Just An Excuse

No I haven't started talking about my love of the harness horse. Another night perhaps.

But I was taken back by the bumbling comments in the Aussie media since Saturday, handing out excuses for a number of the beaten runners in the AJC Derby. Jockey s and trainers were wading in, I won't bore you with the details.

All I say to you is get a DVD of the race, put it in your machine and push play. The winner did more work in the first half mile than most of the rest of the field put together did in the entire race. He then hit the lead before the rise in the straight, defied them all the way up the rise and apart from Predatory Pricer was pulling away at the line.

Carpe Diem. Jimmy Cassidy used his iniative and that is a sight for sore eyes. Actually there is a harness analogy here. I used to nearly always enjoy backing pacers driven by Neil Brady because he put his horses into the races, ok sometimes it was a bit rough but as a punter I was satisfied whatever the result (most of the time) because I d had a run for my money. Which is a lot more than I got out of this years Auckland galloping Cup.

I dropped into Ellerslie on my way back on Monday. I can't remember much of my drive back from the Coromandel, I was still getting over the $4.40 offered on Attackum when the TAB opened the markets shortly after 8am.

He was probably even more impressive than at Te Aroha. I watched the race from the top of the Public and he lost his footing momentarily at about the 150m but such was his momentum he picked himself up and to the naked eye you wouldn't have noticed it. Eased down noticably over the last 50m he still broke 35 on an off track. He 's the horse Pins needed to kickstart things after a slowish 12 months. I d thought Run Like the Wind was potentially the best Pins male I'd seen El Segundo excluded, but this fellow has a more lethal sprint. Potentially the most exciting horse I've seen in NZ this season.

At Te Aroha tomorrow there s a filly Alapia (another Pins) who can win the third. Has been entered and scratched a couple of times lately. She 's a filly I ve followed since I saw her realise a lot of money at Karaka a couple of years ago. She s built into form nicely and Casey whom beat her last start then came out and ran 2nd in a very strong form race on Breeders Day at TA.

No I have no fiduciary interest in Pins or any other asset of Waikato Stud.