We're Doomed

Sadly, a subject that is of interest to only a small minority. I wonder if the SI trainers and owners ever complain about the incompetence inherent in SI Racing. Take today at Wingatui for instance. 20 balloted horses and probably another 15-20 eliminated. Not a single balloted horse got a start. Only one horse that was in a field scratched. All the ballots and eliminated horses in rating 65 and maiden races. In contrast, not a single ballot at Trentham. And four open races at Ellerslie and Trentham this weekend with 6, 11, 6 and 7 starters. This is surely a sign that the structure of racing in the South is all wrong. The pattern of feature race-meetings and industry days isn't appropriate to the South. It only works if there is a choice of one of each, each week. Why run only 8 races at Wingatui when there are clearly enough horses to run 10 races? The only 2yo race in the SI this month was a listed race at Riccarton on the 4th. And yet there are dozens of 2yos going around at the trials. Why would anyone race a 2yo in the South? How do trainers organise syndicates to race horses when new "investors" want a quick return and yet there are few opportunities for 2yos. And very few opportunities for 3yos at this time of year, at a time when 3yos are winning maiden races all over and owners would aspire to try their budding champs against their own age group. It is easy for everyone to focus on the waste involved in a $50m computer system, but what about the wasted opportunities through not investing more effort and common sense into running SI Racing. I sadly can't see a committee of "change" experts suddenly turning all of this around. I think more could be achieved by one person with a vision and a passion for the game..

Do you think Racing may have started to go down hill from the moment people with no interest in it or passion for it started running things? I have always found rather ignorant the suggestion that Racing people are too thick to run their own show. And don't anyone suggest that Racing people haven't done much of a job running the show in the past. I would suggest that it is probably about 25-30 years since Racing people have been actively involved in running the show. Getting outsiders in hasn't worked too well so far.

Hasn't worked too well so far.

Surely the RITA salaries etc aren't going to be added on top of everything we already have. I thought the idea was to eliminate a lot of the waste and cull out all the non performers on big salaries. I must admit, my big worry is the plan to appoint lots of people with "change" skills. So once again , any knowledge, interest and skills in the racing area isn't considered all that relevant. Personally, I think someone with racing knowledge could easily learn the other skills desired, whereas someone with 'other" skills would struggle to quickly learn to have a passion for racing.

I watched her also. Not sure where the interference occurred, but she was gone with about 300 to go. She hasn't had much luck over there. I think she is a big track horse and needs a good track. The wet tracks and tight tracks like Doomben haven't been suiting her.

Could be an interesting stallion for down south. Good breeding and a popular family. Everything out of the mare has sold well. Had a purple patch of form a few years ago in SA before his form tailed off thereafter. Here's hoping he does well down there.

To be totally honest SI racing is appallingly run. It seems to exist in the dark ages. It would cost very little to get a decent pattern of racing going in the SI. Look at Timaru last week. 7 races programmed, eventually one split to make 8. Dozens of horses balloted and eliminated in rating 65s and maidens as there are in Canty every week.. How clever would someone have to be to say "why don't we include a maiden 2yo and perhaps a 3yo fillies over 1,200m, just for a bit of variety". Run 10 races for a change to give everyone a chance. What is the last innovative thing that has been done in the SI? What is the last new race anyone can remember being added? What is being done to encourage 2yos, what is being done to encourage 3yos over multiple distances, what is being done to encourage jumpers? What is being done to encourage trainers and jockeys. These aren't things that cost much money at all, but they are things that require some knowledge of racing: so who can anyone think of amongst the highly paid that has sufficient racing knowledge to implement such initiatives? I think that in the absence of any real leadership in the South a panel of the six or so most intelligent Southern trainers need to get together and say "right, this is what needs to be done, or else we are all stuffed". I don't actually think John and his mates would even mind as they really don't give a stuff about the SI and would be quite happy just to see it die off.

I think he meant he has a short attention span and a 1,200m in the bush is over quicker than a 5 minute steeplechase.

I can't really see the GN meeting carrying on if jumps racing stops in the rest of the SI. Riccarton provides no jumps racing itself outside of the GN and there are virtually no jumpers trained in Canterbury. I imagine there are all sorts of clever highly paid people proposing various initiatives to try and revitalise jumping in the South, but I have missed reading about it.

Sounds like a bit of a shady deal.

We can't realistically hope to compete with those stakes given the level of interest in Racing in NZ. The sad thing is that there isn't even a "yes, but" in NZ. As in, " the Aussies may have those stakes levels, but in NZ we have.........."

