Nelli

I took a while to work out how to navigate round the new TAB site on my phone but generally ok now. However, I gather some people with older systems or slow connections are having major issues. It will be a pity if the boffins haven't ensured the new system works for all (cf the census).

This looks a sensible move by the club with back to back meetings. It lets trainers nominate for their preferred track and race for their charges. But in the case that there are too many nominations, the club is providing the option, with consultation, to race at the Cambridge meeting. We all know higher stakes don't necessarily mean full fields. There are more knowledgeable people than me on this site but I know as an owner I prefer my horses to race where they have a chance of getting a place, and not just making up the field and having their confidence smashed.

Story on HRNZ news site on 18th says he is almost ready to race. He had been entered but scratched at trials this week. Reads as if Greg has given him good break and long prep intentionally with no indication anything amiss.

Well done Speeding Spur getting 3rd but the run of Sky Petite impressed me most. NZ bred Skyvalley sire of 1st 2 home in the trotters final.

What do Cafe followers think of the overlap of Interdom meeting races on Trackside 1 with Alex Park on Trackside 2 tonight? With races overlapping from 8 till 9.30, we are going to have to watch 1 channel live and record the other in our home. While being on Trackside 1 should help Interdom turnover, one would think betting on domestic harness racing is not being optimized by programming.

Don't forget that while he has crossed the ditch, Tornado Valley is more kiwi than most, being bred in NZ and by a NZ-bred sire

I thought monte horses going off the gate looked exciting! I don't mind monte races and think that as standards improve, the more accepted they will become to punters and other trainers. Talking about standards, I see in the HRNZ regulations that a rider with no experience only has to trial 3x to the satisfaction of stewards to compete in monte races while to even drive the same trotter at trials and workouts, that novice must have completed the HRNZ cadet scheme. I realise responsible trainers to date have provided their riders with adequate training to ensure the safety and winning chances of all in the race. But with the assumption that tote monte races may become a regular feature during the quieter months, maybe it is timely to think about whether future new riders should go through modified version of either HRNZ or thoroughbred training.

Noted that D Butt got fined for not driving horse out. We rewatched the race and then the home straight action 4 times and felt both horse and driver did their best. Was he meant to thrash a beaten horse? Would be interested in others views.

True- most of the time Ricky is a great driver and his record speaks for itself. It is very easy to criticize from the grandstand when you can see the whole field, and after the race. Not my intention to badmouth Ricky.

Certainly dropping from a nice sit behind Speeding Spur when the field settled in the Dominion to 5 deep on the fence had Everbody Knows owners spitting tacks! Horse was in tip top condition (last 400 in 27 sec on Cup Day), 1st good draw for over a year, then never got a run - ears not even pulled! While could forgive Ricky on Cup Day (not popping out to make a run in the FFA was 50:50 call), the drive in the Dominion was bewildering. Not as if the wee horse lacks for stamina.

The average young horse can really get hit hard by the rating system. We had a typical example - a 3yo trotting filly with a nice gait and attitude but still weak, so hadn't developed a heap of speed and couldn't race more often than fortnightly at most. She did the worst possible thing - won 1st up in Taranaki, then a non tote breeders crown against 1 other horse (which broke). With both counting as wins, she was up against tough aged horses with multiple wins and hit hard with nasty preferential barrier draws. To get down to a lower class race where she would be competitive would have taken months of training fees and would have broke her heart. We had other more promising young ones so rather than tipping her out to age and go through another prep, we passed her on.

As hobby breeders/owners that patronize professional trainers and studs, our horses have always had to 'pay their way ' whether broodmares or racing stock. Of course, a good earner means we can support more youngsters coming through. But if a horse has reached the point where continuing/bringing back in work is going to cost us more than it can earn, then we pass it on. As breeders we are only too happy to see those we've sold perform well as helps future sales.

He clocked up 55 starts last season earning $40K. The ranking system is perfect for horses like him - he's R41! Another horse with endurance in Race 1 at Cambridge is Burt Munroe in his 9th season of racing - not as high earning as Danke but still paying his way and giving enjoyment to his owners. However, it is tough on the average newbie and their owners - if it doesn't freak out with these experienced trotters storming past at standing starts and wins a piddling low stake race early in its career, it can be a long time before owners get another cheque as the horse may have rocketed up to R56 and be handicapped out of it.

Drawn 11 in the FFA on Cup Day!

Looks like the bad draws EK has had since reaching open class have cost him a chance at the Dominion. He's not drawn better than 7 in FFA for over a year (16 starts). He's gone some slashing races including 2nd in the FFA on Cup day (11), won the Green Mile in track record (10), and did the last mile in the Ordeal Cup in 1.58.6 (28.6) to finish 1/2 length from winner after been drawn 7. But as readers will know, it is very hard to win or even place if always having to settle at rear of large fields.

What do readers think of Ronald J been given an 11 point boost up the rankings and into the field for his rails run 3rd at Ashburton? Yes it was a Group 3 race but the equivalent placed horse in the Group 3 at Banks Peninsula wasn't treated nearly so generously. Does it matter who the owners are?

The draw matters too much for mile racing on all but the biggest tracks. If you have a horse that is only average off the gate, then the odds stacked against it. At Auckland you need a horse with a good sprint at both the start and finish. I prefer a mix of distances that cater for the mix of horses we have, including the great sprinters and the never say die straight out stayers.

If you think photos are bad, the videos we've got as the "owner award" in recent years at Cambridge are terrible quality. You get better off recording the TV and making you own file - what you get sent just looks like what you get online.

More bad draws! 7 in the Trotting Champs. The racing gods certainly are against him as 7 is best he has drawn in 7 mobile starts this season.

Talk about bad luck - drawn 8 for the 3 mobile Group races on his trip up north following 10 and 11 for the Group mobiles down South earlier this season. Poor wee bugger!

Definitely agree. As an owner I've had a lot of fun and success racing at Auckland but it has been pointless racing some horses up there (too immature, can't go that way round, not fast enough off the mobile and more suited to stands etc). So Cambridge is essential to ensure they have a career. Collaboration between Auckland and Cambridge should be a no brainer if we want a reasonable horse (and owner) population in the future.

I think use of PBD should vary - especially in North Island where wider ranges of ratings in races are more common. It is unfair to hang a relative novice horse that has finally managed to get its maiden win out in the styx against multi win older horses meeting after meeting till it has finally been out of the money long enough to move down to a more competitive rating. But varying use of PBD will favour different horses week to week .

how do we entice any new people into ownership? Potential owners will have mix of things that will act as incentives and things that turn them off. If our harness racing wanted to target the Asian community then we would need marketing people , trainers and committee people who understand the Asian psyche

Agree - but if hold onto them yourself the new ratings system is tough on novice average horses so not a lot of fun that way either.