Racehorse TALK

Weekend Hussler is being set for the Asian Mile Challenge, well atleast the Futurity Stks on 28 February prior to tackling the Dubai Duty Free at Nad Al Sheba on 28March.  Not sure about the Champions Mile in Hong Kong on 26 April and the Yasuda Kinen in Japan on 7 June.  A horse winning three of the four legs of the AMC collects a US$2million bonus, while there is US$1m on offer for a winner of two legs and I think a nice $US 1/2 million for the trainer that can win three legs.

dd

 u posted a blog ?? of a chap that did QLD racing - no not your mate phil- woudl you still have the link please?

Real Saga not as impressive as More JoyousArticle from: Font size: Decrease Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Submit comment: Submit comment By Ken Callander

January 26, 2009 12:00am

BOOM colt Real Saga resumed racing with a super win at Randwick on Saturday, but did he go as good as More Joyous did at Rosehill the week before?

I don't think so.

More Joyous turned in the two-year-old run of the season, with the eye-catcher being the zip she showed in leaving her rivals standing in the home straight.

Nevertheless Real Saga is way above average and he is in very good hands with John Hawkes and his sons, Michael and Wayne, plotting his campaign.

It will be interesting to see how Real Saga lines up against top Melbourne youngsters like the Steve Richards-trained Rostova now he is committed to going south for the Blue Diamond.

The first of the Blue Diamond previews are set down for Caulfield today with Rostova $1.90 on TAB Fixed Odds in the fillies race and Gruenfeld $2.90 in the colts and geldings division.

Rostova's win at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day is well-remembered, but Gruenfeld, an Elvstroem colt trained by Mick Price, is a "smoky".

Gruenfeld has not been produced in any official trials, but his ability is well known to Caulfield regulars and TAB price assessors have made him favourite ahead of the unbeaten Peter Snowden-trained Rarefied ($5.50).

  
GRUENFELD is a perfect example of the situation that has existed in Melbourne of horses not having to trial before they race.

How silly is it that punters are asked to bet on or against Gruenfeld today and yet they know absolutely nothing of his ability. Yet you can be sure he has had a number of unofficial trials, or "jumpouts", at Caulfield and his performances noted by those "in the know".

Punters put on racing, not those who are "in the know".

Thank god the situation in Melbourne is finishing and from April 1 all horses will have to trial before they race. Congratulations to whoever made the decision.

Punters in Melbourne will no longer be robbed.

Pressure on Wyong

KEVIN Greene, the Gaming and Racing Minister, is meeting with Gosford and Wyong race clubs on Thursday to discuss the future of the NSW racing industry.

I would be surprised if the topic of amalgamation doesn't come up.

Wyong is also under the pump from several of its local trainers in relation to training facilities at the track, an issue that might blow up big-time.

  
THE Australian Joke Club is apparently doing a lot better than a lot of us realised because it paid bonuses to its two executives, Norman Gillespie and Richard Freedman, at the end of November.

Gillespie and Freedman already take home more than $1 million between them annually and, if my report is right, the bonuses total more than $300,000.

I asked two committeemen on Saturday if the handing out of the bonuses was voted on by the board and I was told it wasn't. Who is running the place then?

  
I HAVE to thank the jockey who sent a message to let me know he is one of the two hoops in the closed-door stewards inquiry centring on the betting of a particular punter.

I appreciate the gentleman's thought, but I did have him in the frame before the message. He was a short-priced favourite.

Nosed out by the angle

THE notoriously tricky finishing angle at Randwick got me again on Saturday when I was sure Baby Casino had won the last only to find he was beaten by a nose by Anatomica.

Baby Casino, who would have given Chris Waller a winning treble, showed a great will to win after he was accidentally hit on the nose by Dan Nikolic on third placegetter Abbacina as he fought his way through a narrow opening.

Run of the day

REAL Saga. A class youngster who has already won $102,000 and there is a lot more to come.

Ride of the day

ROD Quinn on Baby Casino. Beaten, but showed poise and nerve to drive his mount through a narrow gap.

