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C'mon, she's a part of the team and she's fantastic, as an ambassador for her stable, for racing, and just as a bloody good bird. Give her a break.

Congrats Vinnie. Beautiful ride to get his 1000th NZ winner. Terrific milestone and thoroughly deserved.

Normally yes but this sycophantic bs around Te Akau gets up my nose. It was an Oaks Stud bred and raced horse but the sight of KFE running down to embrace people in the birdcage would lead you to think otherwise.

What a good Trainer. Strada Cavello in the Guineas ,hadn't had a run for a month,first time over 1600m. The filly was slow out and held up at a crucial stage when rolling forward in the middle stages,between the 800m and 650m. With a lack of genuine pace in the race,which didn't suit her,she over raced and I see Johnson look over his shoulder when held up to see Risque making her move. This horse could be the Oaks winner. I think if she had had a smooth run she could have won.That was the difference between 1st and 2nd.This is also mentioned in the Stipes report. Notice there was no fanfare from Trackside presenters as to the merits of Richie and this horse. A genuine horse and very good Trainer who doesn't get the backing of expensive horses and the big studs,but is probably one of the better Trainers in the country. He seems to pay for his own advertising and looks after his clients. He's good for racing.

I would like to sincerely thank my new friend Cubes for a fantastic day at Galloping cup.My wife and I along with my mate Steve made the journey up from Ashvegas with some trepadition,going to a corporate box at the gallops for a group of harness followers.Well what a great day.Pulled up at carpark,only had about 20metres to walk to gate ,now to find right suite.Well door people were marvellous,found it easily.Walk into room and right opposite finish line and what a view of everything.All of a sudden felt relaxed as mood in room was great, everybody friendly.Now just had to figure out who was Cubes.Which one was this fella with the big personality.All of a sudden this chap was shaking my hand.Hi im Cubes,otherwise known as Nigel.Met wife and Charlie their son,nice young fella.Help yourself to drink he said,shit he didnt need to say that twice.Over the next couple races i meet Talk(Tony),Chelseacol(Colin)and Foaming(Phil).Just after race 3 Cubes comes and says to me ,i sponsor next race would you like to come to Chairmans room with me as i sponsor next race.So i hitched pants up a bit higher toghtened my belt and away we went.Cubes,myself and a lovely fella called Colin,not Chelseacol.Walked in there and Karen Fenton Ellis in there from previoys race win,very nice lady.Grabbed a beer and started talking to chairman and watched race.Great excitement when El Chico won.Stayed there while cubes went out for presentation and made speech.Great surrise when Cubes also gave jockey 5 ounces gold,worth about $12000.Next thing Michael Pitman came in with owners,what great bunch people.Pitty told us he thought would win that but thought Southern Sav just a good if not better bet in cup.All sudden Cubes comes up and says ,we better go back have some lunch.Great feed and few beers later Richie was as happy as could be.Just a great day with a great host and great people. Thank you very much,my new friend Cubes for a great day .

In my opinion the main problem with KFE is that she has fingers in to many pies which leads to saturation of her brand. The same applies to Miriama Kamo and Hilary Barry.Both of them great news readers but now Kamo not only presents the news but does a lifestyle show and the Sunday programme.Hillary Barry not only reads the news but now is a comic partner to Paul Henry.We are a small nation and it doesn't take long for people to get too much coverage.

So if I was down there and the only one who looked excited I would be the focus would I? What a load of bollocks.

What an old marvel he is...MP was saying he was prancing around like a 2yo after his win in the week... Ran 1.23.33 today with his last 600 in 32.95......amazing for an 11 year old......!!

Sounded like a fantastic day. This is what racing is all about, bringing together family, friends and strangers for the love of the industry which will form friendships for many years

Detach yourselves from the anti David Eliis &/or Te Akau thing and be more subjective. 1. They've pulled off a stunning replacement strategy letting Jason Bridgeman go ( and he's a decent bloke so this is not personal ) and introducing Stevie Autridge, the reliable old and experienced operator, and Jamie Richards, they young and charming 'new blood'. 2. After some years of just going through to motions they're absolutely flying this year with numerous good colts and fillies, some bought in, some trained for studs, and they've even got a decent two year old, something that haven't had for a long time. 3. They appear to have embraced a "we are family " strategy and shifted DCE out of the limelight. That young child was Tommy and Pam's daughter, and she's active in that stable so had some rights to get credit as appropriate. KFE involves her daughters and family. Jamie Richards is of very good racing stock, Paul and LeeAnne (sp?) are both superb racing people of long standing and the highest quality. It all sends a warm fuzzy message, it's inclusive and has wide appeal, as distinct from the bullshit 'wink', "and did I tell you how much I spent on yearlings" strategy of years gone by. 4. Team Te Akau and KFE are winning the PR battle, that's a fact, they're media savvy at every level, slick and polished, and if you can't stomach that you'd better go get another bottle of bitter pills, because you'll be swallowing plenty the way that operation is going.

