Ned Kelly

There was 2 people involved in the assault ( real tough guys aye) the second persons case is the one in the article, the junior driver assaulted has now thrown in his driving licence 

It’s not something in the water JJ, its something in there genes, 

Why on earth does HRNZ think it's a good idea to run additional cheap Monday/Wednesday race meetings mainly at Cambridge and Auckland? We already have problems with low owner/horse numbers in the North: where are these horses going to magically come from? With the cost of training, owners like me would still aim at the higher staked races.Unless they were virtually handicap free, who would want to win one of the races? 

What about Gary Woodham’s mate the canary who has been syndicating horses and charging 2 years training fees upfront, several horses have run poorly and after only a couple of races been dropped. He can add fraud to his resume along with drugging horses. He has been hrnz poster boy so obviously they see nothing but the ripped offs owners are certainly doing something 

The scum bag plead guilty to assault so don’t worry about the innocent till found guilty, real tough guys when two of them beat up a junior driver in the toilets. Just add to the list of assaulting women, stealing from syndicate members, drugging horses. What a wonderful bunch they are 

The scum bag plead guilty to assault so don’t worry about the innocent till found guilty, real tough guys when two of them beat up a junior driver in the toilets. Just add to the list of assaulting women, stealing from syndicate members, drugging horses. What a wonderful bunch they are 

The scum bag plead guilty to assault so don’t worry about the innocent till found guilty, real tough guys when two of them beat up a junior driver in the toilets. Just add to the list of assaulting women, stealing from syndicate members, drugging horses. What a wonderful bunch they are 

That remarkable feat of Warren Kennedy - 7 on one card - brought to mind another remarkable feat but in another code.
February 8, 1954 and a well-known driver from Christchurch, Douglas Clifford Watts,  had come over to Reefton to drive one horse, Bourbon Lass. However, one of the regular drivers was unable to make the trip so the trainer involved asked DC to drive his 3 horses.
The first was Jacinta and it won. The second one was Proximity and it won. The third one was Air Raider and it won. Next was the Reefton Cup And DC Watts and Bourbon Lass duly obliged.
Only 8 races in those days, so now to the second half of the card. Not unusual then for horses to line up twice but winners were rehandicapped 24 yards. So race 5 and Jacinta is off 24 yds. No problem. That is 5 in a row. Next up Proximity, off 24 yds, and win number 6 for DC. Air Raider, is next and also off 24 yds, wins to make it 7 from 7.
When Bourbon Lass won the Reefton Cup earlier, the distance was 2 miles (3200m). Now, rehandicapped 24 yds, the last race was only one mile and a quarter (2000m).  No fairytale ending, Bourbon Lass was not in the money.
Still, DC Watts had achieved something never done previously in either code: 7 winners in a row on an 8-race programme.
I believe driver DC had begun his racing career as an apprentice jockey. Old timers may also remember him as the best-dressed driver in NZ. Before changing to his racing silks, he was always immaculate in a top-notch suit.
 

There were 23 Harness meetings in November.
In  11 of those meetings the Gross Betting Revenue was  LESS  than the HRNZ funded Stakes, and a couple of others were marginal.
Addington x 2   -    ATC x 3  -  Manawatu x 2 -  Invercargill x2  & Oamaru  & WBP.
The best results were achieved by  Methven 250%,   Banks Peninsular 232%  and Rangiora 210%   {GBR/Funding %}

Absolutely delighted with the win on many counts....but can't claim those instructions!
 

Yes it seems harness racing is really on the slide in your neck of the woods. I am often surprised at the bagging that Auckland trots gets when discussing it with old harness racing fans . I used to enjoy going there and see Delightful Lady repel all the challengers each year . 
Still a gathering of the Best horses in the country isn't a bad thing .  No New Zealand trained horses involved past 3 Pacing series with Grimson and McCarthy dominating at Menangle 2 years ago as anyone would suspect would happen , same for Emma Stewart barn last year in Victoria , and the local champs 'Larry' and Grant smashing em in Queensland last night.  I guess the NZers No chance these days so have given up . At least Tony had a crack at it with his trotter Bolt For Brilliance last year , and Majestic Man was there for New Zealand the year before that at Menangle,  and did great trotting to 2nd place in the Grand Final.
Nz won every  Interdominion trotting series between 1990 and 2006 bar one year  .all over Nz and Australia  . Mark Purdon winning it 3 times since then .
A whole heap of happy winning Nz trainer /drivers and owners for years and years. Excellent stuff . a fine traditional contest worth savouring (and keeping)
and you say No one's interested there ? So can/ban the Interdominion. ??  No wonder the harness racing sport is going backwards in NZ. 
 

