A few of you were confused last week and thought I was heading up to the Harness Jewels last Saturday. No such luck, but feel free to advocate for my 2016 trip if you see my boss out and about.
Anyway, I may have to snack on a couple of small slices of humble pie. Most notably, two winners came from midfield or worse in the last 400m - Sky Major and Franco Nelson - and Venus Serena was tremendous in bouncing back to form.
It was a shame to see the crowd a bit lighter than in recent years, and it sounds like the club and HRNZ did everything they could do to attract people to the meeting.
I saw one complaint online about the $10 cover charge, but if a club can't charge for a meeting consisting of nine group 1 races - and only $10 at that - they could never charge.
Let's not forget that with a larger crowd than your garden-variety meeting, there are increased costs - be it security, cleaning, food, or portaloos.
Lovely shade of pink
Good to see a decent crowd at Wingatui on Sunday for the inaugural Think Pink race day.
Otago Racing Club events and marketing manager Charlotte Neilson told me yesterday about $7000 was raised for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, with $4000 of that coming from the fundraising efforts of the track riders who competed in the ''Oaks''.
Speaking of which, there were unusual sights in the Oaks, not the least of which was Harold Pateman strutting awkwardly out to climb aboard his mount while wearing Alysha Verrall's riding breeches.
The smiles from all 10 riders when they returned to the birdcage gave you some idea how much they enjoyed it, and Charlotte said all of the amateur riders are keen to take part again next year. The day was blessed with good weather, and the club plans to make the event an annual fixture.
Crowning glory
Sadly, I am going to miss the latest attempt at the Triple Crown, as I will be driving to Oamaru for the Waimate races when California Chrome takes on America's best in the Belmont Stakes.
Call me a sentimentalist, but I hope he does it for reasons outlined in this column a few weeks ago.
We'll certainly be keeping a close eye on the result anyway and we'll make sure to bring you the outcome in Monday's paper.
Across the sea
Looking for Shankar Muniandy in your racebook over the next two months?
You won't find him, as Shankar has gone back to his home country of Malaysia for a short-term riding stint. He will be back for the new season.
Lazy Fiver
I apologise profusely to the connections of No Doctor Needed, who was scratched on the morning of last Saturday's Harness Jewels.
Clearly, my jinxing has a greater reach than I could have ever imagined. I'm putting the mockers on the Terry Kennedy-trained Swami in race 2 at Oamaru on Sunday. Sorry, Terry.
