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Each to their own - Reon put a lot into the industry and was by my reckoning one of the greats to listen to. As I've matured I prefer not to put the boot in unless someone is a criminal or dickhead - but maybe that's just me

This is a 2 day comp, run over the next two Saturdays, with the overall winner(s) decided by combined Day 1 + Day 2 score. Prizes: Scooby has kindly put up $500 worth of bets (win and/or place) and that will be split as follows: - $150 to the Day 1 winner - $200 to the overall (Day 1 + Day 2) winner - $100 to the overall runner-up - $50 to the overall 3rd place-getter Again, you keep half of any collect and half is returned to the prize fund for future comps. Day 1 rules - same as last week. Pick two horses in each race and nominate 2 races as best bet races. $10 each way on both horses plus $2 quinella. Check out last week's entry thread if you want to know more. Day 2 will involve three picks and add a boxed trifecta into the mix to give people an opportunity to catch-up if they have a bad day 1 Races for Day 1 are as listed below - outstanding day of racing with (I think) 16 Group races across NZ, Caulfield and Randwick. To keep it manageable for you (and me) I've limited it to the Group 1s and Group 2s - 13 races in total. Posting deadline is 3.20pm - 15 minutes before the first of these 13 races Matamata - Race 7 Otaki - Race7 Randwick - Race 3 Randwick - Race 4 Randwick - Race 6 Randwick - Race 7 Randwick - Race 8 Caulfield - Race 3 Caulfield - Race 4 Caulfield - Race 5 Caulfield - Race 6 Caulfield - Race 7 Caulfield - Race 8 Two picks - please post races in this order, post your picks in numerical order and don't forget 2 best races.

RACING IN NEW ZEALAND FROM “WANGANUI JOCKEY CLUB 1848-1998” – LARRAINE SOLE, ABRIDGED. Let us turn the clock back to December 1848 and look at Racing as it was then. Racing here reflected that of Britain, but due to isolation and small population it was to develop a flavour of its own. The jockeys were large men so older horses with stamina were favoured. Every attempt was made to breed up to thoroughbred but at the 1848 meeting the horses at Wanganui were probably those of the mounted forces with perhaps a few better bred ones owned by settlers that were imported from Australia. In 1848 the thoroughbred as an established breed was not that old. It had only been in 1730 that the importation of Arabs, Turks and Barbs had been discontinued when it was thought that no more development to the breed could occur by using others. In fact selective breeding and nurture produced by 1848 a vastly different animal. The Industrial revolution brought change and people realised they could no longer keep horses to find out if they were any good. By the 1850 in Britain, the vast majority of horses raced were two year olds. Even yearlings raced until about 1900 but fortunately that never caught on here. The horses in Wanganui’s beginnings needed to be strong and mature for in addition to the rider’s weight they raced hard. All races were heats and horses ran twice over the same distance in a day – and sometimes more. So they could run miles in a day as well as being ridden to the track. The Rules stated – Where the plate is run in two heats the “preference” of the horse shall be determined by the second heat. If a horse was outclassed it could “save its distance” and not start in the second heat. Races could be “scurries,” distance or jumps but they were always held as heats. A horse that had no challenger in a race could “walk over” the finishing line to claim the stake. Later, “winner take all” became popular and a provision of ”save his stake” came in. This meant a horse coming second got a return greater than the Owners starting stake. Most early races were “catchweight’ or “welterweight” for heavier riders around 67kg. “Match” racing persisted for many decades. Where one owner challenged another for say 20 guineas and “half forfeit” The stake was held by a third party and in the event of a no show the half forfeit was lost. Later “pay or play“ came in. That meant a full forfeit. “Selling races” meant that Owners could put a price on the horse. If there was more than one claimer (after the race) lots were drawn. Wanganui was originally called Petre (pronounced Peter) until the late 1840’s.It was named after the Hon. Henry Petre a scion of a noble house in England who “ NELSON AND WANGANUI WERE THE FIRST TOWNS TO CONDUCT A RACE MEETING IN NEW ZEALAND. THAT WAS IN THE YEAR 1848 AND AS WANGANUI RACED IN DECEMBER IT MOST LIKELY NELSON WAS THE FIRST. HOWEVER THE WANGANUI JOCKEY CLUB IS THE OLDEST IN EXISTENCE TO STILL RACE ON THE ORIGINAL LAND... 10 NEW ZEALAND THOROUGHBRED RACEHORSE OWNERS FEDERATION BULLETIN

