Having a bit of a dabble on this today. Toolbox says Bet Back on Races 1-6 at Wanganui but only Races 1-4 show as Bet Back. Not really good enough is it?

Returning to seven furlongs, Mufasa notched his second graded victory in the United States while upsetting White Abarrio in the $150,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.View the full article

Whilst all of your points are valid , we mustn't forget that horses have become a much finer beast than even 40 years ago and many simply will struggle if the weights become to much .

You're talking about 2023, not 2022 (where in the first ten horses he bought at Karaka he had two group winners including the Karaka Million winner for the seventh year in a row and two further group placegetters). You're also apparently ignoring Bellatrix Star and saying he only bought 27. If you're going to ignore purchases for Fortuna you can at least also ignore Queen Consort and say he bought 26. His Karaka 2023 Book 1 purchases total a tick over $6m. Even with GST it's less than $7m. Next you'll be trying to tell us that It costs $220 a day to have a horse trained by Te Akau in Oz. You can say Te Akau's racing stable is going relatively poorly in NZ when compared to their usual dominance (which is arguably true; their strikerate and earnings are around the usual mark but they haven't won a Group 1 in the last six weeks). But let's not just pull numbers out of our arses. It's probably too early to be judging 2023 purchases, a third of the way through their 3yo year. Wexford will be hoping so anyway; their nine 2023 Book 1 purchases have won them four maidens. I'd rather buy a horse from Te Akau (or, if you think they do better playing at the lower end of the market, Fortuna). Right this second I'd rather have it trained by Wexford, but there's not much between them right now and in general. They're both in the upper echelon and I'd be happy to have a horse with either.

I would put money on it . I wonder if Hastings is available for the spring carnival just where the 3 G1s will go , I suspect at least one could go to Ellerslie . Give them long enough and I think they could co-op the Levin J/O's to Ellerslie .

Err , wrong , you can add the exchange rate to the Aus rate . Also it is a massive difference to what is charged in NZ . But you knowing I have Wild Knight can argue with me if you must , Micheal . Can I ask you a question , do you have or had a horse with TA ??

Not yet and correction - the figures quoted above are for the 2023 K1 sale not 2022 which to be fair produced Tokyo Tycoon and Quintessa both well bought for under 200k  but their top price purchase was another dud.   Don’t get me wrong is good for the industry if Te Akau succeed they have hundreds maybe thousnads of owners are the leading stable leading buyers and Ellis is supposedly the worlds best at it.   So they should be doing better than a $400k ish return on a $10m plus investment which is shitty shitty bang for your buck.

Opie wont be lost to our industry I can see him joining a top training partnership.The question is which one. In the mean time lets use him as a RIDING mentor  

Yes Ma'am, a half sister to Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan, is scheduled to make her career debut Dec. 29 in the seventh race at Oaklawn Park, a six-furlong maiden special weight event.View the full article

Led by Citizen Bull and Gaming, the 1-2 finishers in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar, at least a half dozen leading 2-year-olds breezed across the country Dec. 28.View the full article

Inclement weather in Hot Springs, Ark., led to the early cancellation of Oaklawn Park's Dec. 28 card. The track conducted just one race.View the full article

Thanks for the responses. The bookies always claimed a late scratching of a well-backed horse without changing the market disadvantaged them in terms of making the book on the race and I can see the point. There’s a point (20/1 I think) where, if a horse withdrawn is that price or larger, there is no Rule 4 deduction applied as the bookies accepted there was no material difference to the shape of the book. Back to the business at hand and we are at Whanganui today and I’m sure there will be a decent holiday crowd: Today’s selections - opposing a couple of favourites just for the hell of it. 2.25: ALTEZZA 3.01: SCELTA DI ELENA 3.40: METAVERSE 4.14: HE’S LUCID No reason why ALTEZZA should reverse form with the favourite in all honesty. HE’S LUCID, on the other hand, is dropping down in grade further than a pebble off a cliff. He looks a bigger penalty kick than Sri Lanka did at 121-0 last evening - obviously like all analogies it doesn’t stand up to close inspection. Mrs Stodge is calling me to do some gardening - God help me…..

Many thanks for that...please PM me your bank account to send the rest to...happy New Year to you and your family.

Outstanding points raised VOR. Thank you!

Happy retirement Opie. Well-deserved. A brilliant jockey with great hands and balance. These retirements raise an issue that has been going on for decades - the unrealistic minimum weights that jockeys are required to make on a daily basis. Over the last 60 years, I've watched superbly talented jockeys have to retire because they are being required to starve themselves and take diuretic pills in order to earn a living. Little has been done by racing authorities to address these issues, which can have huge mental and physical tolls on their health. Horses are strong, athletic animals and they can carry bigger weights, so I think it's a burden which is unfairly placed on riders.  The average weight for a NZ-European male is 88.5 kgs, Maori 95.6 kgs, Pacific Islander 106.9 kgs and Asian 76.4 kgs. Is it any wonder that we are seeing more Asian riders then? It seems nonsensical to me that we're still asking jockeys to ride at unrealistic minimum weights given that the average NZ male's weight has increased by 12 kilograms in just seven years. Raising the minimum weight by 2 kilograms would be a good start I reckon. I've sat in many jockeys' rooms around the country over many years and had these discussions with riders and when they've told me the lengths they've had to go to (long periods in the sauna, hardly eating, diuretic pills) just to ride some front-running quitter at 100/1, I've felt very sad that the industry doesn't take this seriously. What a shame Opie Bosson is yet another brilliant talent lost to our sport but maybe he will return as a trainer at some stage?

Good morning   Please keep $50 for the site or future competitions for 2025 year. Many Thanks    

100% correct. I think the only exemptions should be for races staged at another track (in Ellerslie's case mostly Pukekohe) while the main track is closed for upgrades. That should also apply to Hastings races run at Matamata and Te Rapa this season. But the Great Northern especially went with The Hill. 

Prove it...PM Me some proof....otherwise I do not believe you.

Since these races have been changed and shifted then the record books and history of the races need to stop also. Example ..The Great Northern Steeplechase should no longer be named as such .The day the Hill was sold ,the race ceased to exist. The race is 3 times over the hill .You cannot compare a horse like West Coast with Hunterville or Hypnotize simply because he did not go over the hill .Most of us think he probably would have succeeded ,but the fact remains it didnt happen .So what ever race he won ,it was not the Great Northern Steeplechase. Example ..The Auckland Cup was the culmination of a series of lead up races ,and the grand final was run on New Years Day..The lead ups included the Avondale,Waikato,Counties cups ,and the the Queen Elisabeth and Nathans Memorial.The geniuses at Ellerslie decided to shift to March and even more ridiculous ,they ran it on a Wednesday..you can scarcely believe that could be true..Similar for the Railway Hcp. They cannot seriously keep the name of this Otaki group 1 to be run at Ellerslie ..it ceases to exist ,its not the same race ,everything is different . I am certain also that the 2 Guineas races at Riccarton in cup week will move to the north island ,most likely Ellerslie ,within my lifetime.

The first race at Gulfstream Park Dec. 28, a one-mile allowance optional claiming turf event for fillies and mares, was declared a 'No Contest' by the track stewards after 3-year-old filly Roscoe Village stumbled and dropped jockey Jorge Ruiz.View the full article