If you had listened to the Racing Show just after 8am on Saturday morning the curator had expected a track upgrade from a Soft 5 to Good later. That soft reading was taken very early on Saturday morning and with it being a very it hot day and a good breeze (tail wind down the straight) when I walked it half an hour before the first it was always going to be a good track.  The track played very fair and I think most punters would have been very happy. A number of favourites won including all three Group races won by Kiwi Skyhawk, Waitak and La Dorada with only one winner paying double figures on the day. If you refer to the Stewards report there is only one horse mentioned that was unsuited by the firm track I Park. Stephen Hunt from the TAB wrote yesterday " How the track played…  There were two leaders that won, with winners coming as far back as 6L (Kiwi Skyhawk) off the leader at the 600m mark.  Winners were in lanes 4,5,1,1,6,7,5,2,2.  The track raced perfect on Saturday, without a notable pattern.         

No. – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight 1 – OVERPASS – Bjorn Baker – Joshua Parr – 2 – 58.5kg 2 – JIMMYSSTAR – Ciaron Maher – Ethan Brown – 9 – 58.5kg 3 – JEDIBEEL – Brad Widdup – Craig Williams – 8 – 58.5kg 4 – HEADWALL – Matthew Smith – Zac Lloyd – 7 – 58.5kg 5 – BRIASA – Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes – Tyler Schiller – 3 – 58.5kg 6 – SUNSHINE IN PARIS – Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald – Chad Schofield – 11 – 56.5kg 7 – JOLIESTAR – Chris Waller – Damian Lane – 4 – 56.5kg 8 – MAGIC TIME – Grahame Begg – Jordan Childs – 1 – 56.5kg 9 – I AM ME – Ciaron Maher – Tim Clark – 6 – 56.5kg 10 – KIMOCHI – Gary Portelli – Nash Rawiller – 13 – 56.5kg 11 – SWITZERLAND – Chris Waller – Ryan Moore – 5 – 56.5kg 12 – TRAFFIC WARDEN – James Cummings – Blake Shinn – 12 – 56.5kg 13 – SHEZANALISTER – Bjorn Baker – Rachel King – 10 – 56.5kg

Here is the field and barrier draw for the ATC Sires' Produce Stakes. State Visit for mine..from 1 and 2. No. – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight 1 – RIVELLINO – Kris Lees – Hugh Bowman – 6 – 56.5kg 2 – WODETON – Chris Waller – Ryan Moore – 9 – 56.5kg 3 – VINROCK – Matt Laurie – Mark Zahra – 1 56.5kg 4 – PRESTIGE FOREVER – David Brideoake & Matt Jenkins – Jamie Mott – 10 – 56.5kg 5 – STATE VISIT – Ciaron Maher – Jason Collett – 5 – 56.5kg 6 – BUFFALO – David Atkins – Zac Purton – 4 – 56.5kg 7 – NORDIC VIKING – John Sargent – Craig Williams – 3 – 56.5kg 8 – NAVY PILOT – Ciaron Maher – Zac Lloyd – 2 – 56.5kg 9 – FEDERALIST – Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes – Nash Rawiller – 8 – 56.5kg 10 – BELLAZAINE – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tim Clark – 7 – 54.5kg

It's not fair at all, and doesn't just apply to Trentham. It is a given that many tracks are mis-reported, in either direction.     S.6, out to a H8.       S5, back to a Gd 3.  Which in some cases is a euphemism for a Gd 2 or just bloody hard. And as well, I gather some punters have already stopped 'buying our inferior product ' .

I thought it strange and unfair that Wilson House wasn't included in the Driver's Prem betting option As he wasn't listed I assumed that he would be at longer odds than those listed and thought he could be worth a punt if he was a $40 and Blair got injured. So I rang the TAB and got some foreign speaking dude who was going to ask his supervisor He got back to me saying that Wilson would be added to the list and he just had to check that he had the correct name  In the meantime I saw that Wilson had been added to the list so I hung up. Surprise surprise he is a hot 2nd favourite now - if he wasn't on the list why not? And if a late entry to the list why not the longest priced on the list? Such an amateurish outfit TAB BETCHA ENTAIN whichever you are     Two minutes later I get a call with a red alert "Scam Call" - 0061399570117 so I didn't answer it - they left a message that Wilson had been added. Two questions - Why is this number classed as a Scam alert?                             - Why is there not a "any other option" included in these types of bets? If not then surely it is a scam (a bit like taking future bets last year on the NZ cup with Swayzee not included) Matt Markham - surely you follow these threads to keep your nose to the grindstone (If you don't then you aren't doing your job finding out what punters want) - please explain why there isn't an "any other option" included in ALL these options - or are these just sucker options to alienate punters?

Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Straight No Chaser faces off with defending champion and local star Tuz in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) on the Dubai World Cup program.View the full article

Lexington is forecast to experience rain showers and thunderstorms April 2-6, putting a damper on Keeneland's highly anticipated opening weekend. What that means for a race like the $600,000 Transylvania Stakes (G3T) is to be determined.View the full article

I hope Kate Gath gets the DSD drive. Orange is not a patient driver and I believe DSD performs better when driven patiently.

Thanks guys.   She has given us a fantastic ride this season. Five starts winning four and finishing second in the other.  Her last three starts have been winning the Karaka Millions, the Matamata Breeder Stakes and the Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes and her stakes earnings stand at $1,060,750.  To win a G1 race on my old home stomping ground was very special indeed.  Ginni is her stable name and she is a wee star. She is just so tough. She has now gone out for a well deserved break and we look forward to seeing her back as a 3yo next season.   

Blair seems to be losing a lot of good drives lately . He is not driving well these days and I think that reflects on his drives at Addington on Friday Night . Lucky for him Mark and Nathan are letting him drive their Southern team for now 

I well remember Gold fever running as a 2yo. A bit wayward as babies can be but was pretty nippy and I was keen to see how she came up at three but it didn't happen. Three ordinary trials and never raced. Don't know if she went amiss but when I asked, DE just said she was 'very small'.

The timing has been broken since at least 7 December 2024 as reported in the Stewards Report.  The photo finish was also broken that day. Which is around the same time as the BS started regarding the track rating.  The track was rated a S5 on raceday morning on 7 December 2024.  Upgraded to a G4 RETROSPECTIVELY after Race 1.  What good is that for trainers or punters?  THEN it was further upgraded to a G3 after race 3 when arguably it was even firmer that that going by the times.  As some who post here know a number of horses didn't handle that firm track. Now every race meeting since that date has had the same pattern - a S5 on raceday morning - a retrospective upgrade AFTER a race is run and more upgrades during the day.  Although the new pattern is they limit the upgrades to one grade as evident last Saturday when the track was clearly a lot firmer than a G4. Back to the timing - the times are retrospectively corrected hence a World Record 1:06.51 run last Saturday by Super Photon is now 1:06.99.  Definitely a track firmer than a G4.   Those corrected times are presumabley timed off the video replays.  How accurate are the sectionals given the parallax error?  Is there some software system that calculates the distance travelled for each horse?  Is Trentham using the same software and GPS system that Ellerslie uses?  No they can't be because it wouldn't take so long to update the time. This ISN'T arguing for the sake of arguing it is highlighting that the racing on one of our "Premier" tracks is nowhere near the standard of Australian metro tracks and the data provided from Trentham is worthless to Trainers and Punters.  If you are willing to accept that as a WRC member, or as a stakeholder be it a Trainer or Owner then so be it  but don't complain when your horse races on an unsuitable track or when punters stop buying our inferior product.

The final pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager makes its three-day run April 3-5. Santa Anita Derby (G1) contender Journalism was tabbed as the 4-1 favorite among 39 individual horses, and another option is available for "All Other 3-Year-Olds."View the full article

Full Moon Madness, coming off a triumph in the Tom Fool Stakes (G3), vies to return to the Aqueduct Race Track winners' circle in the $300,000 Carter Stakes (G2) April 5. View the full article

Byron King's Top 12 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Spendthrift Farm.View the full article

Republican Party can also fly the gate . If Duchess Megxit can't keep up then he could be in the trail and have a chance 

No – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight 1 – WILLYDOIT – Shaun Clotworthy – Michael Dee – 10 – 56.5kg 2 – GOLDRUSH GURU – Andrew Gluyas – Jamie Melham – 13 – 56.5kg 3 – THEDOCTOROFLOVE – Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young – Daniel Moor – 14 – 56.5kg 4 – SHANWAH – Ciaron Maher – Blake Shinn – 4 – 56.5kg 5 – PLYMOUTH – Glen Thompson – Mark Zahra – 3 – 56.5kg 6 – POCKETING – Richard and Will Freedman – Josh Parr – 16 – 56.5kg 7 – FIRM AGREEMENT – Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald – Tyler Schiller – 6 – 56.5kg 8 – KING OF THUNDER – John O'Shea & Tom Charlton – Zac Lloyd – 1 – 56.5kg 9 – GOLDEN CENTURY – Tony Pike – Nash Rawiller – 15 – 56.5kg 10 – IMPERIALIST – Chris Waller – Ryan Moore – 22 – 56.5kg 11 – MUSTANG MORGAN – Andrew Forsman – Craig Williams – 12 – 56.5kg 12 – RED ACES – Nick Ryan – Hugh Bowman – 18 – 56.5kg 13 – CONFETTI GARDEN – Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young – Tommy Berry – 21 – 56.5kg 14 – TSITSIPAS – Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young – TBA – 11 – 56.5kg 15 – AUTUMN AROHA – Richard Litt – Chad Schofield – 5 – 56.5kg 16 – BERNEN WIN – John Thompson – Tom Sherry – 20 – 56.5kg 17 – KOSUKE – Gregory McFarlane – Ashley Morgan – 9 – 56.5kg 18 – AELIANA – Chris Waller – Damian Lane – 2 – 54.5kg 19 (1st emg) – FLYING ARGENTO – Gary Portelli – Reece Jones – 23 – 56.5kg 20 (2nd emg) – DEAL N' DASH – Bjorn Baker – Zac Purton – 8 – 56.5kg 21 (3rd emg) – FORMAT – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tim Clark – 7 – 56.5kg 22 (4th emg) – SO YOU ARE – Stirling Osland – TBA – 19 – 56.5kg 23 (5th emg) – BLACK BABYLON – Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald – Ethan Brown – 17 – 56.5kg  

No – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight 1 – ANOTHER WIL – Ciaron Maher – Jamie Melham – 18 – 56.5kg 2 – GRINGOTTS – Ciaron Maher – Tommy Berry – 6 – 55.5kg 3 – TOM KITTEN – James Cummings – Ben Melham – 1 – 55.5kg 4 – GEOGLYPH – Tetsuya Kimura – Damian Lane – 24 – 55kg 5 – PERICLES – James Cummings – Blake Shinn – 16 – 55kg 6 – MILITARIZE – Chris Waller – Chad Schofield – 7 – 55kg 7 – ROYAL PATRONAGE – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tim Clark – 19 – 54.5kg 8 – STEFI MAGNETICA – Bjorn Baker – Jason Collett – 5 – 54.5kg 9 – ANISETTE – Chris Waller – Michael Dee – 20 – 54kg 10 – MOIRA – Chris Waller – Zac Purton – 21 – 54kg 11 – JUST FOLK – Gavin Bedggood – TBA – 10 – 54kg 12 – CELESTIAL LEGEND – Les Bridge – Regan Bayliss – 1 – 54kg 13 – KOVALICA – Chris Waller – Kerrin McEvoy – 17 – 53.5kg 14 – PORT LOCKROY – Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald – Craig Williams – 13 – 53.5kgk 15 – AL MUBHIR – William Haggas – Andrea Atzeni – 4 – 53kg 16 – NEW ENERGY – Ciaron Maher – Dylan Gibbons – 22 – 52.5kg 17 – IOWNA MERC – Bjorn Baker – Ashley Morgan – 15 – 52kg 18 – ENCAP – Gary Portelli – Reece Jones – 3 – 51kg 19 – FIRESTORM – Chris Waller – Jay Ford – 8 – 50g 20 – LINEBACKER – John O'Shea & Tom Charlton – Zac Lloyd – 14 – 49kg 21 (1st emg) – RISE AT DAWN – Ben, Will & JD Hayes – Karis Teetan – 2 – 51kg 22 (2nd emg) – SWIFTFALCON – Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes – Tyler Schiller – 12 – 49kg 23 (3rd emg) – SANDPAPER – Bjorn Baker – TBA – 23 – 50kg 24 (4th emg) – DUCASSE – Michael Freedman – TBA – 9 – 50kg ■ ■ ■ ■ ■  

Blair Orange without a drive in the big two. Don't Stop Dreaming and Muscle Mountain should both be driven by him. Yes I am not paying the bills but professionalism surely should be part of equation  Bet on Red - oh no starters - Rakero Rocket or Republican Party both wear Red hehe 

And maybe why he was so congratulatory of Trentham But yes, well done Ted. She certainly looks promising.