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Nice tough win by the Kevin & Pam Hughes trained Russian Fable for our very own cafe member Cube's in the first at Riccarton today ! русская басня

Was going to happen some time. Well rated, well ridden, good win.

Congrats Rusty good punting...thanks Ponderosa for all the tireless work again...and thanks to everyone who took part again you all make the comps the successes they are...thanks alot.

Great job Pondy. I still don't know how you keep track of it all. Congrats to Rusty, who proved not to be well-named, Arjay, who proved to be like the equine namesake and Eeebee nosing out the unlucky Bazza in the shadows of the post. Next time Bazza. Thanks again to all involved and hope the winners have a successful punt with their winnings.

Annnd dont forget JJ mate, the badass himself Krug, sleighed em had to work but cheez seems that how he likes it NathanP also got EnhanceYourCalm home in the trot Melton..... Cheers Iraklis

The problem is that you're not thinking laterally enough, not are you all addressing the core issues for failure. At the moment the equation is "let's not fix too much because we don't like risk. We don't want to lose what we've currently got". This destroys innovation. It comes back to the old adage of "why would things change when you don't change anything?" I won't start racing any new horses in NZ unless I'm pre-training them for other country racing. Shane's example (bad racing stakes) is one of the reasons why but the rest of it is just as important. Bad racing surfaces, lack of good jockeys, average facilities, bad racing calendar, bad hospo service, bad media coverage, average historic data, no value in betting ....and it goes on. Nothing has changed in 25 years. Seen the latest foal crop data?...and to think in 1993 Dave O'Sullivan, Patrick Hogan and I debated whether to include one of the slides we presented to the RIB predicting that the foal crop would reduce to less that 4000 (it was about 7500 at that time). We were worried that we would lose credibility predicting this figure. Just remember, if you don't have foals, you don't have racehorses. At the latest figures if we shut 10 race courses and got rid of their race meetings, we'd still have an average of only 7.4 horses per race. That's catastrophic!!! That's guaranteed to happen within 3 years because the size of the current foal crop proves it happens. Why can't people see this? If races go to these numbers, then betting drops through the floor. It's guaranteed. It can't be debated. It is a lay down misère. For fucks sake....people wake up!!! I see nothing being discussed to address this any where. The problem as I see it is that we have no one fighting the right fight...no radical change or risk taking...just the same ol same ol. Anyone interested in creating a Horseman's Club, which is an independent voice of reason...a lobbying group for want of a better expression? I helped fund this web site back in the day when Dave and Angie were thinking about starting the Race Cafe. The reason I did it was that the industry didn't have a portal. It didn't have a voice. I saw it as being absolutely required. That voice has subsequently been hijacked somewhat over the years by the radicals. Doesn't help that the reason and structure for this site has been metamorphically changed so it has lost its reason for being. All of the bad things I have listed above....I have answers (I know arrogant). The tricky part is being listened to...

A Grp 3 race at Menangle last night . Race reduced to 4 starters due to Covid lockdown but she was way too good on the night. Well done to Nigel and all its NZ owners . Well prepared as you would expect by N Purdon

Missed that one I Man but not really surprised as its a pretty good horse

Irrelevant..I'm not talking about duration of watching time. I'm talking about quality of content when I watch. Your logic says just switching off instead of expecting a better product .. great idea .. not

Congratulations Tony Allan - Great to see our jockeys continuing their involvement in the industry.....

Yesterday Incredible! Half a million people marching through London rejecting the totalitarian reach of government seeking to force vaccinate its citizens. One sign reads “The only thing mutating are the lies”. The people are awake. Covid isn’t the threat. Propaganda & Big Pharma are

Five wins in UK and Ireland last night for Frankel , including Irish Derby , got three timer at Newmarket . Other Juddmonte bred stallions on scoresheet , Rail Link got the " Pitmans Derby " winner aka The Northumberland Plate , ex Sir Henry Cecil trained Camacho got a winner as well . In Australia Trade Fair got winner of Strickland Stakes in WA .

