"THE WEEK THAT WAS"..
"TROT TACTICS"..21/05/2011..
The Nursery Pace Finals are on tonight with the $75,000 3yo Colts and Geldings division looking likely to be fought out by (1) Caesars Folly (Brad Cowen) and (9). Marshall Law (Natalie Rasmussen).Both are serious Derby contenders and no doubt the world of Group 1 Classics will be their next port of call.The name of the game is "get it when you can"as horses of this calibre don't come every day and,history also shows us that 3yo stars are not guaranteed success in later years.It takes rare and special abilities to carve a lasting mark on the Grand Circuit.
Meanwhile,Courageous Annie (Darrel Graham),with a form line of eight straight,should just about get the thick end of the $75,000 3yo Fillies division.Next stop is the Queensland Oaks.Darrel Graham seems certain to leave his mark on the Nursery series by sheer weight of qualifiers alone.Aside from Courageous Annie,DWG will be represented by Sign To Inverell (3yo),Emperor Montana,Montana Falcon,Montana Baron (2yo colts and geldings) and Emma Montana (2yo filly)..Gatton based Phil Mitchell has the 1 alley with Pemberton in the 2yo fillies event.Some effort lads.
It seems the question of wagering turnover is on the sensitive list at Unitab.An innocent request for percentage figures relative to the turnover for all three racing codes on their domestic operations(Queensland only meetings) was met with the polite response that,"we are a public company..we do not disclose that information").They do however disclose these figures to Racing Queensland Ltd,and advice was given to redirect the question to RQL.That will be done and the success or lack of it will be here next week.
Harness folk live in a world of uncertainty with no clear vision of what lies ahead.The only thing concrete is that in 2014 or sooner the yardstick of financial performance (turnover..there are no etceteras as licencees and clubs have only the capacity to run chook raffles) will be applied and we will be found wanting and discarded as a result.I wonder do the Directors of RQL ever consider the massive capital investment (Proportional to their disposable income,and,at times beyond it) that licencees and owners in all three codes have made.An investment that can be heavily devalued by any RQL decision to close down any or all codes on the grounds of low returns.As a Corporate Entity they have certain rights.I do not believe this includes the right to ruin their investors..
Resultsville... Gold Coast 13/05..Melton Ned Calle (Pete for John McMullen)..Crackerofaparty (Ann Manwaring)..Mr Attitude (Ricky Gordon)...Albion Park 14/05..Da Svidanya (Darrel Graham)..Franco Emerger (Darrel Graham)..King Galleon (Chantal for Tony Turpin)...Marburg 14/05..Cold Ideal (Murray Sullivan)..Miracle Maestro (Dale Chalk for Graydon McCoombes)..Dealt The Ace (Dale Chalk)..Franco Henry (Peter McMullen for John Davis)..Ess Gee Jay Jay El (Mathew Clayton for Darrel Graham)...Albion Park 16/05..Emma Montana (Darrel Graham)...Albion Park 17/05..Supper Waltz Wilson (Steven Doherty for Francis Weston)..Courageous Annie (Darrel Graham)...Redcliffe 18/05..Jarendan (Gavin Crone for Steven Doyle)...Gold Coast 19/05..Parlo (Trevor Lambourn)..I Am Terror (Ricky Gordon)..Montana Flyer (Chantal for Tony Turpin)..Whata Shaw Thing (Pete for John McMullen)...
Selections for Albion Park tonight..R 1: Quinella 1-8: Deadly Smile (K.Dawson) and Something Slippery (J.McCarthy)..R 2: E/w 1: Melton Ned Calle (S.Graham)..R 3: Quinella 2-12: Pub Blitz (J.Wanless) and Our Archangel (N.Scott)..R 4: E/w 1: Caesars Folly (B.Cowen)..R 5: E/w 12: Fox Valley Appeal (G.Whitaker)..R 6: E/w 5: Terror Time (B.Cowen)..R 7: Quinella 2-9: The Archduchess (C.Petroff) and Rosa Mach (N.Rasmussen)..R 8: Quinella 1-6: Kiana Frances (M.Neilson) and Courageous Annie (D.Graham)..R 9: Quinella 3-4: Rose Of Jeremy (E.Bailey) and Aunty Bev (P.McMullen)..R 10: E/w 5: Wicked Style )G.Dixon)..