"THE WEEK THAT WAS"...27/08/2011..
"TROT TACTICS"...27/08/2011...
Sad to report,the much awaited "Festival of Harness Racing' at Parklands last Sunday was blighted by miserable weather in the morning prior to the event.Fortunately for those hardy enough to attend,the rain blew out at about 10am and a bitterly cold wind dried the track and surrounds fairly well.The damage was done however,and a very small crowd was the result.Sadly,Racing Qld's best intentioned strategy,moving Saturday night's Metropolitan meeting to the Festival timeslot,failed to attract the off-course punters with TAB turnover less than 50% of a normal Albion Park meeting.Worst of all from a breeding season aspect,a service to well performed stallion,Ultimate Falcon,donated by Burwood Stud at Pittsworth as a fundraiser for Botra,made only $200 at Auction.Another "Burwood" service to Western Edition,did make $1600,but Ultimate Falcon progeny have the runs on the board well and truly at the bread and butter TAB meetings and the low value assigned to the service is frightening..
Training performance of the week must go to Minden based Graham Harriott.There were three trot races conducted over the period and G.R.Harriott prepared all three winners.Castletonian (Charlie Cini) scored at Gold Coast on 19/08,Gladys Emanuel (Gary Whitaker)took out the metro event on Festival day,and the consistent Rarangi Gold,driven by recent returnee to the sport,Mathew Clayton,got the biscuits on Thursday.A top effort by any standard.
Just a thought about ways and means to keep up numbers of horses in the "available to race" pool.For many years now,both horse racing codes have been plagued with various contagious respiratory diseases,both viral and bacterial.While most of these conditions are not life threatening,they temporarily remove large numbers of horses from the racing "pool",and often give notice of their presence by the affected horse putting in a bad run with no prior warning,such as elevated temperature or coughing.These symptoms may appear after the run and often require lengthy veterinary treatment with associated expense.It might be a positive move to introduce the practice of "fogging" the tie-up stalls at racetracks and registered training venues with suitable sanitisers (dilute bleach etc) on a daily basis."Foggers" which would fit on a tractor "carryall" complete with 100 litre tank could provide a low cost solution to at least one part of a nasty problem.
Don't forget the sale at Marburg tomorrow morning.The auction kicks off at 10am and over 40 horses are expected to go under the hammer. The only draft I have seen at this point is that of Cold Mountain Stud,and the highlights of this consignment are,Cold Real Dimpled,Cold America,Cold Ideal,and Jennas Regret.All these are colts,as it is CM policy not to geld male progeny.Among the broodmares on offer are Fox Valley Hotty,She Has Passion and Tres.CM will also sell the stallion,Quality Cam.However,among the 40,there is sure to be something for everybody.All you need is some money,and the belief that we will find a way out of the current doom and gloom situation..If verbal assurances from Harness Racing Australia several months back are correct,the green light is now back on for Show Trots in the next season..
Resultsville..Gold coast 19/08..Castletonian (Charlie Cini for GrahamHarriott)...Marburg 20/08..Eyes A Bull (Justin Pascoe)..Roslei Hilda (Glenn Dawson)... Gold Coast 21/08..Gladys Emanuel (Gary Whitaker for Graham Harriott)..Dougs Place (Pete McMulllen for John Davis)..Goodaz Promised (Pete for John McMullen)..Whata Shaw Thing (Pete for John McMullen)..Slug Of Gold (Lola Weidemann for Ricky Gordon)...Albion Park 23/08..nil...Redcliffe 24/08..Gifted Red (Lola Weidemann for Ricky Gordon)..Helava Big Dog (Glenn Dawson for Trent Knack)...Gold Coast 25/08..Rarangi Gold (Mathew Clayton for Graham Harriott)..I Am Terror (Lola Weidemann for Ricky Gordon)...