How good is this INCENTIVISE?

Wow, I've just added up my betting book for the Royal Ascot meeting 2021: Day 1: Queen Anne: No bet Coventry Stakes: £10 each way EBRO RIVER @ 12/1 LOST King’s Stand Stakes: £10 Win WINTER POWER @ 7/1 LOST St James’s Palace Stakes: £20 Win POETIC FLARE @ 4/1 WON – return £100 £2.50 each way LA BAROSSA @ 25/1 LOST Ascot Stakes: No bet Wolferton Stakes: £10 Win PATRICK SARSFIELD @ 9/2 LOST Copper House Stakes: No bet Total Stake: £65 Returns: £100 PROFIT: £35 Day 2: Queen Mary Stakes: £20 Win TWILIGHT GLEAMING @ 5/2 LOST Queen’s Vase: £10 each way KEMARI @ 8/1 WON – return £120 Duke of Cambridge Stakes: £2.50 each way VALERIA MESSALINA @ 25/1 LOST Prince of Wales’s Stakes: £5 each way AUDARYA @ 14/1 – 2nd return £19 Hunt Cup: £2.50 each way MAGICAL MORNING @ 14/1 – LOST Windsor Castle Stakes: No bet Kensington Palace Handicap: £ 5 each way WALIYAK @ 14/1 – 3rd return £19 Total Stake: £70 Returns £158 PROFIT: £88 Day 3: Norfolk Stakes: No Bet – INSTINCTIVE POWER backed @ 14/1 but withdrawn and money refunded. Hampton Court Stakes: £20 Win MOHAAFETH @ 6/4 WON – return £50 Ribblesdale Stakes: £10 each way ESCHAADA @ 8/1 – 2nd return £21 Gold Cup: £5 each way TWILIGHT PAYMENT @ 28/1 – LOST Britannia Handicap: £2.50 each way QAADER @ 25/1 – LOST (my bookie paid down to six places, QAADER was seventh !!) King George V Stakes: £10 each way SIR LAMORAK @ 5/1 – 2nd return £20 Buckingham Palace Stakes: No bet Total Stake: £75 Returns £91 PROFIT: £16 Day 4: Albany Stakes: £10 Win HELLO YOU @ 5/1 – LOST King Edward VII Stakes: £20 Win ALENQUER @ 7/4 – WON – return £55 Commonwealth Cup: £10 Win CAMPANELLE @ 5/1 – WON – return £60 (thank you, the Ascot Stewards !!) Coronation Stakes: £10 each way MOTHER EARTH @ 5/1 – 3rd – return £20 Sandringham Handicap: No Bet Duke of Edinburgh Stakes: £10 Win QUICKTHORN @ 4/1 – WON – return £50 Palace of Holyrood House Handicap: £5 each way SIGNIFICANTLY @ 10/1 – WON – return £77.50. Total Stake: £80 Return: £262.50 PROFIT: £182.50 Day 5: Chesham Stakes: £5 each way NEW SCIENCE @ 7/1 – LOST Jersey Stakes: £5 each way MUTASAAABEQ @ 7/1 – LOST Hardwicke Stakes: £10 each way WONDERFUL TONIGHT @ 5/1 – WON – return £80 Diamond Jubilee Stakes: £10 Win DREAM OF DREAMS @ 7/2 – WON – return £45 Wokingham Stakes: No bet Golden Gates Stakes: No bet Queen Alexandra Stakes: £10 win FALCON EIGHT @ 7/2 – LOST Total Stake: £60 Returns: £125 PROFIT: £65 For the whole meeting: Staked: £350 Returns: £736.50 Profit for the meeting: £388.50

Thanks Scooby and Ponderosa. A fluke win for this standardbred specialist!

So ok what would make it better?

Really good comp Pondy. Made for an interesting day on a wet and cold one in Wellington. Thanks to Scooby, Ponderosa and anyone else associated with the comps.

