It's time to be both sharp and smart and close your eyes and pretend he's not there. And hopefully when you open them he won't be 🤣

Please take note of the Regular Scratching rule - up to you to replace scratchings else you will be at a disadvantage.

Knockout type format this week.  New entrants welcome - if you didn't post last week you can still enter and still have 5 rounds to work your way up the points table. 1.  Simply pick two horses in each of the 12 races listed below. 2. The aim is to have at least one of your two runners finish in the first 4, while at the same time earning as many dollars as possible. You will have $10 each way on both runners and a $2 quinella with the two of them.  You will earn $1 for a runner which finishes 4th, or for a runner which finishes 3rd in a no third dividend race. You will have three "lives".  In each race where you don't have a runner in the first 4 you will lose a life.  The point at which you lose your 3rd life determines how well you place in this round. 3.  You will have two best bet races where your dollars earned are doubled.  They can be any two of the 12 races listed below. 4.  Finishing order for this round will be determined firstly by the number of races that you survive without losing three lives.  Where entrants lose their 3rd life in the same race, or where a number of entrants survive all 12 races, they will be split by dollars earned over all 12 races.  Race order for scoring purposes will be chronological, using actual race start times. Posting deadline this week is 1.30pm This weeks 12 races are as follows.   1. Matamata R6 2. Matamata R7 3. Matamata R8 4. Flemington R2 5. Flemington R3 6. Flemington R4 7. Flemington R6 8. Flemington R7 9. Flemington R8 10. Randwick R2 11. Randwick R6 12. Randwick R7 Please enter horse numbers, with some form of punctuation (eg. / ) between each number, and don't forget to mark your two best bet races.   Regular Scratchings - any regular scratchings can be replaced up until the posting deadline.  There will be no subs for regular scratchings - if you don't replace them you will be down a runner (or two). Late Scratchings - any late scratchings can be replaced up until the posting deadline.  After that you will get the sub, or the 2nd win favourite if you already have the sub.  If there are equal 2nd favourites on the tote the one with the lower saddlecloth number will be deemed as the more favoured. Abandoned races - we need 6 races to be run for the results of the round to stand.  If races are abandoned before the posting deadline you can change a best bet race, but after the posting deadline that is just the rub of the green. If two runners dead heat for fourth both will save you a life and both will earn $1.

Geeez Charlie that musta been 70 or 80 years ago?

Guy's take a tip from me and self ban yourself from responding to him in anyway. Then he might just go away. Well hopefully anyway.

Thanks and oh so true.

Oh dear Hoki's on the desperation trail again Must be all the even more winning the Don has done in the 48 hours that sets him off  CHOO CHOO

Lucy In the Sky wearing Lindsay colours (that fooled ya.) Trained by Pikey. Tonys got another couple of Hellos yet to come. Watch out for them.

Hopefully you will get the $50 back soon PS I reckon Sky Rocket will keep getting better he is such a big horse . Funny you should mention Gary Jones . Gary and I worked together for nearly two years for his step father Doug Hawkins .  I don't think people apart from us knew how good a driver he was . Golden Command , Regal Nova , Shadow Lord in particular he drove so well . He was really good to me as well letting me drive Grand Hanover all the time when he really should have .   

Yes good point . Olivia has a great opportunity to get some Group winners too , helping Hayden Cullen with his strong team and all. Got beat on Sky Rocket a couple of times of Regan Todd's so she needs to make up for that yet ? 🤣  owes me 50 lol.  How hard is it to get a quid with your horse in NZ ? A really nice horse like Sky Rocket , been racing 3 years now for 7 wins from 38 starts , but only has  66k in the bank . ?? would be lucky to be breaking even with the fees ? (over that time frame)  No wonder so many get sold off to Aus.  when a nice mid-class horse can't even make a quid.  Don't know Gary B at all, but Gary Jones was a fantastic (part-time) driver in the Juniors around that time. could of been a great reinsman if kept at it. 

