Alf Riston

Sydney abandoned last 2 races as well it seems

The Southport Tycoon, aka Pure Steel might be rooted if Encap wins

Both presenters down playing it. I think Innes mentioned bad luck.... If I wanted bad luck in the mix I would have taken my 55mill to the Casino.

Looking forward to the next round of diatribe,

Things were looking good early on. The presenters had just finished talking the track up and 2 minutes later they announced a track inspection.... An abandonment would be further embarrassment in this saga and bring on another set of verbal sidestepping.

Hey Rusty, Funny you mention that. I'm sure #48 would have taken inspiriation from the NZ Pardon My Dust. He is an ex-Kiwi, now Aussie resident, living a fair way north from you. Back in the day as young lads we would frequent most meetings at the Park and quite a few Cambridge meetings too. Even better that you mentioned Jenner, as that was his favourite trotter for sure! I hadn't noticed the pairing today until you posted. A Queensland v Queensland matchup , should be a great contest Good luck. Cheers, Phil

Track looked really good - hopefully it stays consisitent throughout the day.

#48 Pardon My Dust (AUS) 1. Ellerslie R6 7 2. Ellerslie R7 3 3. Randwick R2 9 * 11 4. Randwick R3 1 * 5 5. Randwick R4 4 * 10 6. Randwick R5 1 7. Randwick R6 13 * 15 8. Randwick R7 7 9. Randwick R8 13 BEST BET 10. Mornington R6 2 11. Mornington R8 1 12. Mornington R9 3 BEST BET Thanks heaps John & Scooby and good luck Team Imperatriz. @ Ohokaman - scratchings your care please

Are you still going you Rusty old bugger ??? You're a lot like Lancelot Bromac really - an aged gelding that just keeps on keeping on

Cup Day Tradition - ROOTED World Famous Jumps race over the HILL - ROOTED General state of Racing - ROOTED $55m Track - NOT ROOTED (apparently) Seems the Muppets can root everything except what they needed to .... Apparently this shot is from the meeting when they decided to send the Track developers home early

Sand (the right sand) is often a groundsmans best friend, so let's hope it does the trick.

Funnily enough I had stumbled upon this a few weeks back and thought it was pretty amazing - not a GR1 though

Absolutely loved this! Not sure if it got any mainstream News coverage but it should have. Interesting all the comments around poor judgement from other riders. This was a 'freak' effort so pretty hard to point blame at the other riders in my opinion. Let's face it - we are all talking about it because of it's abnormality. 99 times out of 100 such a lead results in the horse walking over the line, so for POJ to maintain the strong gallop to the line was incredible. The only ride I would comment on is the brilliance of Declan Bates - in this instance his nickname 'Master' is fitting, rather than the funny connotations of it. Seemed to let her do her own thing, gave her a little rest before the rise and then they were history. One thing I do wonder is he she had wobbled up the straight, and finished out of the money, if Maher would have had a 'face like a half sucked Throatie' like he did with the Jimmysastar ride One of the great G1 wins of all time and we should celebrate the positive side of it

Wow alright!

My favourite galloper too! I think it was either last start , or the one before, when they referred to him as 'handy type'. The winner of $10 mill, slightly better than handy I would have thought. Big chance tomorrow at excellent each way odds.

The Queensland Mail is in! Not sure if it's aided by 20gm Tungsten Tips or not, but here are #48 Pardon My Dust's (AUH) tips for Team Imperatriz 1. Randwick R2 2 * 5 BEST BET 2. Randwick R3 10 BEST BET 3. Randwick R4 5 * 8 4. Randwick R5 5 * 6 5. Randwick R7 11 6. Randwick R8 2 * 7 7. Randwick R9 6 8. Morphettville R4 2 * 4 9. Morphettville R5 5 * 12 10. Morphettville R6 3 11. Morphettville R7 5 * 10 12. Morphettville R8 9 * 11 Thanks John & Scooby @ Ohokaman - I'll be spoiling a good walk in the morning, so scratchings in your capable hands please. Good luck Team Imperatriz Cheers, Phil

Well, I haven't read through every post on this long running thread, but a couple of things stuck out that just don't make sense to me. Sending the Strathyr team away before the handover of the fully race ready product was 'good to go', and the change of grass type from what was recommended are really WTF moments for me. I'd love to know the reasons behind the decisions, but it just seems like some local expert with an ego thought they knew better and wanted to have their stamp on it. That kind of 'local play' can work sometimes and be a master stroke, but when it goes tits up, which it clearly has, if it was my 55 Million I'd be beating the door down of those who authorized those 2 actions and demand answers. As usual, we just get the normal PR dribble and there is never any true ACCOUNTABILITY! For the record, I thought the decision to rebuild the track was a great step forward and hope it can be resolved in a suitable time frame, but clearly understand peoples frustration and skepticism given how it's played out.

Are you sure it wasn't done that way?

I see he has a Rodeo background which isn't one of the most savoury past times when it comes to Animal welfare. Hopefully he can learn 'where the line is' and move his career forward.

Thanks for sharing John. Pretty sure I have the book 'Frankie' stored away somewhere if you haven't yet got it and would like it ? Cheers, Phil

Actually, the 4.1 litre straight 6 that they did in Aussie was a pretty decent car - would love to own one today

Thanks John and Scooby and congrats to Team Veandercross. And a big thanks to Team Horlicks - we were in it for a long way and gave it a decent shake. Cheers,

Thought I might have scared you a bit with Pericles John I took F/F in the treble so got a bit animated 100 meters out

Nice work John - single BB A long way back for Team Horlicks now. Might need The Anchor to early call you guys as victors, our only chance perhaps