Houlahan's Dream

Fingers crossed for a poitive day for them on Saturday.

Only two under 11 secs in last 200. Suggests Cascadian still has it. No knock on the winner - just outstanding.

1. Randwick R2 5,16 2. Randwick R3 1 3. Randwick R4 1 BB 4. Randwick R5 6 5. Randwick R7 2,11 6. Randwick R8 2,10 7. Randwick R9 2,3 8. Morphettville R4 1,5 9. Morphettville R5 6,9 10. Morphettville R6 4 11. Morphettville R7 3,7 12. Morphettville R8 10,11 BB I think we are up against it with the mighty Team Crusher but we made the last four for a reason! Let's go Avantage!!!!

Well observed as usual Stodge. Mahrajaan is a tricky one - two 3200m wins in a season is highly unusual in NZ. He beat Mark Twain handily in akl cup, and that horse qualiified for MC with a braining of them in the Roy Higgins couple of weeks back at Flemington over 2600. Oddly for a NZ horse he does not like it too wet but often the Aussie soft and our own measurements are slightly out of whack. He can clearly get the 2 miles which a lot of these will struggle with. If it is truely run he is a good shout and possibly overs at $18.

It is almost comical. What grinds my gears is the swagger of the people involved in this, as if everything they touch turns to gold. This attitude is encouraged by the likes of Guerin whose interviews of Ellerslie top brass are conducted solely from the kneeling position. Seriously. How do you keep your job. Or are some people un-fireable?

I honestly think a lot of us could do a better job. Case in point is my favourite galloper, Cascadian, leading up to Aus cup. Blind Freddy could see his first two runs this campaign were 'looseners' before the main mission - Aus cup. But the form guides wildly misrepresented his first run when in reality the jock run up the arse of every horse in the field and let him loose at about the 150. I am not saying doing the form comments for every horse would be easy but.....kind of a fun job in some ways.

Sticking with Cascadian in the QE Stakes on Saturday. Arguably nothing beats the import but if PofJenni goes berserk and Cascadian can track the hot pot into the race and have the last dive.... I would be happier if Blake Shinn had stuck on but 9s/3s is decent money each way.

WHY would they irrigate last night? Been threatening rain all day, not sure if any has fallen there overnight etc but irrigating seems to be highly risky....

1. Trentham R7 1 2. Randwick R2 2/11 3. Randwick R3 2/21 4. Randwick R4 3 5. Randwick R5 1/12 6. Randwick R6 1/10 7. Randwick R7 8/10 8. Randwick R8 3/12 BB 9. Randwick R9 1/12 10. Caulfield R4 6/8 11. Caulfield R8 1/2 BB 12. Caulfield R9 8/9 So glad we made the playoffs, now time to kick on! Let's go Avantage! Thanks for the comp people.

Pericles for mine. Underdone in Ryder, drawn carpark but wet track is a factor.

I find him patchy. For big races he puts on a performance, lower down the card he does seem to stumble over which horse is doing what. And the finishes beyond the top 2/3 - often hit and miss. He is all right though - better than I would be for sure.

Cascadian! Go you good thing.

1. Ellerslie R6 5/6 2. Rosehill R2 1/6 3. Rosehill R3 6 4. Rosehill R4 2/3 5. Rosehill R5 2/6 6. Rosehill R6 1 7. Rosehill R7 1/3 8. Rosehill R9 9 BB 9. Flemington R4 10 10. Flemington R7 2/6 11. Flemington R8 2/5 BB 12. Flemington R9 13 Let's go Avanatage...playoffs here we come! Thanks for the comp guys.

Yeah, I got on at $21s after his first run in Sydney where, to put it politely, the jockey did not exert himself! Will be a good test. 9 is getting on but he is pretty tough.

Cascadian and Atishu for mine in Aus cup. Old guy was at $20s, now down to $7.5.

Cometh the hour, cometh the Falcon! 5/12. Nice work.

Wary of the early Crow but I never envisaged nearly $500 lead over Big Red.

1. Tauranga R7: 4 BB 2. Riccarton R8: 5/10 3. Rosehill R2: 2/4 4. Rosehill R3: 1 5. Rosehill R4: 1 6. Rosehill R6: 4/8 7. Rosehill R7: 3/11 bb 8. Rosehill R8: 1/14 9. Rosehill R9: 6 10. The Valley R4: 5 11. The Valley R7: 3/8 12. The Valley R9: 3/4 Let's go Avantage! Feels wide open this week and we are up against the #1 seed but...there are no certainties in racing!

Well said. So in Aus Cup, 400 m further, twice the straight to catch a leader in....is he a moral? Cascadian? Is Jenni racing?

Trentham. R5. 1/7 Trentham. R6. 6 Trentham. R7. No. 3 Trentham. R8. No. 1/11 Caulfield. R8. No. 1/2 BB Caulfield. R9. No. 1/4 Rosehill. R3. No. 3 Rosehill. R4. No. 7 Rosehill. R6. No. 3/8 Rosehill. R7. No. 11 Rosehill. R8. No 9/16 Rosehill. R9. No. 2 BB Something of a throw at the proverbial today. Thanks for the comp guys, and good luck Team Avantage!!!

I reckon I could do a better maketing Job. The arse is falling out of NZ Racing... How about catering more for the Public ? Oz do it well, as hard as it is to admit ! I watched the cup as usual, But yeah the absence of Public numbers & Glitz & Glamour was obvious. Speaking of catering, I wonder how many hot dogs on a stick they sold at Cheltenham? How many NZ race courses have sushi, or Ramen for example. Tacos? Anything remotely modern, as in from this century? Last time at Te Rapa (mid Jan) I had perhaps the WORST veggie sandwich in history - not the end of the world but predictably bad. I know there is more to going to the races than getting a decent snack but to me it is symbolic of the lack of care at our race tracks. It is a great experience watching the horses, but getting bird shit on your pants, and then having soggy chips, bad sandwich and disinterested hospo staff really adds to the experience. I suppose we can look forward to trips to Aussie, decent food at Caulfield, nice hospo experiences at Randwick and even, God forbid, percentage quinella bets or this AMAZING product called a Duet. Way too fancy for NZ punters, of course......

Look, I get they are in a situation. But I cannot see how reducing our punt options, works for them as a model. They need to do better.

What a bunch of losers, honestly. Exactly. On BET365 there are soooo many options for my punting dollar....so why would I bet with TAB?

Think Cascadian is a shot here too.

Not a big punter at all. Used to be a member, got sick of the broken seats and birdshit in members stand. My point which you so surely misread was, what do we get for our $20. In other jurisdictions there is more of an incentive to part with your hard earned. In public stand down stairs we have hot ham rolls (not bad to be honest) but other than that you have pretty dire sandwiches, pies, chips etc. I do bring my own food to the races. You are right to say Ellerslie is better than most tracks in NZ...but that is a VERY low bar.