I tell ya John its dam hard adjusting back from picking winners to losers....I just don't know if i canny do it captain..!!!

She certainly does seem like a lovely lady! Very friendly and passionate about the sport. Not sure if this is the point Pete is making or not ... But it does seem like every time Te Akau gets a win they get a very good wrap from trackside compared with others I.e. in most cases you get to see the horse lead in etc, not to mention the enthusiasm from presenters etc,in fact today of the 3 races I saw them win the amount of air time seemed a fair bit from what we have seen previously. Now it may have just been a timing issue in the NZ cup but the aftermath was pathetic.

Sorry but I don't get it. She had nothing to do with that win but because she happens to be a Trackside presenter we get subjected to the hugging and kissing. She wasn't the owner or the trainer or the breeder so why was the focus on her?

Dead right Swoopa - no better place than a racetrack with good people, chance to make some $, good food and drink and in this case an awesome venue. Cubes was everywhere on the day looking after people, making us all welcome, and dealing with sponsorship commitments. Many thanks Cubes.

I would second the above comments, also thoroughly enjoyed the day within Cubes "confines"....... Was great meeting the man behind the pseudonym. Regards Matt

WhoKnows bit tough on Samantha. She is one of the best balanced riders in the North. Trudy has a thirty years of experience on her so I think it is a bit unfair to compare them. Both have ridden horses I have shares in and I can't fault either!

Just in case you missed the result.......

After that whole week we ended up equal. So no lattes (flat white preferred) need to be purchased by either side. Always a good weeks racing and this comp widens our racing horizon, if only for a week. Thanks both Richie and John for the scoring updates.

Is Sonny Shaw in Perth ?

Well done Crusaders...a top effort, even if a little unexpected in some quarters....... Commiserations to the Canes...great competitors and always tough to beat. Another great comp PJ.....thoroughly enjoyed by all. Cheers

STATS Best Scores653.60 Howie 391.60 Steve 384.60 Sharyn Worst Scores 97.60 Gruff 93.00 Moose 63.40 Rob Most Winners 7 Howie 6 Sharyn 5 Mardy 5 Tracy 5 Steve Most Quinellas 2 Howie, Steve, Tracy, Mike, Murray Biggest Winning Margin653.60 Howie 209.00 Ray Narrowest Winning Margin 391.60 Steve (again !) 356.60 Tracy Highest Losing Score 356.60 Tracy Lowest Winning Score148.60 Murray A huge thank you to all competitors for making this an enjoyable and fun experience. Hope to see you all back in the New Year. Thanks again ! Well done the winners :)

Isn't there enough shyte going on in the industry that we don't need to have this back bitey stuff on here, so what she was happy the teams horse won, big deal move on... there are far bigger issues for the industry to UNITE on than whether or not KFE was and should have been excited.... enough...

Drat ! Well done, Magpies. You had the lead for most of the day, beat us the last time we met, so fair to say the kudos are definitely yours. Go the Mighty Bay ! And hearty congrats to the Crusaders for a big win in the Big Match. Champions. Thanks for another great competition, PJ. It's been a lot of fun as always. Now it's time for a bit of a rest. Take care all ...until we meet up to do battle again.

Why they put Reece Jones on this horse today is anyone's guess, a tragedy beaten. its pretty well known this horse likes clear air so Reece decides to run up the ass of the whole field and ride for luck, Dylan Mo rode it well last start and would of been a better option. I didn't back it because of the rider thank goodness, I was pleased to see Sorino get up for Cooksley

