tasman man

No wonder anything with any ability goes to OZ and stays there...its a no brainer. Horses ,soon jockeys and trainers will follow..oh wait they already are.

You need to own a Saturday horse. That has always been so. There is no great reward from a slow one. I call the game, "Chasing Rainbows"

$14,000 minimum stakes is a slight improvement but should be higher. If your horse is lucky enough to win a midweek race the stake will only cover 6-7 weeks of training fees at the most.

I will say it again......the guy who organises these comps does a fantastic job !
My effort was the story of my life.......showed a bit of talent at times, difficult for an 'average' bloke to head off but in the end more likely to be 'cream of the crap ' as opposed to 'cream of the crop'.
Thanks to you all who give it a go !

I will say it again......the guy who organises these comps does a fantastic job !
My effort was the story of my life.......showed a bit of talent at times, difficult for an 'average' bloke to head off but in the end more likely to be 'cream of the crap ' as opposed to 'cream of the crop'.
Thanks to you all who give it a go !

I will say it again......the guy who organises these comps does a fantastic job !
My effort was the story of my life.......showed a bit of talent at times, difficult for an 'average' bloke to head off but in the end more likely to be 'cream of the crap ' as opposed to 'cream of the crop'.
Thanks to you all who give it a go !

I will say it again......the guy who organises these comps does a fantastic job !
My effort was the story of my life.......showed a bit of talent at times, difficult for an 'average' bloke to head off but in the end more likely to be 'cream of the crap ' as opposed to 'cream of the crop'.
Thanks to you all who give it a go !

Steve, according to Bob tonight, Toby  had not had his 17th Birthday. When he rode Dandeleith.
For very  loyal trainer Allan Pringle and the 2 other owners > 
 

Toby with Dandelieth maybe 3 days before the Melbourne Cup.

33 years ago today, an east coast bred horse called Tumblin Down won the Great Northern Steeplechase ridden by Toby Autridge. The story behind this magnificent steed is one that movies are made of. The baldy white faced horse, being now more than 16hh,  was bred on the east coast and was by a horse called Dodger (by the great jumping sire Kurdistan). Interestingly Dodger traced back to one of the first boat load of mares that were imported in the 1860's to NZ.
Tumblin Down was a chestnut out of Maria Dallas (the singer had a hit song called Tumblin Down...hence the name). He was destined to become a war horse on type and ended up becoming a pig horse, where the hunters shot pigs and used horses to carry them out of the bush. Tumblin Down was doing this as a 2/3 year old. He was seconded to a movie set as an extra in a movie in the 1980's called Wild Horses (not the Kenny Rogers version). One of the lead actors liked Tumblin Down so much, he changed horses and rode him throughout the move.
Sally House ended up with him and Paul Moroney and I ended up seeing him for the first time at the Te Rapa races in the middle of the winter, on a day where now-a-days they would have called the meeting off due to jockeys not having the skills or experience to ride in those conditions or health and safety. The thing that took us both was that in the pissing down rain, he tucked his head into the underarm of Sally, and where ever she went, his head remained there. It was a sight t see. It was a 1600m race and he came from last at the turn and chugged his way to third. We instantly thought Parliamentary Handicap and bought him for peanuts with two friends Connor Maloney and Craig Lindberg. Horse got a virus during the first year so we lost 6 months. Ended up turning him as a jumper. Problem was he wasn't a technically talented jumper (PC way of saying he couldn't jump well) and Graham Richardson fell off him at his first jumping race at Te Aroha (from memory). From that point on Toby Autridge rode him.
Under Toby, Tumblin Down became first horse to have won the Great Northern and Pakuranga Hunt Cup in the same year. In the Northern he was spectacularly put through the wings during the last round, as Graham Lord, who had ridden for two rounds without irons  (iron had broken two rounds before), veered off to the right taking Tumblin Down with him. Lord fell off at that stage and how Tumblin Down didn't fall we will never understand, suffice to say it was a miraculous piece of riding by Toby....freakish in fact.  Tumblin Down went from 4th, 4 off them, to 10th losing 20- 30 lengths. With only a round to go we all thought it was over but Toby kept the game alive and somehow we found ourselves in 5th place at the bottom of the hill the last time but the leader, Vincere had got 20 lengths in front of the field. At the top of the Hill we got to 4th, turning for home he got to third, at the last fence 2nd and we won by a head. In that one ride Toby showed how much of an amasing horse person he was. Tumblin Down lived till he was 33 years old. The celebrations lasted a week as the Northern was worth $200,000 and we were all poor as paupers in our twenties.
So 33 years ago, Toby rode like a demon to fulfil a dream we all had. This morning, unfortunately, Toby died. He was a good person and I shall remember him with much love and admiration.
 

