Fast times ...Harness racing at Forbury Park returned last night for the first time this season - and I'm glad to have it back.
Forbury Park has its place in the industry. While you're not going to see the cream of the New Zealand pacing or trotting crops going around at the 1000m track, what you will get are the following things.
An outstanding - not just good - racing surface. The times at the track in recent years (including sub-2min 40sec times for 2200m on a couple of occasions) tell you how well the surface is playing its part in promoting good racing. Even when there is a decent amount of rain, the horses and sulkies aren't burying deep into the surface of the track
.... in Dunedin
When I took this job late last year, I had visions of wearing five pairs of gloves and three raincoats as I battled the elements during the weekly racing in late May and June.
I had seen enough meetings from previous winters when the rain was coming in sideways at a speed much quicker than the fastest 400m ever seen at Forbury Park. Luckily, that did not come to fruition once this year. Sure, a few showers and a chilly Saturday afternoon featured, but nothing I - or anyone else as soft as me - couldn't handle.
Forbury Park has well in excess of 20 meetings this season, making the club a vital cog in the racing wheel.
As I've mentioned before, the winter claimers and Golden Girls series both kept some horses' careers ticking along. There's also nothing punters like more than similar horses lining up against each other each week, so punters can get a good line on the form.
Kept in suspense
People have, on occasion, asked me why we print jockey or driver suspensions in our racing pages. There are a couple of reasons for this.
Firstly, when it comes to careless riding or driving cases, we try to provide information about which other horses were affected in the incident.
If you happened to miss the race when it was run, and are relying on the results in the newspaper, you might wonder what happened to the well-backed horse you punted. The description of the incidents will provide the answer in some cases.
Then again, maybe your horse was free of interference and just had a shocker. The other reason we run suspensions is so punters know - when they go to put their bets on a meeting three days later or a week later - what has happened to the regular pilot of their favourite horse, or why a couple of riders might be missing from a meeting.
Regardless, it's not a case of accentuating the negative. We are simply providing information to the punters. We do miss the occasional suspension, but I can promise you that is not deliberate.
Lazy Fiver
Young Reggie led the field up at Ascot Park on Sunday, but just faded in the last 200m to run fourth. So here we go again.
Heapzacash was at $14 yesterday afternoon to win the last race at Te Rapa on Saturday.
With Mark Du Plessis riding, and a better beginning than the mare's last start at New Plymouth, she's a nice each-way show.
