What the Hell Was This
It’s near impossible to explain leading South African rider Gavin Lerena’s actions here. What he does in just nuts. A long, long stint on the sidelines surely awaits.
The Easiest Protest Decision Ever
You could spend your whole life looking, and travel the world in search of one, but you will never find an easier protest to uphold than this one in the 2nd race at Thangool on the weekend. Craiglea Bronte took hold of its lightweight apprentice rider Kelsey Lenton on the home turn and decided to […]
When We Were Young
He’s been around a long time has David Fowler. It happens when you’re getting old. Just one question. Would 11-year-old boys be allowed in the modern age to work unsupervised with confirmed bachelors forty years or more their elder? Times change and social mores change with them. Given what we all know about the world […]
The False Start That Wasn’t and the Roster Change That Didn’t – Updated
Last Saturday week the Stewards interviewed starter Jason Suli seeking an explanation for his decision to call a false start when two runners, one of them the heavily backed favorite Savage Storm, galloped separately free of any interference to them and causing no interference to any other runner. As much as punters might be aggrieved […]
Frankies Not So Ferocious Anymore
https://www-harness-org-au.akamaized.net/qld/APM25012501.mp4 When Hot And Treacherous won 1st-up for new trainer John Livingstone in late November, we all thought for a fleeting moment that the former Kiwi pacer had reversed the long running trend of horses being ruined as racing propositions when they leave Jason Grimson’s care (if you call it that). Sadly were wrong. Hot […]
Turning Triumph Into Tragedy
You can’t look at the replay of Romantic Warrior’s win in the Jebel Hatta without fixing your eyes on the leader and second favorite Measured Time, trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden like a lunatic by William Buick. It was almost like he had elephant juice in him, and then suddenly he hit the wall. […]
Stewarding the Start
See the man in the moleskins and country hat, with his back to the camera? That’s Ross Neal, the former New Zealand Chief Steward now working on the tools in regional north-west Queensland. What’s he doing there at the starting stalls? You can’t steward much from that spot, which is why Stewards never until now […]
More Khaki Than a Steve Irwin Convention
The Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Military Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle. Try saying that at top pace. It’s one hell of a name for a race. A race that’s somewhat an oddity in itself. Every jockey riding in it is a serving military officer. We’ve got two Majors, a Lieutenant-Commander, a Sargent, and three grunts. […]
If a Few Days at Jason’s Joint Can Turn an Idiot Like Mark Jones Into a Trainer, Imagine What it Can Do For You?
Do you remember that Kiwi clown called Mark Jones? It’s okay if you don’t, because he’s not very memorable. Jones is the South Island trainer who threatened to sue us a year or back after we wrote a story featuring him that the poor precious dear didn’t like. He even went so far as to […]
Only in Queensland
Faith Elliott (pictured at top) is an apprentice jockey coach at Racing Queensland. She is also a trackwork rider licensed by the QLD Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC). Which is all kind of funny in a strange way. Funny hoo hoo, not funny ha ha. You see one aspect of Faith Elliott’s job is to set […]