I will say it again......the guy who organises these comps does a fantastic job !
My effort was the story of my life.......showed a bit of talent at times, difficult for an 'average' bloke to head off but in the end more likely to be 'cream of the crap ' as opposed to 'cream of the crop'.
Thanks to you all who give it a go !

I will say it again......the guy who organises these comps does a fantastic job !
My effort was the story of my life.......showed a bit of talent at times, difficult for an 'average' bloke to head off but in the end more likely to be 'cream of the crap ' as opposed to 'cream of the crop'.
Thanks to you all who give it a go !

Bren Langford won several big races on him including the 1962 McGregor Grant Steeples and the '63 Grand National.

I always amazed there are not more people live on course , full stop !
The small fields and largely poor divis really aren't that attractive , neither is the gridlock traffic to get there and many work on a Friday and just want to head home !
Goodness knows how many folk will be on course when Thursdays increase in August/September.
Don't forget too that the Club was basically insolvent , and definitely lacking the cash for any advertising spend at all. Bus backs ,billboards ,buildings and Cinemas [restricted these past 2 x years] is largely for Mayoral candidates ...haha !
And don't forget the background ethnicity of the folk who enable the ATC to clear over $2 mill annually from their pokies ,and make the ATC TAB the biggest , by a country mile , in NZ.
I'd suggest the Asian community actually  enables the ATC to battle on ....and I think they much prefer the gallops !

Still can have a lot of enjoyment on a night out with a group of friends at the track. Yes  - free entry to Alex Park and a number of dining options.  Things are tough for owners so field sizes are much smaller than in the past.  Therefore combo bets may be more interesting/ profitable and if you have access to the TAB on your phone there are a few options  (though can only do my favourite Poker4 bets on track).

Welcome Archer
It was the grand old days of Rugby Racing and Beer. Nowadays all are in retreat despite the efforts of many. As for Harness very little youth/young people  involvement compared to TB's which has for example the popular BGP movement. Integrity issues are not helping things either as is poor export gambling  income.
I'm sure others will have other points re Harness racing's decline in NZ

And wasn't there some great horseflesh racing in those Group 1 races ?....some of the best races of the year IMO
Yes ,its thanks to the betting on Aussie Harness  etc  etc and in particular those meetings with the big  NZ fields of plodders that go around regularly that allow the Group racing stakes be maintained at the current level and Auckland still appeals as a track that can host them at night .
Possibly would be better to further reduce the venues , concentrate on Addington and the Sunday and Summer venues etc .
Plenty of excitement among the winners and placegetters of these Group races on Friday. Sounds as most will go again ....breeders will be happy too , and many jobs will continue.
The woes of the ATC  in recent years in particular and stakes distribution and programming etc have been well discussed  on here. ATC has actually lost  some Friday meetings so will seldom top the weeks T/0 throughout the year.
ATC by their recent miserable standards have had a couple of good weeks .
When their two top races of year offer stakes of $700 k , there is NO chance betting on those races will recoup even a fraction of that.
Thanks for reminding us , let us know from what angle your concern comes from ?
I get really pist when my horses are running around for stakes of between $8 k and $12 k.....we hang out for the chance to contest a Group race , and pleased they still have them.
 

