TOM(the other Molloy)

When Kumara refused to transfer NZTR was unaware of the offer - I should imagine they(NZTR) would have insisted on the transfer had they known. No use crying over spilt milk but the stakeholders were not the first consideration.

Great except that the TAB need time to transfer between courses especially where they do not maintain a suite of tote machines (ie probably 75% of courses around NZ) For instance Kumara could have done it two weeks ago if they had decided Thursday but if they had waited till say Friday afternoon too late. Much as I am critical of the TAB there is a lot of work in setting up an on course tote especially in the testing and TV setup. Of the eight courses you mention in your example there would (I would think) be seven with no permanent Tote machines. The other obvious things are where you do not have permanent liquor licences(they are not interchangable between locations), staffing for meetings(Entrance, parking, catering etc etc ) - not everyone might want to travel 60 miles or so - and catering itself

He pretty much talked piffle Torch to be fair and the lack of punctuation and capitals etc etc etc made his postings impossible to comprehend. He also emphasised how he NEVER bet on racing yet was an international expert on racing commentators. If he cannot put a coherent post together the site is better without him and if he was dumb enough to have a crack at the boss well he got what he deserved.

to be fair my understanding was that we had to get irrigation on all tracks. Maybe I misheard or misunderstood but certainly at Reefton we have K line and it has opened my eyes a bit in the last few weeks hearing about so many tracks with no irrigation facilities. Having no irrigation is worse than too much surely.

Yes Pitty did it with one I had a share in a couple of years back. Four donuts and cast aside up north then went back for three starts Wellington Cup week for two wins and a third. And all after I argued with him and reckoned it should have been going to Gore (the Gore races that is not the slaughterhouse) Sort of humble pie you do not mind eating when (inevitably) Michael was proved right and me wrong.

Flying View I am sure won it after winning the sprint at Kumara the week end before.

Kings Road cost DCE $1.75m. Last time I looked he had won about $10,000

Bit tough on KFE aren't you? Their job is to provide continuity and Karyn is good at that. Live TV is not an easy job - just ask Julie Christie - and in general those guys do a pretty acceptable job in my view

When I think about it of course this time last year the Pitman were mourning the loss of First Serve in the same race. Funny how things turn around. And Enzo's Lad is yet another example of a bargain buy ($A15000 I think) coming good. So many NZ trainers are so good at picking up cheap horses and making top liners of them. Saavy Coup us another comparatively cheap Pitman buy and now one of the KM 3yo favourites. David Ellis would be embarrassed to have such a cheap nag in the team.

Give those presenters a break you lot. Jayne Ivil copped a ton of flack here yet is now an star in Victoria and as for critizing their selections well I consider those people to be no more knowledgeable than I am myself so never listen(not hat I claim to be any sort of judge just a mug like everyone else). Dufficy doesn't tip the card every week as far as I know even though he is entertaining. As for the Fahey girl's clothing down south well it looked perfectly acceptable to me. Anyone with wives and daughters who like dress shops would be totally accustomed to that type of gear. NZ racing has a bloody sight bigger problem than who the Trackside presenters are and what they say. Liz Whelan is a loss however

Yeah that's the question everyone would like to know the answer to.

Not a lot of preliminaries go on at Riccarton either Shad. It is just the changing world that's all

Thanks Pam I thought it was just an NZ thing. Seems to happen a hell of a lot here and if they are going to allow it maybe it should be like gear advice 'late loader' 'permitted to leave birdcage early' or some thing like that. In a high profile case like Kawi it gives him a definite and repeated advantage and that is not fair. Maybe allow him it twice then expect him to be loaded in ordinary order. Similar with barrier blankets - why should they be entitled to load last? It is bullshit. In some ways I think horses known to be bad loaders should load first so well behaved horses are not standing there for minutes waiting for tardy horses to load.

Fair comment. Though he is still hugely advantaged by the special treatment he gets in the start area. That Telegraph would have been the hottest form race in NZ in years I reckon.