Forget it ran

ELECTRIC Hatter. Beaten a long way out when he could not lead in Baha's race and unlikely to back up today.

The above article from Ken sums up some of the way racing clubs are run. I know someone who at the AJC who along with many of his work colleagues who work on the coal face were told last year that they were redundant because of the wages etc. Now when you read the big two in Gillespie and Freedman took home $300k in bonuses, it justs shows why race clubs should merge.

When you consider how little some of the race clubs provide for an ordinary racegoer, is it no wonder the only way AJC gets big crowds is to target the alcohol drinking society who make it inhospitable for many racegoers on carnival days. After paying around $20 for racebook (lots of ads and crappy form)and entry on a normal day, the humble racegoer bumps elbows at every corner and can only listen to certain races at the Auditorium. Compare this to sitting in front of Sky at home with your computer on to watch the fluctuations etc.

 I wonder what people think of merging race clubs and chucking the savings back into stakes for the actual races.
   

And surely racing is put on by the owners not the punters.

Here's a thought Ken - if there is a hot pot unraced 2yo in that race - don't have a bet!

HAVE to thank the jockey who sent a message to let me know he is one of the two hoops in the closed-door stewards inquiry centring on the betting of a particular punter.

I appreciate the gentleman's thought, but I did have him in the frame before the message. He was a short-priced favourite.


This is what i want discussed, Callander has been carrying on about this for a while.

Without offering a specific person or fault i have a problem with sports media in General over the last 10 years. Lots of storys printed without the actual facts being checked and asumptions just being made. The latest example ,which is not racing related, is i pick up the HS and start to read about Ben Graham and shorlty into the story they claim him to be the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl. I guess it was just a mirrage that Darren Bennet played in a losing Super Bowl with San Diego.
The same has been happening on and off with racing journos and one real problem is presenters who have to fill in time before a race start to waffle on a bit and miss the obvious facts.
Another pet hat is the second question they often ask trainers after a race has often already been answer by the trainer in his response to the first question. I sometimes wonder if these blokes are actually listening to what is being said.

Gai Waterhouse's absence is proving costlyArticle from: Font size: Decrease Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Submit comment: Submit comment By Ken Callander

January 28, 2009 12:00am

GAI Waterhouse is a fabulous trainer, there is none better, but I don't have as much luck backing her horses when she is not in town.

On Monday at Randwick I put a hole in my wallet in the first three races backing Ambassador ($2 to $2.30), Moti ($2.60 to $3.40) and Boca Chita ($2 to $3).

Ambassador finished third of seven, Moti eighth of nine and Boca Chita put on a buckjumping exhibition and never completed the course.

Thank goodness the NZ sales only go for a few days and Lady Gai will be back at Randwick by the end of the week.

  
THE Joke Club ran out of racebooks again at Randwick on Monday.

But not to worry, the banking is up to date to deposit the huge salaries and bonuses for Norman Gillespie and Richard Freedman.

  
ROSTOVA was the only horse to emerge from Monday's Blue Diamond previews with "top class" stamped on her.

The Testa Rossa filly won her division on her ear and will be well up to matching it with Sydney's top guns, More Joyous and Real Saga.

The Darley pair, Time Thief (Lee Freedman) and Fravashi (Peter Snowden), also looked all quality in fighting out the Zeditave Stakes.

But perhaps the best form race in Melbourne over the weekend was Friday night's Carlyon Stakes at Moonee Valley where everybody had to be impressed by the runs of Light Fantastic and Von Costa De Hero behind Lucky Secret.

Lucky Secret might have won his race for the autumn, but the other two are going to be competitive in whatever Group One races they contest.

On the score of topliners watch out too for the return to racing of Peter Snowden's glamour three-year-old Desuetude in the BMW Classic at Canterbury tomorrow night.

  
PERHAPS it is because of its close proximity to the city but costs are rising so sharply at Randwick that it is becoming close to impossible for the average trainer to survive.

A trainer with 35 horses in work showed me his monthly training bill from the AJC and I was astounded. Before he pays for staff, feed, veterinary costs, insurance, workers compensation, payroll tax etc, this trainer is up for over $13,500 monthly for stabling, track fees and the use of walking machines.