rdytdy... You are starting to sound like a broken record, to me, anyway. Firstly, the replacement analogy you use has nothing to do with the matter at hand. The owner(s) have the right to use whomsoever they want to ride their horse. That is not the point. The point is, if their reason is solely based on gender, then is that a reasonable and acceptable reason? I say that "no, it isn't", but I would still support their right to make such a change. There will always be differing opinions on the abilities of jockeys based on a myriad of factors and the right of the owner(s) to make the ultimate decision must remain paramount. Secondly, as Leggy has pointed out, the owners who were "considering" the possibility of replacing Ms Payne in the Cup are not likely to identify themselves, given the result of that race. Ms Payne has stated that she was at an event with the said owners and that while they were "sheepish", nothing was actually said. That is as it should be. I will believe that what you have stated is correct when the said owners identify themselves and state the reasons for their wanting to have Ms Payne replaced. Your repeated denigration of Ms Payne for making her comments really annoys me. I have pointed out why, in my opinion, Ms Payne made her comments when she did. You do not address this issue at all. Have you completely missed the outcome of her comments? Are you such a chauvinist that the discussion currently engendered by her comments frightens you.? You criticise Ms Payne for talking as she did about owners. Owners, trainers, punters, robbers and their dogs rubbish jockeys all the time. Do you remember the follow-up to Ms Cropp's ride on Miss Finland in the Cox Plate? Do you really believe that comments that lead to needed discussions about the definitive nature of society itself should be subjugated behind the need to not annoy racehorse owners? Even when the comments made are true and accurate, as I believe Ms Payne's to be? You have derided Nerula's comments from a position of extreme ignorance, in my opinion. This issue, as I have stated a number of times previously, is not about the right of owners to choose their jockey. That is a "given", in my opinion. The issue here is the nature of gender in the context of riding race horses. All the best. Ashoka

Germany and Europe will Rue the day they let so many of them thru their borders.

Sat Nov 14 - GRAND FINALS DAY So here we are at The Grand Final once again and this time it is the reigning Winter Super Comp Champs - the HURRICANES - versus the CRUSADERS who were defeated in both their last two Grand Final appearances (2013 Presidents Spring Final and 2014 Presidents Winter Final). A former Champion side, the CRUSADERS have re-built and are now in supreme form after dismissing the Stags and Ferdies in recent starts. The HURRICANES last faced the CRUSADERS in a Grand Final in 2014 when they downed the Cantabs in the Presidents Winter GF by a 3-2 margin. The HURRICANES look to be peaking at the right time and have the psychological advantage of a 4-1 Qualifying Final win over the CRUSADERS a few weeks back however it was a case of just turning the tables as the CRUSADERS had triumphed over the HURRICANES the previous week in the final round of the Round Robin series. The BLUES, who were beaten Grand Finalists in this year's Winter Comp, will be looking to go one better after losing last year's Spring Presidents showdown against the Chiefs. A revitalized MAGPIES franchised with a number of rookie signings made a slow start but have gathered momentum and finals series wins over the Barbarians and a last start success over their GF opponents The BLUES in the 2nd Semi-Final could make them favourites for this one although the BLUES were victorious back in their Round 6 clash. Good luck to all our Finals competitors and congrats for making it this far. Saturday is a day for the stayers with 4 races at or beyond 2400m ! Races are: 1. Riccarton R5 - 1.55pm - Barneswood Farm Agistment Welcome Stks (LR) - $50k, 1000m, 2yos SWs 2. Riccarton R6 - 2.30pm - Propellor Property Investments Premier - $40k, 2500m, $40k, R85 3. Riccarton R7 - 3.09pm - NZ Bloodstock 43rd 1000 Guineas (Gr1) - $300k, 1600m, 3yo fillies SWs 4. Tauranga R6 - 3.23pm - Stella Artois Tauranga Stks (Gr2) - $100k, 1600m, WFA 5. Riccarton R9 - 4.21pm - Christchurch casino 152nd New Zealand Cup (Gr3) - $225k, 3200m, open hdcp 6. Sandown R5 - 5.25pm - Quayclean Zipping Classic (Gr2) - $300k, 2400m, WFA 7. Sandown R6 - 6.00pm - Mypunter.com Eclipse Stks (Gr3) - $150k, 1800m, qlty hdcp 8. Sandown R7 - 6.40pm - William Hill Sandown Guineas (Gr2) - $250k, 1600m, 3yos SWs 9. Sandown R8 - 7.20pm - William Hill Sandown Cup (LR) - $150k, 3200m, qlty hdcp 10. Sandown R9 - 7.55pm - Le Pine Funerals Summoned Stks (Gr3) - $150k, 1500m, mares SWs+Ps CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL: HURRICANES vs CRUSADERS John (7/4-2646.60) v Mardy (7/5-2633.20) Cam (5/6-2556.20) v Rob (8/4-2636.20) Hesi (4/7-1992.00) v Rosina (7/5-2382.20) Richard (7/4-2839.00) v Gary (8/4-3332.40) Ted (10/1-2456.20) v Dave (8/4-2696.40) PRESIDENTS GRAND FINAL: MAGPIES vs BLUES Murray (7/4-2230.20) v Moose (5/7-1799.00) Mike C (3/8-2171.40) v Geoff (7/5-2689.80) Tracy (8/3-2459.80) v Steve (5/7-2119.40) Ray (3/8-1537.80) v Howie (8/4-2729.00) Sharyn (4/7-1910.00) v Gruff (6/6-3332.60) CHAMPIONSHIP Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2 1 A Elimination Final Kauri Kats 2 v STAGS 3 B Qualifying Final Crusaders 1 v HURRICANES 4 2 C 1st Semi Final CRUSADERS 3 v Stags 2 D 2nd Semi Final Ferdies 1 v HURRICANES 4 3 E Preliminary Final FERDIES v CRUSADERS 4 F Grand Final HURRICANES v CRUSADERS PRESIDENTS Round Match Name Team 1 Team 2 1 A Elimination Final Chiefs 2 v TURBOS 3 B Qualifying Final Barbarians 2 v MAGPIES 3 2 C 1st Semi Final BARBARIANS 3 v Turbos 2 D 2nd Semi Final Blues 2 v MAGPIES 3 3 E Preliminary Final BLUES v BARBARIANS 4 F Grand Final MAGPIES v BLUES PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS THIS COMP....... QUALIFYING FINAL 1 CRUSADERS (2nd) $534.80 4 HURRICANES (3rd) $929.60 175.00 Rob 132.80 Richard 113.00 Gary 155.80 Hesi 103.80 Mardy 215.20 Ted 0.00 Rosina 285.00 Cam 143.00 Dave 240.80 John ROUND 9 1 HURRICANES (3rd)* $813.20 0 (x 2 Joker bonus) = 0 points 4 CRUSADERS (2nd) $1093.80 3 points 159.00 Richard 199.00 Mardy 199.00 John 259.20 Dave 211.20 Hesi 441.00 Gary 0.00 Cam 117.00 Rosina 244.00 Ted 77.60 Rob ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd SEMI-FINAL 3 MAGPIES $433.00 2 BLUES $669.80 58.00 Murray 25.00 Geoff 33.00 Mike C 336.00 Howie 225.00 Tracy 59.00 Moose 58.00 Ray 50.00 Gruff 59.00 Sharyn 199.00 Steve ROUND 6 2 MAGPIES (9th) $1156.20 1 point 3 BLUES (5th) $1144.60 2 points 324.20 Mike C 205.00 Moose 245.20 Sharyn 226.40 Steve 293.80 Murray 321.60 Howie 112.00 Ray 191.00 Gruff 181.00 Tracy 200.60 Geoff