Sad situation if this is true. Jason is a good caller and has a great knowledge of all three codes. Competent presenter as well who knew what he was talking about and was not an automaton spitting out latest dividends.

Big loss if he isn't to commentate again,best form analysis about both code I always thought. I think he has been on here in the past and roughly told the story of why.

So last week Judge Neave throws out all but one single race fixing allegation now, and there’s no betting irregularities or money trail on that one race ……yet the media stooges say nothing C’mon media, don’t be spineless, report the facts as this matter grinds on to the inevitable collapse ….if I know about it you must know too 10 million plus wasted, absolutely wasted, because there never was any evidence to substantiate the race fixing, PEDs, and blood doping allegations

How come a crap meeting at Auckland gets the night spot over a far better grade of greyhound meeting at Christchurch on Thursday .. and Rosanowski better not be commentating at Auckland either, he puts me to sleep.

I was told he was saying elsewhere that he may never call another race in NZ...this is very sad if this is the case...he is a bloody good caller and if not a race caller why could he not be part of the trackside team...surely people with a passion for the industry like he does...(I believe he used tp pay his own petrol to drive all over to call the races)....surely we should be trying to keep these people involved not telling them they are not wanted...does anyone know if this is true...he would be a asset to the industry I would of thought.

She must only be the second best bet in five years now CT

As long as he's safe, not a danger to other jocks,let him be he obviously enjoys what he does so good on him.

Out to $2.15 already.

Good luck to Swanny riding his own horse today on his home track. How many jockeys in that race other than Swanny have ridden a winner at Flemington?!

under her highnesses traffic light system dual codes are a no no............

Hi Jen - Caulfield Race 5 only has 8 runners.

Matamata - Race 7: 3,8 Otaki - Race7: 5,10 Randwick - Race 3: 6,8 Randwick - Race 4: 8,16 Randwick - Race 6: 3,11 Randwick - Race 7: 6,11 Randwick - Race 8: 11,14 bb Caulfield - Race 3: 5,9 Caulfield - Race 4: 11,12 Caulfield - Race 5: 8,9 Caulfield - Race 6: 7,8 Caulfield - Race 7: 13,14 bb Caulfield - Race 8: 8,13 Thank you Say No More and Scooby

So as I said the longer the protest goes on the faster the truth gets out This week the US convoy begins Trust the plan

Very one paced, lost my support for sure now we need Bloom but McNab jumped off was overs at 26 last night

...and now we have Winston; walking like the unmasked Messiah, through the massing throng of lepers. Shaking hands and providing wise counsel, such as "Vote for me; Vote for me; Vote for me..." Is this perhaps the second coming that 6xes has been predicting? It's not Trump...it's Winston who will lead us top the promised land.

The other big news over here has been the decision of the BHA not to grant champion jockey Oisin Murphy a licence to ride again until February 2023. Murphy voluntarily relinquished his licence in December 2021 following further allegations of failing tests for alcohol, drugs and for falsifying Covid-19 claims. The truth of this sorry tale has come out today and it doesn't paint Murphy in a very good light. Apart from an ongoing battle against alcoholism, Murphy lied about a holiday in Mykonos claiming he had gone to lake Garda in Italy to avoid a period of isolation. He has been handed a £30,000 fine and a year's suspension - basically. Given he lost the championship title by just eight, William Buick may feel Murphy cheated him out of the title last year by riding when he should have been isolating but Murphy's career is very much at a crossroads. As a wise man said, it will either be the making of him or the breaking of him.