I might be going against all of the prevailing sentiment on here, and I don't mean to offend anyone by any means, but what was so special about the Informant? As I live in the countryside I have never actually seen a copy, so I may well be missing something. I get all of my form online, which is where I presume most serious punters access their form these days. In the days before computers I used to rush out religiously to buy the Friday Flash as soon as it came out, and read all of the trackwork, form and editorial content, but surely these days things have moved on from that style of publication, especially in NZ with such a small market and crippling production and distribution costs.. In an ideal world this website right here could perhaps carry more editorial and information content. I quite enjoy the snippets currently carried in the news section. With some of the "train wreck" threads recently there is a danger of losing some of the die hard racing contributors, so I think a mix with more editorial content would work well and keep this site even more relevant. Do people miss the Informant because it caters to the needs of serious punters, because it might somehow attract new punters who see it in a shop, or because it retains older punters who don't have access to a computer? I must admit I do very little betting in NZ these days, and one of the main reasons for that is the lack of trackwork, which from some centres was always very valuable information.

Thank you for that.

What I may lack in "intelligence, wit and charisma" I more than make up for in good looks.

You certainly don't have to worry about me getting into any debate with the man with the multiple identities. I always thought he was a bit strange, but he has certainly gone to a new level lately. I used to think he may be "taking the piss" a bit, but I do believe he is totally genuine. I stopped reading the train wreck threads so I have no idea if he ever posted the selfie with p4p last weekend. And he may well be right, Osborne may be the best sprinter in Aussie, and he has just been beaten by Bostonian, who is clearly inferior to Melody Belle, so how good does that make her?

I am certainly no Melody Belle cheerleader. I was never a particularly big fan, but when is the last time we have had a horse in NZ who has achieved what she achieved this season. Starting with a Group 2 win over 1,200m on a soft track, then reeling off five group 1 wins from 1,400m to 2,000m on Good to Heavy tracks shows amazing versatility and class. The poor bloody thing only struck two good tracks all season and not a single dead track. All but one of her wins had to come on soft and heavy tracks. As a 3yo she ran 1.09 on a good track, and as a 2yo she won the Karaka Millions, so just imagine what she might have done this season on decent tracks. If anything the wet tracks she struck should have given the others a chance. So in conclusion, this discussion about "what if" Bostonian wins the the Stradbroke would have to be the silliest conversation I have seen on here for ages, with the exception of the three recent "train wreck" threads of course.

Don't you mean "the best sprinter in Australia" to have never won a Group 1 race? Or the best sprinter in Australia to have only won one group race in his whole career. Even Hay List managed at least three Group 1 wins despite having to content with Black Caviar for most of his career. The logic of your statement "what would Osborne Bulls do to the fields Melody Belle has won?" is totally bewildering. The last two Group 1 races Bostonian had in NZ he was beaten by, surprise, surprise, Melody Belle. She also finished ahead of him in the Railway. The only time she finished behind him all season was when they were both out of the money in the Telegraph. Surely based on that form and your tenuous grasp of logic Melody Belle would leave an Aussie who has managed one Group 2 win in his whole career, and been beaten by a NZ horse she can beat for fun, eating her dust.

Relying totally on memory, I can't recall any NZ horse who has won HOTY purely because of their deeds at the Queensland winter carnival. I suspect Rough Habit would have won HOTY the year he won the Stradbroke and Doomben Cup, but he was going so well that year that he probably won Group Ones in NZ and elsewhere in Australia that season as well. I can't see anyone getting near Melody Belle this year to be honest.

She certainly kept the horse going well and used the whip when necessary without losing any balance.

I just watched the replay. Nothing wrong with that call at all. I must say, with all the criticism going around these days, the quality of the video race coverage is pretty impressive.

When you have a Board and management with no interest in Racing they are hardly going to waste their precious weekends on something as "boring" as going to the races. Different thing if its a junket to HK or the UK or somewhere interesting of course.

I'm sure everyone on here would love a pic p4p, with the two fingers pointing at each other. Scooby might even relax his rules about Stopper's selfies.

I always had a lot of time for Richard: No Response, Bonnie's Chance, Double Cove etc. Never really had the same success in the North for some reason. Others may know why. Contributed to some of the great moments in NZ harness racing during a golden era; although we probably never realised it was the golden era at the time.

My god, I never thought I would say this, but I actually feel sorry for p4p. I am amazed you keep replying to those two. You are only encouraging them.

Wasn't she very nearly scratched at the barrier? Might have been on her last chance when she finally went into the gates. It was a while ago of course, so I might be wrong.