I arrived home last night to find two tickets to a function room at Riccarton for cup day had been dropped off by a gentleman my wife described as 'dapper'. A big thank you to Cubes for your generosity. The ticket were accompanied by my wife's protestations that "I will need something to wear." Our resultant expedition to a dress shop indicated that Xtravagent was the omen bet for the guineas. Thanks again Cubes. We look forward to meeting you on Saturday. tony

It didn't win so why should there be any fanfare??? I agree he is a good trainer.

or Louis van Gaal?

Can confirm,as i expected N1mue has scores correct. Thanks mate for doing the scoring while i was out socialising it was much appreciated. Congrats LYNZIM,great selecting and very consistent over the whole week as were quite a few others,i was amazed that it came so close.Sorry Mardy ,i would have enjoyed giving the money away to another long time trotting fan. LYNZIM can you please message me your TAB or bank account details so i can deposit your $50. Well done and thanks to everybody that entered and once again thanks N1mue.

Watching the race the first time, I thought the ride wasn't a good one. I always watch a few replays of a race before making a final decision in these situations. Have done so and would now say the ride was okay. Very unlucky and I couldn't really bag the horse or rider on the run. I'm pretty sure Dylan Mo would have got beaten by further. Kawi is seldom a good bet, as being a hype horse he pretty much always pays unders.

Cubes sponsored this race and i was luckily invited into the chairmans room and the delight on Pittys face was outstanding.The owner is a lovely chap and said Michael had told him before the race El Chico was better than Wednesday.Pitty also said they would be riding Southern Sav as the best horse in the race because he is.

