Racing matters

I had been waiting for official word of the new appointment, but in the world of racing, secrets are generally kept atrociously, to say the least.

It's been a tough week for the abbreviation-happy sub-editor (see last week's column). Not only did he and I put the mockers on Atlantic Jewel as she was headed by It's A Dundeel in the Underwood Stakes, but Oracle finished off the America's Cup like Rough Habit in the 1992 Stradbroke Handicap to rub salt into the subbie's various wounds

Jumps racing might be treading water in the South Island in particular, but how good was the Great Northern Steeplechase on Saturday?

Rugby, racing . . . 

Racing news this week.

The sights and sounds ...

Fast times ...

If you've got some loose change floating around in your pocket, you might want to have a bid on Black Caviar's half-brother who is in the Inglis Easter sale in Australia next Wednesday.

The Great Southern Star format of a heat and a final has received generally good reviews after its inaugural running in Melbourne last week.

Something's missing . . . I used to have a rule that if I was at home watching the Lotto draw on a Saturday night, my social life had taken a turn for the worse. Well, I avoided the Lotto draw on Saturday, but I did stay at home, largely to watch the Interdominion heats beamed in from around Australia, and to have a small flutter on them, too.

Try as I might, I cannot get all giggly with excitement about this new Interdominions format that begins tomorrow night.

My rule of thumb for whether a horse is famous or not is simple. If the Otago Daily Times sports editor Hayden Meikle has heard of a horse, chances are it's not your average racehorse (to butcher a quote from Yogi Bear). So when he and rugby writer Steve Hepburn are asking about the whereabouts of Black Caviar, it's only fair to indulge them.

When I was at Trackside, our presenters used to get a bit of stick from viewers about talking over the national anthem. When it's being performed at an increasing number of meetings throughout New Zealand, you can hardly blame the presenters for talking over it.

A reader noticed a large number of female jockeys at the Gore meeting on Saturday, which led her to wonder what the record number of women riding at a meeting would be. In all, 11 women rode on Saturday, outnumbering their male counterparts by one. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing advised me it does not keep records on the number of female jockeys at a meeting, but it did get me pondering.

So, Mosse, the darling - a guy can be a darling, surely - of the New Zealand thoroughbred season, won't be in the Telegraph Handicap at Trentham tomorrow.

Highlights . . . I have reacquainted myself with my desk here in Lower Stuart St after a busy couple of weeks following the summer holiday circuit. While the drawer handles are ergonomically pleasing and the bookshelf space is ample, it's not quite as much fun as getting some sun on the face and talking to excited owners and trainers about their animals.

Ashlee Mundy's fatal fall at Kurow on Sunday understandably sent shock waves through an industry that is incredibly tight-knit, regardless of rivalries on the track.

With the amount of racing during the holiday break, plenty of horses are backing up quickly from their last races to the next. This creates a problem for some clubs, who have to print their books around the availability of commercial printers but are still trying to provide up-to-date information to on-course punters. There's no easy fix, but keep it in mind if you're on course and considering your bet - your horse's last run in the book might not actually be its last run.