All good good luck

Dear scorer , Number 14 The Gauch is out of the last at Caulfield. Perhaps I could have in race 9 No. 16 (the emergency) if possible. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Hi Memphis, You havent shown a $50ew pick, so will record your pick as Caulfield Race 9 unless I hear back from you otherwise.

Tau 7 3 Ricc 7 5 Caul 7 7 Caul 8 13 Caul 9 7 20 EF 2 7 EF 3 1 100 EF 4 6 EF 5 8 EF 6 4 EF 7 12 EF 8 18 EF 9 6 50 A weekend of winners to while away a wet day,good luck to all

The final day of the Royal Ascot meeting took place on a cloudy, damp afternoon. After 42mm of rain from the end of Thursday, the ground was soft (heavy in places). The rain had clearly got into the ground and those wanting firm conditions were heavily disadvantaged. The Group 1 feature on the final day was the Diamond Jubilee over 1200m. This used to be the Cork & Orrery a long time ago before being elevated to Group 1 status and re-named as the Golden Jubilee in 2002. With the coming of the Commonwealth Cup, 3-y-os have been excluded and it joins the Queen Anne and the Prince of Wales as championship races for the older horses. STARMAN, the Duke of York winner with a known liking for fast ground, was an expected withdrawal and the market was dominated by proven soft ground performers such as DREAM OF DREAMS and GLEN SHIEL, both of whom had strong form over the course and distance on soft ground. Diamond Jubilee Stakes: Arguably the finish of the week and dramatic stuff as Ryan Moore was all out to get home on DREAM OF DREAMS denying Hollie Doyle and GLEN SHIEL by a length. In some ways, justice for the winner who had finished second to Hello Youmzain and Blue Point in the last two renewals though he’d been four lengths behind GLEN SHIEL last autumn in the Champions Day Sprint. ART POWER ran a huge race as he had last autumn but I just think the 1200m on soft ground is a tad too far for him. It was also unfortunate he had to make his own pace in a group which basically fell apart and left him isolated. The next three home were all in the far side group with the front two – NAHAARR was second home in the stands side group, and he was seventh but only beaten just over four lengths. I thought the time – just shy of 1 minute 15 seconds – was pretty decent under the conditions and only a couple of seconds off the standard. On then to the July Cup which is likely to be run on a very different surface and you could see OXTED, DRAGON SYMBOL and DREAM OF DREAMS all in opposition and this already looks one to savour. Current betting has OXTED and STARMAN at 5/1 joint favourites with DREAM OF DREAMS at 11/2 and DRAGON SYMBOL at 6s. It’s not easy to split the sprinters – I was very taken with OXTED in the King’s Stand, and he won the race in 2020. The question is whether STARMAN can build on his York run and whether the 3-y-o DRAGON SYMBOL can take advantage of the weight concession. The Group 2 supporting feature was the Hardwicke over 2400m for the older horses and this was always going to be a war on the ground. Among the morning scratchings were BANGKOK, MOGUL and TIGER MOTH. The money came for BROOME from the Aidan O’Brien yard but he was decisively put in his place by Royallieu winner WONDERFUL TONIGHT who followed up her win in the Fillies and Mares on Champions Day. Hardwicke Stakes: This was a stunning performance by the winner who did plenty in the first 500m – her turn of foot off the final bend was one of the highlights of the week and hard though BROOME tried she was away and gone. Connections immediately named the Arc as her long-term objective and expressed regret they didn’t run her in it last year – well, perhaps. On this evidence, assuming it came up soft in Paris in October, you’d see her up there with SNOWFALL and perhaps LOVE as the three leading contenders. We don’t know how good SNOWFALL really is – the truth is she will get a lot of weight from WONDERFUL TONIGHT in Paris and if the former comes out of the Yorkshire Oaks looking the part, trainer David Menuisier may have further cause to regret last year’s decision. Of the others, HUKUM ran well for all he’s probably better on quicker ground and I thought ALBAFLORA ran well considering she lost a shoe in running, JAPAN disappointed again but BROOME did Aidan O’Brien proud. He’s in both the King George and the Juddmonte and I’m of the view a fast run 2000m is his optimum. The Jersey Stakes was the Group 3 feature over 1400m. As would be the case later in the Diamond Jubilee, the centre proved slightly favoured over the stands side. CREATIVE FORCE led home a 1-2 for Godolphin defeating NAVAL CROWN. The winner has won four on the bounce this season and has improved considerably. He’s 9/1 for the July Cup but I suspect the Maurice de Gheest might be a better option for all the 1400m division is always very competitive. The Chesham was the final juvenile race of the meeting – a Listed race over 1400m. All the talk before the race was about BROOME’s full brother, POINT LONSDALE, who had looked a nice sort when winning on debut at The Curragh. He was really made to work by REACH FOR THE MOON, who had his mind on other things in the preliminaries but ran a huge race in defeat. The front two were nicely clear and both are obviously decent. Aidan O’Brien mentioned both the Guineas and the Derby for the winner but he’s a long way from that though I suspect we’ll see him in a race like the National or the Dewhurst. The second is owned by the Queen, who wouldn’t have been impressed by his pre-race behaviour, and is clearly very smart. He’s very stoutly bred, and you can imagine the roof being lifted off Epsom if the Queen can win the Derby in her Platinum Jubilee year, but she has a real contender. The Wokingham is one of the traditional Ascot handicaps over 1200m and even with a few ground-related scratchings looked very trappy. However, the one 3-y-o in the race, ROHAAN, made a nonsense of it winning cosily off 112 – now, you may wonder why a horse rated 112 has to run in a handicap rather than a Group race. The answer is ROHAAN is a gelding and up here geldings are often excluded from Group 1 races. ROHAAN’s previous effort at Haydock saw him beat a certain DRAGON SYMBOL at Haydock in the Sandy Lane – as we know, DRAGON SYMBOL was first past the post (demoted to second) in the Commonwealth Cup so you could argue ROHAAN would have gone very close, but he couldn’t run. To underline the strength of the form further, the Wokingham third was KING’S LYNN, to whom ROHAAN was actually giving 5 lbs despite being a 3-y-o. In fact, KING’S LYNN ran off 100 having been an unlucky seventh in the King’s Stand so you could argue ROHAAN might have run very well in the King’s Stand as well. He can’t run in the July Cup so it will be fascinating to see where they go next, and it’s ignited a big debate over here as to whether geldings should be allowed to compete in Group 1 races. The Wokingham runner up FRESH might be the one to take out for future handicaps. The Golden Gates over 2000m for the 3-y-o is another of the “new” handicaps and was another competitive event but Oisin Murphy sealed the jockeys’ title for the meeting with his fifth winner by coming from last to first on this lightly raced son of Zoffany who had completely failed to handle the tight twists and turns of Chester last time. He beat VISUALISATION though the second was conceding 7 lbs and put up a very useful effort looking ahead to the big handicaps down the season. The meeting ended with a bit of a novelty race – the Queen Alexandra is run over 4350m and is the longest race in the British calendar. It’s often dominated by the jump trainers and this year was no exception with STRATUM winning for Willie Mullins under an inspired and patient ride by Ryan Moore who didn’t enjoy the rub of the green on KING’S LYNN in the Wokingham and although Moore had ridden four winners, it was a bit of a frustrating week for the former champion. CALLING THE WIND was second with THE GRAND VISIR, who has been placed in the Ascot Stakes and the Chester Cup, running third. I’ll sum up my thoughts on Ascot in the next thread along with my betting book for the week which unfortunately means I’m going to have to continue to work for a living.

