Rusty

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I've said forever, Coast form stacks up anywhere in the world! In either code.

Purdon was saying on the weekend that Akuta will be visiting the vet clinic at Matamata and be given the precautionary once over for maintenance purposes. One could be forgiven for thinking that Akuta is missing the Messenger, in response to the enforced holiday given to the driver/owner, re: the whip rule, from the Taylor Mile race. M Guerin wrote this for HRNZ: Taylor Mile winner Akuta is going to be allowed to miss the Group 1 Messenger at Alexandra Park this Friday even though there is nothing wrong with the star four-year-old. Akuta grabbed his brave stablemate Self Assured and impressive Victorian pacer Better Eclipse in the last stride of the $90,000 Mile at Alexandra Park last Friday after an early burn saw hot favourite Copy That left vulnerable in front. He was the third different winner in the three open class pacing features in the north in 15 days, confirming the evenness of the crop and post-race Akuta was the $3 equal favourite for the Messenger this Friday. But his co-trainer Mark Purdon says he is all but certain to bypass the 2700m mobile. “He has raced three weeks in a row and I don’t want to make it four, especially in what could be a hard 2700m,” says Purdon. “He is still only four and in his first real season of open class racing so if he misses this week I can get him ready for Dad’s race (The Roy Purdon Memorial, May 19) and the Auckland Cup a week later.” Purdon says the short break will enable Akuta to have his hocks undergo their routine maintenance treatment, which because of the withholding times for medication he can’t have the same week he races. “He has always had a few hock issues but he was the best he has been this last week,” Purdon explains. “But Friday was a hard run and his run the week before in The Race by Grins was also hard so I don’t want to keep asking him to do that every week. “I still think he is getting better and with a good spell after the Auckland Cup I think he could come back a better horse later in the year. Purdon will be back to drive Akuta on May 19 but is suspended until then after being outed for seven driving days for his whip action in the Taylor Mile.

Hit the nail on the head.

A very sad and sorry state of affairs. A further example of the arrogance of the ATC president, Jamie MacKinnon.

Tyler Dewe: "We might get horses that aren't much good. But as soon as we get a win with them, we try and um you know, flick them on or, or, you know..." Have a think about that for a few minutes. "Horses that aren't much good." I'll repeat that: "Horses that aren't much good." He is telling the truth there. Judging by some of their form, if one could call it "form", perhaps it's better to say their previous racing record. Which is often full of duck's eggs! But Tyler Dewe can turn these horses, that "aren't much good", right around, into winning performances. Often with ease. Well done to him, good on him. He's a world class, fine horseman, at such a young age, to be able to get these "aren't much good" horses, to win, and win well, often first up for him, is really something. Isn't it a pity, that he can turn these "aren't much good horses" into pretty handy types (based on their performances for him), yet he wants to flick them on, or, or you know, straight afterwards. A trainer, with many talents.

I'll just leave this here. https://fb.watch/k2GyCYkzrl/?mibextid=Nif5oz

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It's very straight forward, and a good idea producing that video. The penalties being dished out for such breaches, just don't seem to be working. Perhaps it's time to start disqualifying horses from place bearing positions, if it is found the driver breached the whip rule? Would that send the message home more quickly? Would that get a quicker result, in making more drivers, more compliant? Imagine if Arden Rooney was given the capital D after Kerryn Manning broke the whip rule, winning the NZ Cup a few years back. She got fined, but kept the race. And who paid the fine? Her? Or the horse's owners? Break rules = cheating? I don't know. But what I do know is, something has to be done to try and front foot this whip issue, before the anti-racing brigade start jumping up and down about it. So good on the powers that be for producing the video. It's a small but positive step in the right direction, for the good of the sport.

The proposed(?), or incoming rule, is clearly taking aim at him, isn't it? And if it wasn't for him, there would be no need to introduce such a rule. So maybe a better, more watertight rule, would be to limit the number of horses any one trainer could have registered in their name at any one time, and also have tighter controls over the standard of conditions for horses at a trainer's stable. Eg. Requirement to have boxes, roofed stables, with no more than x number of horses per hectare, adequate food, grass, and horses must not been seen eatting horse excrement. Or even better, just take his licence from him altogether, and go after his arse from an animal welfare perspective.

Interesting. But doubt it will work. I wonder if B Yole has a wife/husband, kids, that may possibly take out their own trainer's license? Can see it happening a mile off, he'll have half the field, and some family connection of his, will have the other half.

I've got a rough idea. And it's not just the other trainers, but owners too.

Looks good. D Branch is a massive asset to the sport. Honestly, why isn't he running HRNZ? Only a matter of time?

Cheers Happy, yeah anything over $1.25 is money for jam really.

Ticks all the boxes, and I will be unleashing on this thing. Rabobank are currently offering 6% on a term deposit, so anything over $1.10 represents real "value" here in my opinion. 17 starts, 0 wins, 1 second, 0 thirds. Prior to last to last start, it was never favoured in any betting markets; 8/8, 13/13, 9/9 etc, etc. But nevermind all that. Has one of the most talented horsemen, and one of the highest UDR trainers in any code, in any hemisphere, of all time, so fill ya boots and get amongst it I say. Bet with extreme confidence. It's almost a "maximum bet" job. Well spotted indeed Karrots. Cheers.

I love all the pre-race discussion, including "no comments" (Z Butcher), regarding tactics, and possible scenarios on how the race may unfold soon after the release point from the mobile arm. History tells us, whatever M Guerin thinks will happen after the start, the dead set opposite will eventuate!

Z Butcher is zipping it, and not giving anything away regarding tactics!

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I haven't seen the turnover for Addington, but one would think it was through the floorboards. It was one of few Addington meetings that I didn't attend. What was the "crowd" like there yesterday? Let me guess. One couldn't get a seat, and had to queue for hours to get a drink and take a slash? A move back to an evening timeslot would give the opportunity for more to attend, as currently, people try and cram everything into the Saturday day time, sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. No doubt it would get the on and off-course turnover up, than sticking to the status quo of a daytime time slot, and stuck on Trackside 2. But harness racing administers, and a lot of its followers, just go "meh" and carry on their way. One day they will wake up. Or maybe they won't. But until they do, it's death by a thousand cuts.

I'm dead set serious. They do use them. But they need to start using them down south. For you know... Looking at, and recording stuff. Like animals. Like they have done previously in Canterbury a few months back.

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Dead right Happy. And it's not just the punters that know. The TAB odd setters also know. They're not stupid. Everyone knows. There are a few golden rules I stick to when having a punt. One of the more recent ones, is not bothering when there is a T Dewe runner in the field.

MPI don't use any surveillance cameras for horse stables down in the deep south.

Just another example of the harness game in NZ being treated like the retarded ginger cousin. No way in hell this crazy decision, to stick the meeting on Trackside 2 is going to help turnover. Where are the leaders of the code, going into bat for the good of the sport? Is Gary Woodham too busy preparing recipes for baked ham again, or passing comments to the fairer sex about their pants (or lack of), or eyeing up how they sit in a sulky? Seriously. Noone seems to give a stuff about harness getting shafted like this repeatedly, but it matters, and should be addressed. Also Trackside could come out and give an explanation. But they won't. It's b.s.