Back to last Saturday and a quick look at the British jumps racing all of which survived the ravages of Storm Eunice but the accompanying heavy rain left testing conditions for the first time in many weeks especially at Haydock but it was Soft (Heavy in places) at Ascot for the feature Grade 1 Ascot Chase over 4200m. Eight went to post and this looked a solid renewal with market leader the Irish raider FAKIR D'OUDAIRIES: Ascot Chase: Incredibly, for a man who has trained a Melbourne Cup winner, this was Joseph O'Brien's first ever winner as a trainer at Ascot. The immediate question is how good is ALLAHO who beat FAKIR D'OUDAIRIES twelve lengths at Thurles last time and has the Ryanair seemingly at this mercy? TWO FOR GOLD ran a fantastic race in second and I noted FANION D'ESTRUVAL running home strongly for third and I'd love to see him in the King George at Kempton for which he looks tailor made. The conditions found out a number of these - LOSTINTRANSLATION isn't the horse he was and WAITING PATIENTLY was retired after another lacklustre effort. The Grade 2 Reynoldstown for the staying novice chasers looked a competitive heat on paper but was won easily by DOES HE KNOW who has stamina in abundance and is now 8/1 for the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham which is these days run over 6000m (used to be 6400m). At Haydock, conditions were brutal - three Grade 2 races - PORTICELLO won the Victor Ludorum for the juveniles over 3200m by 17 lengths and goes as Britain's best hope against the likes of VAUBAN in the Triumph. PORTICELLO is a decent animal but I just wonder if the hurly-burly of the Triumph will play to his strengths. WHOLESTONE defied a 455 day absence to win the Rendlesham in which just three finished. He's run fifth in a Stayers in the past but I'd be astonished if he was good enough now. HILLCREST made amends for his early Cheltenham departure with a solid win in the 4800m novices hurdle and will head for the equivalent at the Festival with a leading chance and I'm looking forward to him jumping fences next season. At Wincanton, track officials performed miracles to get the meeting on after fences and buildings had been damaged by the previous day's storm but they raced and GOSHEN saw off ADAGIO in the Kingwell over 3200m. GOSHEN won't go to Cheltenham I suspect - he's only effective right handed which leaves Sandown or Punchestown as end of season objectives. ADAGIO ran well on just his second outing and I'm more than tempted by an each way play at 16s for the Champion Hurdle as I think he will come on for the run.

Starting the look back at the weekend just gone, Friday saw another Carnival fixture at Meydan. The Group 2 Blue Point over 1000m went to LAZULI who just came through late to beat ACKLAM EXPESS, who ran another blinder over that track and rewarded an each way bet at 10s. LAZULI looked very good one day at Newmarket on quick ground and I think he needs the ground and a flat track. Apart from LAZULI, Godolphin won three of the other five races at a meeting they are dominating. MANOBO looked very good in the 2800m Group 3 and he looks a stayer of real promise. One race they didn't win was the UAE Oaks in which SHAHAMA won her fourth race at the ridiculous odds of 1/9 but she could even fluff the start and still be far too good for this lot. While Meydan race on Friday, their card is pretty low-level for a Carnival and that's because the focus of this week switches to Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Cup meeting at Riyadh. Friday sees an International Jockeys Challenge before the main races on Saturday and the USD 20 million Saudi Cup. More on this later in the week.