Sunday's final declarations are through. Eight go in the Pretty Polly over 2000m at The Curragh where the ground has eased further to Good. Five older fillies and mares take on three 3-y-o. Among the former, the clear top rated is CAYENNE PEPPER but she was disappointing in her seasonal return, albeit on very slow turf. A reproduction if her second in this last year to MAGICAL would be enough as there's nothing of that champion's calibre in this line-up. THUNDERING NIGHTS chased home BROOME in the Alleged and the latter ran perfectly well in defeat at Ascot last weekend - from there, THUNDERING NIGHTS went to Belmont and just failed in a Grade 2. That was another good effort but there's just a suspicion another 400m wouldn't go amiss. EPONA PLAYS could be very interesting - a convincing winner of the Lanwades last time on slow ground, she now steps up 400m on better ground. Breeding suggests 2000m will be ideal and she could just be the best of the older horses. The problem is the older horses have to concede 12 lbs to the 3-y-o and that's not going to be easy. SHALE was disappointing at Ascot and holds OODNADATTA on juvenile form which leaves SANTA BARBARA. After a glowing report from Aidan O'Brien, she was propelled into favouritism for the 1000 Guineas only to finish fourth which was a fair effort on what was only her second racecourse run. In the Oaks, she was a disappointing fifth to stablemate SNOWFALL so this is her day and there are no more excuses. I can't have her at 5/2 as she's bee a real talking horse so far. She might win half the track but I can't see it. I fancy EPONA PLAYS and have played each way at 6s. Just five go in the Airlie Stud over 1200m for the juvenile fillies. CHEERUPSLEEPYJEAN was third in the Queen Mary (YET well behind) but may have it to do against VELOCIDAD who looked a nice sort on her debut at Fairyhouse.