I was going to start a thread re that. The two Telegraph 'hot shots' last two to load. Late entering the birdcage(Saville Row) early to the start (Saville Row, Kawi) last entering the starting gates (Kawi, Volpe Veloce). Does it happen anywhere else in the world? Not that I am aware of and it is BS it happens here - horses given an advantage apparently because they get nervous before a race. I strongly suspect every horse gets nervous but these are given distinct advantages. Time for the RIU to stop this practice.

Congratulations Team Pitman. Great ride great win and great to see the big cheques heading South!

What? Jockey upgrade??? If it were P D Johnson on board tomorrow you might say a comparable pilot to the legend but I suspect it is you overdoing the Friday night drinks. Having said that Chris has got off so a major minus to the horse's chances. Danielle is clearly a very talented girl but jockey upgrade????? Ya right are ya?

So am I. Had a go at it one day at the trials 30 years ago and until you have had a crack you do not appreciate exactly how tough it is.

Another example - there you go. Greg Radley is another example of a top bloke I had forgotten about - he came to the Coast commentating years ago. They arranged a scenic tour of the Coast for him but his response 'find me a pub with a TAB and I'll be happy' As good a bloke in person as he appears on TV

I have never met one of those Commentators who is not a great bloke. From Jack O'Donnell to Reon to Tom Wood and T Lee, Jason Teaz and now the new crop Mark McNamara and Matthew Cross. every single one a personable easy going good fella. A couple of incidences involving my kids in the last ten days illustrated this so well. At Greymouth last week a mutual friend took the two of them (21 and 16) along with two or three others to meet Matt who was doing TV work that day. He spent at least 15 minutes with them discussing all manner of topics including TV, little Irish jockeys, the way their father reacts when one of his bets looks likely to win and whatever else. Then yesterday I offer to take the younger one and a friend to the commentary box so they could watch Mark strut his stuff. Twenty minutes later I find them still there having this time dissected the intricacies of the Molloy family and notable members thereof, again little irish jockeys, silly songs from years ago, what big races he commentates and God knows what else. To be fair the 16 year old has a fair bit of Molloy yap so Mark would not have needed to lead the conversation and appeared to be enjoying it but things like that live with kids and they will remember an encounter with the faces (and voices) of NZ Racing. When I pointed out exactly how big those races are Mark calls 16 year old said ' he wasn't very skitey about it' My kids have little real interest in racing other than that created by their father's obsession and the time these guys took when they could have said 'look i'm a bit busy' was really appreciated. I know those guys read racecafe even if they cannot participate so a shout out to them in thanks for giving a bit of time to a group of kids. My kids are lucky I guess to get access to those people but NZ Racing might have grabbed a couple more devotees through the good sociable attitude of two of its stars.

Nobody said anything about them being 'run properly'. In the case of Kumara history would suggest that it is run very well indeed(not sure where all the accumulated profits have gone or whether they ever existed but anyway......) What I am talking about is the risk in today's environment that a year's hard work is all for nought when weather factors root your big day

Yes it was indeed when I left this afternoon after early rain but forecast not flash! Fingers crossed. Fields are great. Reefton as ever much drier than Greymouth.

Yes but this is not an NZTR or NZRB blame situation. It is nobodys fault but like a lot of things in life it has just evolved and we have to put up with it. Pretty clearly the Tony Pike's of this world have little or no time for the small club (and that is his prerogative) and I doubt too many tears would be shed if all the Country clubs chucked it in. It is a pretty thankless task.

Difference is that a Kiwifruit grower is a business where for the likes of the Club Committees it is a labour of love. The way Thoroughbred funding is structured you cannot possibly make a big profit nor can you make a huge loss unless you are like Kumara and have huge expenses which are unrecoverable if you abandon It is not NZTR's fault nor the Club's or the stakeholders - just a fact of modern life. The more I think about it the more the convert to harness racing, if your heart is set on a race meeting that is, appeals.

Yes that is why I said they need a lot of tote staff. They make nothing on drinks - 95% of people bring their own and the bar income is soaked up paying local sports clubs to man it.