Happy Sunrise

The old stand being demolished to make way for apartments seems to be the last roll of the dice for ATC? I presume they are getting a good amount of money for this land? And down south, I see Matt Markham suggest on X that Lavros Lodge could be turned into a harness training centre with a bit of subdivision. A good idea if feasible. The new boss of HRNZ is going to face a lot of decisions in a short time. I think it is make or break time for the harness code.

From a purely punting perspective, the trainers of that horse seem to experience large variations in performance. And if I am being morbid, after last year when they had a run of deaths, at least the horse on Friday got off the track. The report into those deaths cleared everything so nothing to be seen!

Shambles all round. So the ATC could possibly have thrown out the HRNZ Board? That is priceless. The only thing that will enhance racing in NZ is Entain. It is beyond any harness racing admin (clubs or board) with their limited budgets and skills it seems. On a lighter racing note, which is the only thing that really matters. Fancy getting 11th (and last) but only 2.6L away from the winner. Not often do you see the whole field in the frame.

13ff into 3.60ff. I hope raceplacers turned into beachgoers and got on early. PS Tyler Dewe magic has gone...

DONTTELLTHEBOYS - driver C DeFilippi defended a breach of Rule 868(3) alleging that he failed to drive the gelding out to the end of the race when having a reasonable chance of finishing in 1st placing. After viewing the replays and hearing evidence from Stewards and Mr DeFilippi, the Adjudicative Committee found the charge proved and Mr DeFilippi's driver's licence was suspended from the conclusion of racing on 11 February up to and including 6 March 2024 (7 days). Anybody who watched that race live would have seen his near-complete lack of effort at the end. I feel sorry for the punters who backed the horse and had to watch the horse not be driven out. No excuses are possible with this one; it was fully deserved, and he is probably lucky the suspension is not longer.

After Race 5 at Addington, you don't need a deep south watch. You need one for Canterbury.

They are still there, but in my book, have gone quiet though I have to admit I don't watch southern racing like I used to do. Wonder why! A test for my 'quiet' theory is Race 3 at Winton on Sunday, Regan Todd's cast off 'On Top of The World' currently paying 11ff but now trained by Tyler Dewe and driven by Rory McIIwrick, see if it gets backed in or runs miles better than its usual weak self. Not connected to this thread, but worth a follow is another stable change at Methven on Sunday. Knockshanbally goes to Sam Thornley. He has shown glimpses but he might be able to turn it around like he did with his trotter, Special Effects. A definite tote watch.

For me, a decent amount. I think Swayzee drifted out to 21s when Grimson was banned but I didn't get that. I think maybe 7s, did it open at 9s? I can't remember, but someone must have cleaned up. Any horse that can't win presently. And the scratching of Republican Party. A good old attempted rort of the TAB there, and, people wonder why the TAB operate so tightly. I can't blame them.

Typo or misunderstanding on part of RIB because it is changed now. FLYAWAY - contacted and punctured the sulky wheel of JUST FOLLOW ME on straightening for the run home. Junior Driver S O'Reilly, who declined the assistance of a senior driver, defended a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that she drove carelessly in this incident. After viewing the replays and hearing evidence from Stewards and Ms O'Reilly the Adjudicative Committee found the charge proved and suspended Ms O'Reilly's driver's licence from the conclusion of racing on 3 December 2023 up to and including 9 December 2023 (2 days).

For sure. However, they do tend to plummet the cash out value if the horse drifts in the odds pretty quickly. Tote betting, is not so good for the punter in this situation. The TAB are not giving many options to punters early at the moment. They just have Win and Place fixed odds (no top 4 or exacta etc) betting until the day of the races now. I wonder if the TAB are playing hard ball at the moment after the debacle with Swayzee and Republican Party where I think the TAB were set up to get hammered with those 2 horses' scratchings. And this morning, having the market closed before the scratchings come through is unusual too. The TAB might also be in the firing next Sunday on Grand Prix day with FO bets because of all the horses who won't be starting. Anyone with inside knowledge could be set to take them to the cleaners. Anyway, it seems as though Sarah O is driving today. There might have been a typo in the stipes report and she is suspended for Friday and Saturday next week and not today.

They defer in harness which has led to some good debate too. Sarah must want to drive on Grand Prix day so she is copping the two days at Methven and Geraldine (but there is a meeting at Wingatui on Friday which could have counted for her since she goes south sometimes) The TAB is in the midst of a new approach to how they offer harness odds. All odds are down at the moment for Methven and Sarah is still there driving.

I want to see what happens here. Sarah O has drives tomorrow at Methven, and the markets have been open since at least 8.45 this morning (earlier than usual) but she was suspended today at Motukarara so won't be driving tomorrow according to this? FLYAWAY - contacted and punctured the sulky wheel of JUST FOLLOW ME on straightening for the run home. Junior Driver S O'Reilly, who declined the assistance of a senior driver, defended a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that she drove carelessly in this incident. After viewing the replays and hearing evidence from Stewards and Ms O'Reilly the Adjudicative Committee found the charge proved and suspended Ms O'Reilly's driver's licence from the conclusion of racing today up to and including 9 December 2023 (2 days). So all those punters who have backed Bettor Be Sharp, Buckskin or Franco Messi etc will be waking up to a new driver for tomorrow? How is this fair to anyone?

Olivia is doing exceptionally well. Do you know the particular reason why MP didn't get back on Chase A Dream? Just leave Olivia on since she is doing a good job?

She is such a fixture in the big races it is a shame she won't be there Cup Week.

The two favs will be lead and parked by the mile. I doubt they will have each other on when they are in those positions until 400m out so nothing else will have a chance. The only possibility is the Dalgety factor and what they would do if they reached the top early and decided to sacrifice one for the other. It will be exciting to see who goes for the lead first but after that it could be a procession once the two favs are in position. The race should be extremely predictable `but it would be nice to see some drivers anticipate the movement of the favs and act accordingly.