Maybe I have got extremely sentimental in my old age but for me, this story encapsulates the essence of what the horse racing industry should be about: - no money to start with - no previous experience in the industry - market research into pedigree - gets a helping hand from a bloke who knows something (but obviously not a lot) - that bloke nearly lost everything due to previous racing experience - mare kept in an allotment (throws out every thing theoretical as to where you can breed horses - lots of love care and attention given to mare - mare dies during foaling - foal brought up by humans - taken to good trainer who first rejects it and then accepts it - Togetherness of all syndicate members going to races first first race (4th was a success) - enemy toff who is the Goliath of the story - first race at top racecourse (Newbury) build up was interesting so was like getting to Wimbledon - success of first decent race - offer of good money for the horse (declined of course because how could they sell their pet) - injury - recovery when in shouldn't have - whole town now interested in the horse - Welsh Grand National success (betting included but only a side line) - whole town comes out to welcome horse home Moral of this story....teamwork, hope, love for the animal. eject greed....all the characteristics that should make racing horses great -

3 trips to Cheltenham Festival, 2 trips to Aintree Festival Inc 1 run in the big one , 2 wins Inc Welsh National at their home track Chepstow , a win at the big end season Perth Festival in their big race , that would have been massive day out and second to the mighty Denman in Hennessy at Newbury . No way ever by any measure is that moderate.

Not sure it moderate success at all , they won the Welsh National which would be very special to them , and it's a race with a rich history . The horse took them to some big meetings over a long period as these horses can go on for years .The owners experience at some of these big meetings would be worth decent coin. They were lucky though, three other horses out of mare never got a place and closest they got to winner in those runs was 10 lengths, those ones weren't even moderate . However one of those slow racehorses has produced a decent chaser at a top yard .

I understand both points of view stated in this thread. I thoroughly enjoyed both the doco (with the actual people), and the movie, and found they encapsulated in a very moving way some of the reasons many of us became “racing tragics” for the best part of our lives. If other people get that message then it can only be positive for the industry. My Mum took me to National Velvet as a young child. Maybe that was part of why I got hooked?

I see he has picked up 2 or 3 extra drives. I thought he was doing pretty well considering the drives he has been getting. He drove a 50-1 shot a few weeks ago. Ben Hope has naturally taken a lot of the drives Ricky would have had previously and Courts & Jones supporting their stable employee's with their starters. I do think Ricky has been more aggressive than he use to be when he has the horsepower to compete. Either way it is going to be great to see him get his next 3 wins

Thank you very much for the opportunity. Thought Amish Boy might get up for 3rd with its strong late run, but the post came just too soon. Was a thrill for me having this bet on. Much appreciated. Thank you Scooby & Liz.

Kiwi trainers only target the Vic & NSW carnivals nowadays