mckenzie

From my understanding the races were moved because the track was too firm even though rain was forecast. Some questions need to be asked about who made the decision and what inspections took place.

Yes it's a joke. I mentioned on here a few weeks ago before the Everest which Trackside spent months building up they cut away from the horses in the parade ring to show a $27,000 race at Bendigo. Then as soon as the Everest is over and JMac is coming back to scale pumped and celebrations are beginning we cut away to another Australian race. Check out this statement from 2009 when the new channel was added: "The New Zealand Racing Board will launch a second racing-dedicated channel before Christmas which should redress the balance between races needed to drive turnover and racing as an entertainment product. With the massive increase in Australian and international racing being shown on Trackside television in the past five years many racing fans have complained about the lack of time given to major races, particularly post-race." I think it's fair to say many racing fans are still not happy Trackside.

The Champions Day sounds like an interesting initiative. They say an autumn date but how will that fit in with Auckland Cup Week and the Sydney, Melbourne Autumn carnivals? And what impact will it have on all the carnivals we have in the months before that (Wellington, Te Rapa etc)?

VE's connections booked a jockey who could ride her for the Spring. There was uncertainty over James getting down there for the Cox Plate with the Covid restrictions.

Exactly. They were just showing the horses in the parade ring for the biggest race of the year but oh sorry, we have to cross to Bendigo for a Rating 58 $27,000 race. Complete joke. And they wonder why it's hard to get people into the sport when they treat their premium product so poorly.

She was tough today. Good to see her get the 2000m monkey off her back. If she gets a good track in the Cox Plate she’ll be right there at the end.

There used to be a proud tradition in Australasia of G1 3200m staying races. The Sydney Cup won't be G1 for much longer you would think and the Melbourne Cup has fallen away so that without the internationals it would be a very weak race. Just a sign of the times.

From Chris Waller Racing Facebook page: "Verry Flash was born at Grangewilliam Stud in 2014, bred by Don Goodwin and Christina Guy in New Zealand. He was a flashy looking fellow and when naming him, Don and Christina thought they would add an extra R in Verry, for something different. The following year, his dam Opulance had a filly. They decided to go with the theme of Verry however it wasn’t until Don and Christina were at their cousins holiday home taking a break, when Christina was gazing out the window and noticed their car had Elegance written across the side of it. Their granddaughter is named Ellee and after playing around this a few words, they came up with the name Verry Elleegant. So along with the Verry theme, you could say she was named after the Goodwin’s Granddaughter, and also their very nice car."

Exactly. I think even a Ron Dufficy type who immediately says after the race if it was a poor ride on the favourite, or they went too hard in front etc and analyses the race a bit more. Ours seem too afraid to say anything much and every race seems to be "a great ride/training performance!" and that's it.

In many overseas broadcasts they have former jockeys in presenting roles which adds a bit of interest from someone who has been out on a racehorse. They have more knowledge about tracks, pace, tactics from barriers etc. They are usually not afraid to have an opinion either and say it like it is either.

If you have Spark Sport they are promoting their coverage of it on the app.. will be interesting to see how it compares to Trackside.

Exactly. I watch less NZ racing now that they have no before or after race interviews, it’s taken the human element out of it and the product they are putting out is very dull.

Ironically an Aussie bred won the NZ Derby.... maybe we export all the good ones.

Princess Coup is another one who was classy... won the Kelt twice when it was a top race, NZ Oaks, 2nd in Aus Cup, MacKinnon, Ranvet, BMW, 3rd Caulfield Cup. Silent Achiever won the NZ Derby, Ranvet, BMW, 3rd Cox Plate.

Exactly. Look at Polly Grey winning a number of listed races worth $150k+. The listed Gosford Cup she won was worth $250k, more than most of our feature G1's.

Exactly. Are these stakes sustainable into the longer term? Selling your assets is good for the short term but what after that?

Yeah also seems to depend on the horse. The Bostonian managed to win three sprinting G1's over there. Meanwhile Savvy Coup who was one of the top horses here couldn't keep up in the mares races over there. Some can do it over there and others struggle.

Depends on the horse. Probabeel is one of the top 1400-1600m horses in Australia atm. Lots of ex-kiwi ones trained in Aussie do well. Unfortunately the cream of our crop is always going to be sent over there, the likes of Verry Elleegant who are then recognized as Australian horses by the media. Our locally trained ones also have to travel over there and that is a disadvantage for them.

Big changes need to be made, especially with the programming and conditions of our "feature" races which have lost their lustre in recent years and are not getting adequate fields.

It was changed from 1400m to 1600m in 2006. So the central districts has the Captain Cook in December, the Thorndon in January and this race in February all over 1600m. The Zabeel Classic, Herbie Dyke and NZ Stakes, all 2000m and spaced over a ten week period are just as poorly programmed.

The G1 programme in NZ needs to be revamped. We have far too many over the 1600-2000m distance spread from September to March scattered around with no logical planning behind their placement.

What are the requirements? Probabeel has raced twice in NZ in the last two years.

I see in the stewards report she received a warning. Has cost her quite a few races now her barrier manners.

Was just thinking this afternoon what a great job she does. She seems genuinely happy for the winning connections when interviewing them too.

Yes strange to go to the effort of getting the channel up and running and telling people, and then only doing it for one day. Many don't have freeview, only sky, so have to resort to watching on the computer.