U be the judge

[Maorisidol]

Hi Anne
I just watched the race a few times , and to be fair i cant see what you are referring to.

Your horse drew wide and was snagged back a the start. Your driver then elected to go 3 wide and other drivers elected to come out in front of you as is their right and as happens in every race every day. Your driver then elected to go 4 and 5 wide as the 3 wide train wasnt going anywhere. Your horse was then way too good.

i think you may be reading too much into things, but maybe you know things I dont!

Totally agree with this, I saw zero "team driving". The horse that galloped seem to do so of its own accord. First it's head started to bob, race a bit roughly and then gallop when Chris Immediately steered it off the track out of National Gallery's way. If he wanted to interfere with your horse Anne, he would have stayed in the same line and pulled straight back into it.
I did not see driver Chris Alford of the galloping horse "raise his arms" to "cause" it to gallop.

[Starship Captain]

Thanks for posting about your mare, it would be great to get more from owners on here.

[roosters]

I guess I was disappointed that runners pulled out and went nowhere. In my opinion it appeared to be a blocking tactic rather that giving their own horse every chance. They could even have got on the back of the favourite for a trail into the race. And yes, we do own Scottish Glamour.

Just because you are favourite doesnt mean the rest of the field need to stand aside and just let you do as you please. In a mile race they had to come out in front of you. If they didnt, then questions deserve to be asked by the stewards.

I think you are simply seeing things that just are not there. There are 100's of smelly races. This just isnt one of them

[NormanS]

I guess I was disappointed that runners pulled out and went nowhere.

This is frustrating absolutely, But not against the rules.

[Lucky Camilla"s Lovechild]

I guess I was disappointed that runners pulled out and went nowhere. In my opinion it appeared to be a blocking tactic rather that giving their own horse every chance. They could even have got on the back of the favourite for a trail into the race. And yes, we do own Scottish Glamour.

Thought so. She beat us at the Ballarat trials last year when the Tubbs had her. I've been following her since.

[Just Saying]

I watched this replay and was waiting, other than putting his horse under a bit of pressure to get to the top. Handing up - nothing unusual there... But then at the 500m what the. Hanging out and closing down. Mind you i have been warned about taking inside runs going into a turn. Not making excuses for the driver shifting back down, there is no legitimate excuse for that .

The driver responsible was suspended.

[Harold Parker]

I'm only six months removed from a three year stint in the States (NY) ... I'm not involved in the industry other than as a fan of the sport. The glaring difference is the professionalism of the drivers. We have great drivers here too but there's way too many bad ones carrying our hard earned. Now I was spoiled, Yonkers mostly and the Meadowlands but if there was races which involved stablemates (not as common) you never saw the kind of tactics you see here. Those guys were out there to win. As professional drivers racing for serious $$$ that was their job. It's so blatantly obvious here, how they get away with it is beyond me. I also don't understand how their owners put up with it.

[Harold Parker]

How many drivers here have agents, getting them drives, doing form etc ?

If the $$$ at Menangle is on the up and up and elsewhere, how long before the number of drivers able to perform at the "top" is restricted. If Melton race on Fridays, why can't Sugar, Lang, Alford, Douglas etc be at Menangle on Saturday and vice versa I guess. Way too much family ties and too many far better drivers not driving enough.

Want to improve the industry, get professional. Up and coming drivers can learn their craft elsewhere.

[Danno]

[

QUOTE=Harold Parker;16235]How many drivers here have agents, getting them drives, doing form etc ?

If the $$$ at Menangle is on the up and up and elsewhere, how long before the number of drivers able to perform at the "top" is restricted. If Melton race on Fridays, why can't Sugar, Lang, Alford, Douglas etc be at Menangle on Saturday and vice versa I guess. Way too much family ties and too many far better drivers not driving enough.

Want to improve the industry, get professional. Up and coming drivers can learn their craft elsewhere.[/QUOTE]

Robert the race in question was at Geelong......not Melton, not Menangle and definitley not Yonkers.

[Lucky Camilla"s Lovechild]

How many drivers here have agents, getting them drives, doing form etc ?

If the $$$ at Menangle is on the up and up and elsewhere, how long before the number of drivers able to perform at the "top" is restricted. If Melton race on Fridays, why can't Sugar, Lang, Alford, Douglas etc be at Menangle on Saturday and vice versa I guess. Way too much family ties and too many far better drivers not driving enough.

Want to improve the industry, get professional. Up and coming drivers can learn their craft elsewhere.

If you want to kill off harness racing, this is the way to do it. If I am correct in thinking you want a 'bank' of proffesional drivers for the metro tracks, nothing else will develope a culture of 'team driving' than this IMO. The great thing about Australian Harness Racing is that it is not American Harness Racing. And if a driver is deemed to be not up to the standard of metropolitan drivers, we have the stewards to police it.