For a little background and context, the Grand National is not handicapped as any other race. The unique nature of the obstacles means some horses perform significantly better at the venue than a normal what we call "park" jumping venue such as Cheltenham, Sandown or Ascot. There are a handful of races run over the National fences each season (the Sefton, the Becher, the Topham, the Foxhunters and of course the National itself) and it is remarkable how often the same horses perform well in these races. The old adage "horses for courses" applies more to Aintree than almost any other venue. The handicapper therefore takes into account past performance over the National fences and horses with a consistently good record often get weighted higher than their normal rating and TIGER ROLL is a fine example. He's won the race twice after all In 2019, when he won his second National, he was rated 159. In the aborted 19/20 campaign, he ran over hurdles at Navan and then went to the cross country at Cheltenham where, running off a mark of 171, he was beaten 17 lengths into second by EASYSLAND (pulled up at Ascot last Saturday). He returned in November 2020 and off 166 thrashed EASYSLAND 18 lengths in a cross country at Cheltenham but he was put up to 171 on the basis of that which is effectively Gold Cup class (A PLUS TARD runs off 174). As such , he was given top weight for the National and would have been giving lumps of weight away - he did run at Aintree over the normal fences and was tailed off fourth beaten 92 lengths in the Betway Bowl. By December 2021, he had dropped again to 165 but was pulled up in the Many Clouds after which his rating fell again to its current mark of 155 so just 4 lbs lower than in April 2019. The fact is he's a 12-y-o and has only run 44 times but his form since December 2020 has been moderate. However, the handicapper can't forget he has won two Grand Nationals, albeit in 2018 and 2019. To be fair, Red Rum won the race in 1973 and 1974 and came back in 1977 to win a third time so TIGER ROLL is seeking to emulate that legend. For the National, he's been rated 161 and MINELLA TIMES, the 2021 winner, who has failed to complete in two runs since, is also 161 having won the race off 146 so you could argue if TIGER ROLL has been harshly treated so has MINELLA TIMES. I don't think O'Leary has a lot to complain about - the horse has been deliberately campaigned to avoid his overall rating and they've tried to pull a bit of a flanker but to no avail - he has in effect a 6 lb penalty for winning the race twice and MINELLA TIMES has a 3 lb penalty for winning it once. O'Leary has tried a bit of the old emotional blackmail because he knows having TIGER ROLL try to win a third National is huge box office for the race and the sport and has basically said "give him a winning weight and he'll turn up". His bluff has been called and he's gone off in a huff. Sorry, bit long winded but I thought a bit of explanation helpful.

Well JJ mate what can yuh say.....it's a bloody shambles no matter how you look at it Cheers Iraklis

Reon was the best of the lot. Voice and delivery - outstanding. And to balance your comment re finishes - did you ever get to the old box at Addington and see where he called from ? The man was a genius.

A lot of the earlier callers whilst sounding good were in many cases very inaccurate. Only when TV broadcasts began did the cream rise to the top. Peter Kelly and Syd Tonks were very good IMO, at the opposite end of the spectrum Reon was often incorrect in many of his Riccarton calls

Haha Memphis...not many on here can remember Dave Clarkson. Yes , a great in that era but maybe he was often off the finish line but rarely called a neck or less finish. He exclaimed......its a PHOTO ,the letter P goes into the semaphor board. Maybe he used to a previous era , before the photo / camera ,when the result didn't always reflect the order of finishing !!

Ok that worked out well

We are in an ear of on-line horse sales. I never thought I'd see the day when any on-line presentation could replace seeing a horse in the flesh but we are now confronted by this new paradigm which I must add is entertaining.. So if we're caught by this, (and I like it) why haven't all the stud masters got their yearling pictures up on the NZB or their own stud websites yet? It's only 2 and a bit weeks off the sale and I'd have thought the sooner the better. I'd also like to make comment on the presentations them selves without making an enemy in the gates. If I were looking at a yearling, when it comes out of the box, I like to see it stand up first. I then like to go to the front and behind to assess the balance of the legs. Then I ask it to walk. I need to see it stand up so that I can understand the walk. So why are some studs only providing a video where the first thing you see is the horse walking from the side? All agents/ yearling spotters and buyers will tell you the same thing. So why not present it this way on-line? So once you've seen it from front and back walking (after the standing up show), then you'd like to see it walking from the side so that you can understand it's balance of movement in relation to its physiology. Not difficult, just a pointer for all of us that like to follow the normal format of looking at horses, whilst trying to be helpful.

Yep. Tiring listening to "experts" banging on about it on every thread !

I did say Riccarton, he was woeful at times especially in later years.