Looks like a photo well worth $500 to me!

Don't know why they still have them .
Here's a few reasons mate. 1/. It's the showcase event of harness racing between Nz and Australia . 2/ it's better than watching rugby between the 2 nations lol   Bledisloe Cup died didn't it ?  why do they still have it ?? lol (tongue in cheek)  3/ gives some of the participants in the sport to be Immortals like Caduceus, Wolfie with Cardigan Bay, Gammalite, Blacks A Fake with Natalie Rasmussen, mark with Lazarus and Smolda going to Perth and beating up the Aussies 2 years running (how cool was that ? ) Grant Dixon now joins the list after 40 years of 7 day a week toil he gets a 'Crowning honour. 
The 2 Winners last night 2 of the best horses of ALL time . Just Believe trotting to back to back clean sweeps . amazing to see him. and LEAP TO FAME . just stunning really.
4/ Great times had by folk travelling away from under there rock for a change. I met a few kiwi's this week having a great time on holiday at the Interdominion. Plenty of Aussies have taen their pride and joy to NZ over the years to have a crack and come up trumps. 
I guess Nzers have got the wobbles after Swayzee caned them in the NZ Cup so running scared now . Why have it then ? hahahah Oh well . Invercargill Cup instead ?   It's a classic.
near 100 years showing off the best horses ever raced in Australia and New Zealand . The Interdominion ..why still have it ??  goodness gracious me.
 

sorry Nelli but the well attended picnic meetings in the area eg. otaki, now a motorway virtually from wellington to the course were stamped  out by HRNZ some time ago .the 2 day meeting was a highlight but someone in deepest Christchurch decided  to fix that club by  tacking only 1 day on to wairarapa" s half day in the sun (gallops other half) So its a sad day when great ,well run Clubs have their very existence threatened by simply a bad decision.There has to be an improvement instead of seemingly a desire to wreck Harness Racing from Cambridge to Wellington.

Was a very good drive and a deserved win for Peter and Janet Argus. 

I was a little out with my 2 weeks, but not by much. So so happy for this very special lady. A true icon of NZ racing in so many ways.

Tony is one of the best race callers there has been in NZ..for him to be told to go is really sad, why could they not have just let him go after two years like the others are doing, he makes most of the ones they are keeping look 2nd rate...poor decision and I for one wish him well in whatever he chooses to do from here on...thanks for all the great calls over the years Tony and thanks for your lifetime of service to the industry.

You can’t keep running these big meetings at a loss, the money for the land development might be good for a few years, but what do you sell next when that’s gone?
Land development is a specialist activity, ask the Auckland Trottind Club!

Interesting Barry Lichter article regarding the financial mess for Cambridge harness.  Selling off the silverware, a million dollar loan from hrnz and a large deficit from the Grins meeting. The self inflicted mess at the atc has been well documented but I didn’t realise Cambridge was starting to head the same way which is a crying shame. I hope I’m wrong but the solutions put forward sounds to me like delaying the inevitable. Any thoughts 

Two $100,000 paid employees in the office, interesting.
Like to be a fly on the wall at the AGM, everyone has to wear name tags, voting time on a few testing issues.
Grins might have been a good concept, but to run at such a loss?
The Bar has been ordinary for along time, JT got the best out of it, he ran it superbly.
Great location, but the patronage tells the story….

Or Facts are Facts and comparisons useful

Great to see Robert will be training in the South again. He was doing really well and I was a bit disappointed that he'd left to go North. Anyhow, onwards and upwards Robert, all the best.

Yeah but then it would be all Radich , the others would have nothing to contribute to a stern conversation .

Ignore him Ned- he has no idea about anything

Nice to see betty spaghetti a horse he brought and syndicated to a nice bunch of new owners have another good win. He has certainly inherited a good eye for nice horses and introduced a lot of new people into the game