And wasn't there some great horseflesh racing in those Group 1 races ?....some of the best races of the year IMO
Yes ,its thanks to the betting on Aussie Harness  etc  etc and in particular those meetings with the big  NZ fields of plodders that go around regularly that allow the Group racing stakes be maintained at the current level and Auckland still appeals as a track that can host them at night .
Possibly would be better to further reduce the venues , concentrate on Addington and the Sunday and Summer venues etc .
Plenty of excitement among the winners and placegetters of these Group races on Friday. Sounds as most will go again ....breeders will be happy too , and many jobs will continue.
The woes of the ATC  in recent years in particular and stakes distribution and programming etc have been well discussed  on here. ATC has actually lost  some Friday meetings so will seldom top the weeks T/0 throughout the year.
ATC by their recent miserable standards have had a couple of good weeks .
When their two top races of year offer stakes of $700 k , there is NO chance betting on those races will recoup even a fraction of that.
Thanks for reminding us , let us know from what angle your concern comes from ?
I get really pist when my horses are running around for stakes of between $8 k and $12 k.....we hang out for the chance to contest a Group race , and pleased they still have them.
 

Can you tell the owners and 350 0dd trainers the games up and trotting as they have been saying (the Imbeciles) is finished.
If you keep looking for doom and gloom there is a Lifeline number you should call. Just saying.

A good night for all concerned in both islands. All Stars had  a superb evening running 1 2 3 4 in Addington 2yr old race and 1 2 in Auckland Cup.

Why don't you guys get off your arse and promote racing yourselves in your area. It seems too easy to blame NZ Racing in general.
Why not have open days at race tracks inviting the general public to come along and watch the horses being trained. Have a sausage sizzle going to feed the people. 
I bet not many of the general public have seen horses being trained or even been to stables. Here's your chance to invite them along and experience what goes on behind the scene.  
Other businesses promote themselves, they don't rely on others to help them. They may even sponsor sports events and the like to get their name out there. 
And no I am not a trainer or even a owner, a past owner yes. So I won't be promoting racing i have other sporting interests which I am heavily involved in. 

I had a peek today and can tell you progress is being made.
There were 5 big diggers in action plus smaller machinery putting in pipes and pouring sand/ gravel etc .
All the running rails had gone  , steeple chase fences gone  .
The area that had the fence out of straight has been cleared as its been advertised for sale .
But although several machines and workers were busy to my untrained eye I would say the task has barely started and the job very much in it's early stage.
The Golf course and driving range was busy and the Ascot car park almost full !

I've heard and read complaints that there are no grass track meetings in Canterbury for 7 weeks , during the time that regular meetings ...3 in June , 2 in July.....are held on the synthetic track.
This comment appears to be untrue.
In June there are grass meetings at Timaru and Riccarton , while Ashburton races in July .
In addition between now and the National week starting early August there are grass track meetings planned for Wingatui x 3  and Oamaru x 2.
And before National week there are at least 3 x meetings where most races are worth $30k - $35k.
As to the smaller field sizes racing on the Synthetic , naturally there have been some nervousness and misinformation as to the suitability of the surface for racing.
Once this has been overcome , those willing to race should improve. Even if it doesn't ,wasn't the main reason for them to assist in traning and to ease the burden on winter tracks and limit postponments of trials and racing during inclement weather. Yhey were never intended to 'save' NZ Racing in their first year !
Like my trainers I want to see my horse burning up the grass tracks of Ellerslie ,Randwick and Flemington but sometimes our horse is just too slow for that !And we hate admitting it. !
Good to see 9 x connections pay their training fees for 2 x months today and some excited ones indeed eg MHouse !

Join the dots eljay !
If you look closer , you will notice many more Thursdays for your Club.....they don't want that.
Plus there are still several Thursday/ Friday back to back meetings for Cambridge / Auckland ....surely self defeating.
Add in the well documented shortage of horses in the North , and the small fields that result  in very poor turnover  and one concludes the relevance of the North and it's bargaining power must be at an all time low.
And what is the Club doing to reverse this trend which appears to be in free-fall ?
Meanwhile Addington can do OK with Fridays to themselves and the Southern grass track circuit doing well .
A starting point for the North's clubs would be to get together and try and improve their dilemma while HRNZ and Sires Stakes are still funding a lot of group races up North !

My apologies for today.....I ambled past this morning ,and saw preparations underway for the last dance !
Of course , the two places next door will no doubt carry on the the traditions.
When one door closes , another two will be open !