Scotch Thistle

Agreed. The best NZ Trackside performer, for mine, was the "amateur", Jason Waddell. Most of the rest were cringeworthy.

John Allen must resign.

The report says Experts consulted by WorkSafe found Malthus was not competent to have been put in charge of a racehorse at the Alfriston training track in July 2016, having been given no formal training, being not riding fit and having only ridden quiet horses and never at a gallop. I don't know that it will profit us taking this discussion further, best to allow the hearings to reach their conclusion on a fully-informed basis.

You can't blame the weather conditions, but what about the irrigation on 3 days Tuesday to Thursday?

Group 2 race at Te Rapa Monday for 3 year olds, Sarten Memorial. Bookies odds on a maiden $8.00. Bookies odds on a Group 1 winner as a 2 year old, $9.50.

Wow, shows it's not over until it's over. Big blow to those up front after race 9. The race 10 trifecta was $894.

The RIU seems to have settled on "inconsistent surfaces" as their go to description when abandonments take place. Integrity might be served by the RIU holding inquiries as to culpability when clubs present inconsistent surfaces (unless there have been intervening downpours or other obvious causes beyond a club's control). These could commence on raceday and resume at a later date (for Waipa, at Taupo on Wednesday) with full records of penetrometer readings, watering, rainfall, etc presented. My guess is that clubs find themselves obliged to pay too much attention to having yeilding surfaces in the interest of getting more racing from horses which are "day to day propositions" with poor feet or joints.

For all the publicity I've seen, the competition seems to be treated like a dirty secret. It is on my bucket list to be a starter, some year. For the hell of it rather than in hope of the $20 grand first prize. Each year Trackside disappoints with feeble coverage, especially when Aussie racing kicks in.

If Allen has any self-respect he will quit after the contempt shown him by Peters.

Indeed. His suspension for butchering Zed Leppelin finished just yesterday. First day back and he's out again. Hard to judge whether he is incompetent or a crook.

Having listened through the interview, I'm encouraged by Rutherford's recognition and admission of the mess Te Rapa is in and the earnest response needed to get things back in order. This response seems to include flicking off two industry meetings in September to other tracks, and undersewing grass, but meantime having plenty of hooves help to force that sand from the surface into the ground. A question Coppins (useless interviewer) didn't ask Rutherford is why the club didn't have anyone competent overseeing the work done in February. Rutherford said the contractor did a "very shoddy job", being supposed to spread 4-6 mm depth of sand across the course, but actually putting on up to 2 inches (i.e. 50mm) in places in a central strip of the track. 50mm is 8 to 12 times the depth of sand supposed to have been laid, so it was indeed a shoddy job. Clearly the club was incompetent in not noticing and intervening whilst the contractor's shoddy work was in progress. Follow-up questions Coppins might have asked are whether Te Rapa paid the contractor, is seeking compensation, and has warned other clubs off using the shoddy outfit.

Our Glenda certainly spreads far and wide. I hadn't caught up with her going transsexual, a prerequisite if she/he is to be a doyen of anything.

I reckon you'll find out how he was potted if you read the article you've quoted. Read it carefully, top to bottom and left to right, and you might surprise yourself as to how clever you are

I'm not sure what to make of the prize money being headlined as "of $100,000" when it is actually of $98,000. I've nothing against the Equine Welfare Fund and the Jockey Welfare Fund sharing the other $2,000, but that money is not stakes money, it is a compulsory donation from connections. The $10,000,000 prize pool in the 2017 The Everest included a prize of $100,000 for the Equine Welfare Fund but nothing for the Jockey Welfare Fund. Maybe it is the Jockey Welfare Fund's turn in 2018; if so they will do better, given the total prize pool is $13,000,000 this year

Amazing that he defended the charge. Provides an insight into his character?