La Zip

Love French Racing!......one of life's great experiences was going ARC day, and buying premium seating, half the cost of Flemington and Moonee Valley on their Cup/Plate days......easy to get a bet on, great food and drink at reasonable prices, and a lovely atmosphere, no drunks nor threatening behaviour, and of course to see Treve, even though she went under.....Gotta luv the French. And that's the old Longchamp, the new/rebuilt grandstand looks amazing.

Yes, he certainly was. A person who spoke his mind. I worked with him in Melbourne during the Elders “buy out/take over” of Waikato Stud. That’s how Courtza ended up as part of the Waikato Stud broodmare band...RIP Nicholas Nicky Columb

I can’t believe this owner....how greedy. Just by the way, he also owns a horse I believe will go close to halting the run of Winx...the Mick Price trainer Grunt...please let the Stewards make the decision and take it out of Hawkes Racing/Rupert Legh hands.

They're greedy bastards, let's be honest, 90% on social media here in OZ are in favour of the horse going to Living Legends, earned 8.8 mil and they are still after the bucks and adulation.....the owner is now a laughing stock, it's his call not Hawkes....so make it, let the lovely animal enjoy his retirement.....any steward with half a brain would ban the horse, he's a punters risk, and that's not good.....hopefully his ego won't get in the way of sound reasoning. Fingers Crossed!

I’d say Liam’s on vacation, wouldn’t you?

He paid $9.40 on NSW Tab & $10 on Sportsbet...the fav blew from 2.40to 3.40 and never ran a place.....so what’s new?

Thank you Richie... as Sgt Schultz says...”I know nothing”.....

Actually you can do some homework on races where Waller favourite gets bumped off by one of his other runners...now that would make interesting reading.....

Interesting stat, but I’m interested in how much money is NOT in invested by punters if there is are multiple Waller runners. That’s the true indicator.

This is just about the worst case scenario for racing. Just for a start, importantly, the punters won’t bet...par for the course, Waller lines up way too many favourites which don’t salute...often with the maligned stable mate taking the prize...and if punters won’t bet, then no money goes through the system which stumps up racing...self defeating system... Is it any wonder they can’t get decent sized fields in Sydney and provincials...when domination has just gone beyond the ridiculous

Getting them ready for a first up go without a trial is a skill set fast disappearing from our training ranks. This man knows what he is doing...he knows his horse. I think some stables are so big, trainers don’t have the time to “know” their horse, so trialling is the easy way out...although in NZ, the scenario is a little different ..... lack of races, lack of continuity re programming, trading criteria, lack of good training tracks or track workers, contribute to the trial mantra.. but when I see a trainer trialling a horse 4and 5 times, I begin to question why? Waller and Waterhouse are absolute champions at the trial game.

Sorry, I mean they regret...

You don’t think the owners of the beautiful old horse, Survive, would gladly swap positions with Rupert Leagh? You think they don’t regret “not listening” to him trying to tell them he’d had enough....some owners don’t deserve the lovely horses they have been given...

None taken.

Thanks Scooby, but I'm not a he.....I'm a she........and as an Australian who tried to live, support and more importantly invest my hard earned cash in New Zealand racing for the past 4 years, I believe I see things differently...I do have the practical experience of racing on both sides of the Tasman. As the President of my local track said to me "you know this is not Flemington or Rosehill"...which I replied "I'm fully aware of that but it doesn't stop you from running it like it was Flemington or Rosehill"..... I'm still supporting Kiwi trainers (I have 4 in work) and Kiwi breeders (3 mares).....if I was as BarryB suggests, then I would have taken my bat and ball and gone home. But I'm still supporting them..

Strathayr doesn't suit everywhere, it's good, but the nylon cushion/underlay doesn't respond well to NZ type conditions. I remember when Lee Freedman mooted it, he was first cab off the rank here in Oz, Moonee Valley, laid it, boy did they have some early teething problems, I don't believe it's true all weather track. NZ needs tracks like Southwell and Lingfield, just as Red Rum suggested, where you get snow, the strath is useless, looking at the training grounds at Newmarket, the doyen of training grounds world wide the Al Bahathri is the most utilised, 9 furlong uphill poly track. It was recently refurbed! In all reality the head of NZ Trainers assoc plus maybe one other selected industry professional should go, look, and come back with their selection, and the reasons therefore......even the leading Jockey.......for Gods sake, keep the suits at Petone well away, leave it to the coal face participants, after all, it is they that will live and die by their efforts, and achievements. The UK and Ireland is the place to go, it's similar to NZ climate wise, and we need to respect their wisdom. IMO.

