oamaru, as did the ones who wanted a local racemeeting. 

The most revealing thing about racing in the SI this week is the programming incompetence it exposes. At this time of year there are a lot of 3yos winning races. Would you not have thought a 3yo race at Riccarton might have been a good idea? Look at the Creswick Stakes at Flemington last Saturday, a top notch field with numerous winners getting a late season chance to test themselves against the best 3yo sprinters going around. A 3yo sprint at Riccarton would have thrown together a really competitive field. But its just all too hard really. Just stick to the safe basic programme.

[nomates]

28 minutes ago, Doomed said:

A 3yo sprint at Riccarton would have thrown together a really competitive field

Wash your mouth out , catering for 2yo's and 3yo's in the SI , waste of bloody time to them , it's a discussion that's been going on here for a while and they still haven't picked it up .

[Doomed]

7 minutes ago, nomates said:

Wash your mouth out , catering for 2yo's and 3yo's in the SI , waste of bloody time to them , it's a discussion that's been going on here for a while and they still haven't picked it up .

Since you mention 2yos, interesting to see another 2yo race catering solely to maidens for $30,000 at Riccarton. Only one official maiden 2yo race in the SI all season, and that's the first race of the season when they are all maidens anyhow, but throughout the season they keep running $30,000 races that only attract maidens.

I wonder if they have thought of doing what they do in the NI, you run endless maiden 2yo races and then they all come together in the better staked races. Its called a racing pattern in most other countries.

[Freda]

1 hour ago, Doomed said:

Since you mention 2yos, interesting to see another 2yo race catering solely to maidens for $30,000 at Riccarton. Only one official maiden 2yo race in the SI all season, and that's the first race of the season when they are all maidens anyhow, but throughout the season they keep running $30,000 races that only attract maidens.

I wonder if they have thought of doing what they do in the NI, you run endless maiden 2yo races and then they all come together in the better staked races. Its called a racing pattern in most other countries.

Conditions are SW & P .for the 2 yr olds.

[Doomed]

24 minutes ago, Freda said:

Conditions are SW & P .for the 2 yr olds.

I did realise it was open to all comers, but because they have such big gaps between races and because they don't run maiden 2yo races as lead ups these races tend to just attract maidens.

[Shad]

3 hours ago, nomates said:

You'd be surprised at the number of owners are nieve to things such as this , or a syndicate where the trainer just does as they want , big stables in particular need numbers in work to keep things ticking over financially . I can tell you the syndicates i am in with my small percentage as are many others , it becomes too cumbersome to ask everyone so trainer and syndicate manager decide , i just have to live with it , but i knew going in . Also some owners can't wait , hardest lesson in racing , patience , everybody has made the error . 

Fair call, has just bought back a few memories with one I was involved with, and yes easy to get frustrated with others deciding  for you, I was always of the opinion they raced him to much, and on unsuitable tracks at times, gave him 4 starts in 6 weeks and then a 2500m race leading into the New Zealand cup, was surprised he actually stood up to what was asked of him, but alas it came to an end with tendon issues, main thing he went to a good home and is enjoying his retirement.