Oh dear, reality hits home…. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-14373483/trump-u-turn-china-tariffs-shein-temu.html

Crikey can't do those Aucklanders out of a Sunday sleep in and there Cafe Brunches, maybe they should have Sunday Brunch meetings in Auckland, All day Breakfast prices and Steaks

Guppy is ex St Peter's boarding school , Cambridge and a Pharmacist.   Read The Press article, Sales Venue change opposed by Club, 15;August 1985. Consequences just like at all the other Racing , horse and Greyhound, venues.   There are advantages and disadvantages to all to be considered and one would reasonably expect factoring into account the detriment to the prestige of a district ( community), increase in expenditure, the fact one would have to spend a considerable amount in fitting up new premises ( think Takanini/ Alexandra Park ( the original Club in Auckland when it was Rural), the antagonism to the wider Racing community together with the fact it should be shown there is Economic, Efficiency and Convenience to all parties.a   It's copybook Blue / Red Book used by Politicians and is exactly what is happening with the Banks and Post Offices.... they lack common sense knowledge about Town Planning and why facilities and Racecourses amongst other places are positioned where they are.   Truby King from Plunket and North facing buildings must be turning in his grave, as must previous "Kings and Queens" who have lived before us and saw the importance of a balance in life. All roads lead back to people who are ignorant of Laws and rights to be integrated into society.   There is absolutely no need whatsoever for "Richard Nixon spin, Fast-Track" nonsense in NZ    The maths and Data Mining statistics dredged up by "Data Scientists" aka Statisticians has screwed up the economy.

Nice card at Te Aroha today.. R1 Schmooze should win. Miss Manzor R2 Eva Magical - Zappone R3 Cashla Bay - Steezy R4 Cast of Diamonds - Dancing in the dark R5 Capt Stan - Daring Dame - Skiddlydoo R6 Chinook - My Sharona - Radrada R7 Bertie Wooster - Morning Cocoa R8 Annabelle - Annie Oakley R9 Phantom Dragon - Cupids Arrow

Maybe the CD is carrying more than their share of the Sunday Meetings, 27 I think for the Season. Staffing can be a problem, not so much the Sunday but the Monday. If NZTR can put on 25K stakes for a Twilight Meeting then why not put on 25K for Sunday's. I guess that would make it more attractive for the Northern Clubs to take more Sunday Meetings.

A consequence maybe related back to the era of 1985 and shifting the Sales from Wellington to Auckland - see Sales Venue change opposed by Clubs, 15 August 1985 in The Press. Some will be from that and the rest because the Australian Stockman's Report that saw the shutting down of Clubs, a little like all those other "Clubs" 

Bring back all the rural communities Race course Clubs because that's where the Horse and animal populations are. Most of the ones that have been closed down had 2 days of meetings coinciding with local Anniversary days and holidays when children were off school helping on the farm / lands. Think Thames, Dargaville, Paeroa and all those other country regions. Crikey and here we know get called Zombie Towns by the economists from Bangladesh advising our Government. There used to be very good systems all around in this country that have all been screwed over.    

Is the irrigation matter related to local Council and droughts? Or are they not on Town Supply water? Bring back the real farming communities managing the tracks with cattle naturally ploughing the earth, any Draught horses that way to do the job?

Not knocking the Northern Drivers PS , but I think with the smaller fields its easier for them . Those Southern fields especially Addington and the grass meetings it's tough and they need to make split decisions . I reckon you are spot on with Wilson H and Carter . I would like to add Olivia Thornley . I love the way they drive because they show so much patience especially Wilson . Prior to me driving I used to back Gary Bergerson do you remember him ? Graeme Mangos was also driving at the same time , I remember those two battling out some races together 

Very observant of you Mike. I too had noticed very little Canty presence at Invercargill apart from the Parsons and a couple of 3yos. This despite $50,000 stakes for lower grade races. You do wonder what sized fields might have turned up if there had been a low grade Canty meeting tomorrow.