No Barry, just a few.....you know who I mean.........great respect for all forums, especially in NZ as it's the only way people with passion can speak!

I love reading posts from people that know what they are talking about......and/or do their research.....thanks RR........

By real I mean, good tracks, good horses, great money, Great crowds......I feel really sorry for the valiant and the brave that go out in all weather over in NZ.....and then get shafted by the people in paid jobs at Petone......don't you?

Ha, at least you got some sun CBT, more to come! and the spring racing, real racing!

Queensland is in the middle of political instability, it will rectify itself, same as the track at Eagle Farm, and yet we are racing for K70 today....every race except the Tatts, a lot more.....you can cry in your beer, across Oz racing is going well, read my facts.....you are a very well balanced Kiwi aren't you? a chip on each shoulder......it's 23 here, sunburn, slip, slap, slop.....that's what the weather has to do with it......a proven fact, people that live in sunshine are better adjusted than those that live in rain/wind/tempest......watch all the Kiwi horses racing in oz today, they are all basking in sun and finding lengths on their Kiwi form.....people like Little Avondale are laughing.....and enjoying the awards of a very solvent and prosperous Australia.

Tour the world part RR got right, find anything? nah, history repeats remember.

Spoken like a true Pom RR, loved those winter nights at ''Suth-all''......beanie, scarf, two coats, gloves, and the warm beer......backed a few winners though, and had the chance to, as if the same weather was in NZ the meetings would have been canned, so jocks, owners, trainers and staff all benefited, plus the punters of course.......in 10 years they will be saying 'why didn't we do this earlier'......and the flow ons will be immeasurable !

What a load of tripe, I sit here in Brizvegas and look at the pools and they are healthier than ever, UBET/TAB.COM/ and the corps, then I look at the NSW pool betting into the NZ Race day.......not the co-mingle delusion, the real deal, and UBET is worse, the interest here on NZ racing is negligible, the non tab fields here are racing for really good money, they survive on the bookies tax, oncourse tote, etc.......the fields in Melbourne are so good, their pools are amazing, and, the noms were so huge during the past weeks RVL have scheduled another meeting [xtra] at Bainsdale just to cater for all the ballots.......you can quote all you like, but we are living in reality here, oh, and heaps of sunshine, so we don't have the same chips on our shoulders.....hopefully most of you will accept the professionalism of John Messara, he should be lauded not punted into touch.

The UK embraced all weathers tracks, they even have an AWT Winter Championship, it's brilliant, it is a lifesaver for their industry as there is now no need to lay off staff during their flat season hiatus. Over here in Oz, they have more than paved their way, be it QLD and the sunny coast, or VIC and their AWT's at Pakenham and Geelong, they run scheduled meetings as well as being the default track for abandoned meetings...... How to pay, well, lets look at this scenario, NZ with it's archaic and puritanical attitudes to bookmaking is it's own worst enemy, maybe Bet365 Park Riccarton or Rangiora, or Sportsbet Riccarton/Rangiora, by allowing them to build and sponsor the thing for say 20 Years, well, it pays for itself, the people of NZ receive the huge income benefits, the attraction of bookmakers, real bookmakers I mean, not the imposters at Petone, the massive marketing that goes with it, the extra sponsorship opportunities for the many corporates that lay in waiting, the excitement that licensed oncourse bookmakers bring, will bring a new breed of young punter to the races, look at UK and the crowds they are pulling at places like Brighton, and Chester...although Geelong midweek resembles a morgue at times they provide a good reliable surface that the punter invests in.....today at Geelong the fields were good and the revenue good......All it will take is someone to say, enough...lets join the rest of the world......and reap the rewards.