I guess the overuse of the whip is seen as a low end offence. That is the only conclusion you can draw from the fact that the penalty does not seem to include relegation of the horse. I'm no expert on the effect using a whip has on performance of the horse - but i assume it makes them (or some of them) try harder - go faster or keep going. So what happened in the Cup was she broke the rules to get extra performance from the horse, and beat narrowly one driven within the rules. And she thinks its a big joke. Why is this different from checking a horse in the running, or administering a substance ??

Newmarket factor in that Kawi has had limited racing right handed and in his only other start at Tauranga was beaten. In fact he has NEVER won right handed. The only tragedy is that people like you have a kneejerk reaction and bag the Jockey!

Tatura totally agree about Graham. He has a number of very nice three year olds in his team and is in for a good season. He is very patient with his horses.

Maybe its the Auckland thing since Trackside has moved they have all become posing, " A Lister Jaffas." I see that the tennis is going to be just down the road from them in Stanley Street. So once they wash away the pigeon crap and roll out those plastic tables and chairs for the posers to sit in, no doubt Trackside will have a few tables for the tennis. They will then be on their element.

TOTAL AFTER WEEK 17 $3517.20( $159.90 PER SHARE) Sorry I have been really slack at updating lately a newborn is more work than once thought ( but enjoying every single moment of it). Gaf got a first four and netted $2.90 and today Brown Fox got his treble and netted $99.60 not the rub of the green the last couple of weeks let's bring home a great second half of the comp and onto next week with Smiler & Trapdak to weave their magic. Well hope everyone has a great week and hope the Christchurch members aren't too tired from another great cup week.

Thanks for a great game Blues, and well done fellow Magpies - we have picked up our game a bit of late. Thanks Gruff for your note and good sportsmanship, and what a great effort Howie for your team. Has been a very enjoyable Comp thanks PJ

ForgOt to mention Aidan Coleman will be In for a great Season as he Is also riding for John Ferguson who has an excellent team. Good luck

Cold comfort indeed - under 70% of the possible finals pairings the Canes would have won, but the draw is the draw. A number of times we have been on the lucky end of the pairings and the Crusaders are deserving winners today! Thanks to captain Hesi and the rest of the Canes team - another fun comp. Maybe just as well we didn't win, because PJ might have started looking at a salary cap or a US sport type draft system. Thanks again Peter - truly outstanding comp!

Ok, we've sold the Sky Tower and the Town Hall to foreign consortiums, and have plonked the lot on She's Clean, Solicit, and Matilija. What could possibly go wrong ??

Well done to The Oaks, Te Akau team and to Matt Cameron for winning the Guineas double... good for all concerned and good for racing ..cheers.

Congrats Lynn - great effort !

She's a good sort. And was probably the only one showing much excitement so it makes sense to put her on screen does it not? The rest just seemed to be standing around.

Ashoka FFS Get help.

Lucky, lucky, lucky, you know who you are ...

Or maybe that due to some breeding lines, some horses are definitely better than others in NZ depending on who can afford them... I hate this sort of thing and it is purely in place for the punters and the TAB. We will see so many more really good horses get weighted out of competitive races for them and going elsewhere (to Aussie right away if they show potential because options are greater) or just having to run every now and then with careful placing and amazing training efforts to keep them fit. We are not Australia, we don't have the same resource of horses and runners in races, we don't have the same stakes income and we don't have the same opportunities for owners and horses... we are limited in meetings offered and prize money. To compare NZ racing to Australia is mystifying... there is no comparison and we can't base anything on that. The horses that are competitive there will soon show themselves by winning above all else in NZ.. not having to be weighted down into the sedimentary foundations to prove it. We can be competitive though to NZ and International investors if we focus realistically on NZ racing, meetings, horses, scheduling of races to build up to major race meetings and promo for sales periods. If we do that then we can attract sponsors, owners, breeders, that see a path for their money and publicity and we can attract overseas horses building up to races in Australia. On average our weather is better here before big meetings in Aussie due to cyclonic patterns (especially Queensland Carnival), I don't understand why we just don't programme our racing better to help NZ horses and to push racing here as a pre req for international talent heading to Aussie. If we do that then supply demand comes into play and if demand rises then so does sponsorship opportunities and away we go, it filters down into grass roots racing, training establishments, tracks, prize money and facilities to on course punters.. we need them back folks for atmosphere and to highlight that it is a good day out!

Too right Hedley makes a huge difference in a relaxed atmosphere without the likes of Red Badge security strutting their stuff around the stands. Long live country racing.

My sexy Chinese neighbour told me she was desperate for a roger. It was only when I had my trousers round my ankles, that I realised she wanted to rent her spare room out.