On top of this trainers are continually in debate with club employees over availability of training tracks, maintenance of stables and other facilities and the cost of using the walking machines.

The trainer in question paid $740 for the month for the use of the walkers, which cost the AJC absolutely nothing as they were paid for as part of the World Youth Day compensation.

The club did have to pay to relocate the walkers to Randwick, but it also gained hundreds of new stables at Warwick Farm under the World Youth Day package for which it now receives considerable rent.

Surely some of this rent could have been used to pay for any relocation of the walkers from Warwick Farm.

But that would have been helping owners and sharing in the cost load of the industry, something the AJC seems reluctant to do.

  
WYONG is also under heavy criticism from trainers bemoaning the sub-standard facilities that trainers are forced to accept to prepare their horses.

I think you will find Wyong is one of the clubs in the sights of Racing NSW in its quest to demand minimum standards at all racetracks, which is a major reason for the recent 58-page survey sent to all clubs in the state.

In bad news from Wyong the Kim Waugh-trained Kimillsy has gone amiss with tendon problems. Kimillsy, a magnificent daughter of Danehill Dancer, is Group One-placed and is one of the top three-year-old fillies in Australia.

  
MY midweek tip is the Gary Portelli-trained Elusive Lad (Race 2) at Canterbury tomorrow night. He will be ridden by gun apprentice Nathan Berry.

  
GOOD luck and good punting. See you next in Saturday's Daily Telegraph.

Another insight into Kenny v AJC. I wonder if the AJC will let him in to their meetings. It is quite hilarious that a club could run of race books again though. I always thought that the AJC subsidised stabling fees but to pay $13.5k for 35 horses per month is quite a lot and obviously the poor owner has to pay.

$385/month/horse for stabling and tracks seems reasonable when monthly bills would be in the order of $2500-$3500/month. Less than 15% of the total bill. I am sure Lee Freedman would be charging a lot more for stabling and tracks at Markdel. Trainers are the biggest whingers in Australia.

A snide crack at Gai from Kenny and did he really back Moti, it was Richard Callendars knock of the day "59.5kg and no easy lead today".

 

Interesting article below from DT. I wonder how long before vested interests from both clubs stop it ever happening.

AJC and STC may mergeArticle from: Font size: Decrease Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Submit comment: Submit comment By Brent Zerafa

January 28, 2009 05:53pm

SYDNEY'S powerful metropolitan race clubs, the Australian Jockey Club and Sydney Turf Club, are a step closer to amalgamation following a productive meeting with Gaming and Racing Minister Kevin Greene yesterday.

The chairmen and chief executives of the AJC and STC, along with the minister and Racing NSW boss Peter V'Landys, yesterday agreed to commission an independent feasibility study to reveal the benefits of a possible merger.

"I was extremely pleased with the positive discussion that came from all parties involved and it was agreed in principle that the matter should be pursued further," Greene said.

"I will now work with Racing NSW, the STC and the AJC to formulate terms of reference with a view to engaging an independent person to undertake a feasibility study. I believe this is a move that will benefit racing in NSW for all participants. We live in constantly changing times and we need to make sure racing is ready to face any challenges into the future."

The minister will also meet with Gosford and Wyong race clubs today, with talks to centre around a possible merger of the provincial clubs.

While amalgamation of Sydney's premier race clubs has been mooted in the past, Racing NSW boss Peter V'Landys believes the latest attempt could be beneficial to the entire racing industry.

"I firmly believe it can happen," V'Landys said. "At the end of the day if the feasibility report is compelling then the results sell themselves, if there is no benefit then that also paints a clear picture.

"We must work towards whatever is best for the participants and the industry as a whole.

"The minister is showing plenty of initiative and is pro-active in making sure he is doing his best to maximise the returns to the industry."

STC chairman Bill Picken agreed that the meeting was positive and said he was looking forward to the findings of the independent report.

"Like always we at the STC are looking at this with an open mind," he said. "We must work together on issues and if change is needed then we will work towards that."