Rusty

I left the course soon after the last race, and there was no sign of the boys in blue at all. Just on that note, I must say Omoto and Kumara do a great job with the booze buses in their neck of the woods during the coast circuit. The Cambridge big screen on course was great. Viewing from the grandstand was perfect. Facilities extremely dated however. Paying good coin to attend, and having to leave the main part of the function area to use the portaloos across the way is not ideal, and reminiscent of a Nigerian gallops meeting. I had previously thought The Race may overtake The Cup. I was wrong. The Cup and moreso, Cup Day, is ingrained into Cantabrian's DNA and there is a lot of work to do, for it to overtake the Cup. But Mr Branch is the right man at the helm to give it a run for its money.

Good news: The website is less likely to crash now because it is built on the Ladbrokes AU model. Bad news: The good old days of always finding value on the Top 4 betting option are now over, as shown below.

And the carpet. How good is this carpet in one (possibly more?) of the rooms under the grandstand?! Classy. Stay classy Cambridge.

Very good question. I'm picking Merlin to run a place, behind the winner, Millwood Nike!

Nervous times ahead! Imperative to get a quick wicket, ideally two, early on day 4. If not, this may become an uncomfortable watch.

All on Henry. And gotta hold catches. Pitch flat and getting flatter.

Just have to bat, and bat, and bat, and bat. But easier said than done against this aussie bowling outfit. Forming lengthy partnerships will be key on Day 3 and perhaps targeting the bowling of Marsh and Green may be the key here.

Not bad.

I've got my 5-day match pass ready, along with hat, deck chair, sunscreen, a "BRING BACK WAGS" banner, drink, food, and enough car parking coins to cover for three and half days. I'm pretty sure that's all I'll need. Australia will win fairly comfortably. No sign of rain anywhere in the forecast. NZ bowlers will struggle to take 20 Aussie wickets for the match. The Aussie batters, as a collective, haven't quite clicked into gear for a while now, so they are overdue. Southee doesn't have the tactical nous as captain to get up over Australia. That 10th wicket partnership at the Basin was embarrassing. To not throw Phillips the ball in the first innings at all, (yet use 6 other bowlers), and then he comes out in the 2nd innings to take a five-for is beyond belief. Fingers crossed Ben Sears will let rip, and do well. Williamson. As much as I love him, he needs to fire up for this game. A deer in headlights v Australia, he is. Doesn't usually excel against them. Australia at $1.46 is overs.

Way back in the day Stead was my cricket coach (I was 12/13 years old). He suggested a big change to my run up for bowling. It was God awful and the subsequent results were pitiful. Makes me laugh now, but at the time I was so mad at him. "Get more springy. Bounce!" He would yell at me. I reverted back to my former run up (more of a walk up, being a leg spinner, based on S.K Warne's delivery style) and by season's end the wickets flowed. The following season my cricket team coach was Craig McMillan. Personally I found him to be a much better cricket coach than Stead, although he was often distracted by the fairer sex and was easily distracted. Both good guys though. And both put in a lot of time helping the young cricketers at local clubs. Stead and Southee should have gone with Wagner for Hagley Oval though. And everyone that knows, knows it.

A bloody shame he is not playing in the second test. "Bring back Wags"

These trainers seem to have more than their fair share of horses dropping out of races about 400m out from home, having done bugger all work (if any) during the race. Unlucky. I can't recall other trainers having this happening multiple times. Especially when the horses are not racing in a fresh state. It's very unlucky indeed.

And another one today. Same trainers. DELIGHTFUL CHIC - commenced to weaken from the 350m hampering trailing runners and contacted a track marker near the 220m. When questioned Driver J Dickie could offer no explanation for the disappointing run. A post-race veterinary examination revealed no abnormality. Stewards will follow up with connections in the coming days.

Ordered to pay $10k, and it's likely just as much, if not more, is owed to the KC he engaged to fight the case.

Are these things becoming more common these days, especially in the last couple of years, or have they always been seen in racing to this extent? And what causes them? Do some trainers experience more than their fair share? Asking for a friend that did their money cold, on a suspected case in race 6 at Addington tonight. Cheers.