Hobart 1/03/09 - review

Tas Tip's;
R1 - 9. Pyromania (Won $2.80 & $1.80), R2 - 9. Special Gallenti (u/p), R3 - 12. Maybe Doc (Scr), R4 - 4. Karalta Crown (2nd $1.04), R5 - 12. Green Is My Colour* (1st $3.40 & $2.00), R6 - 4. Make A Memory (2nd $1.20), R7 - 11. Yakuza (1st $5.40 & $1.60), R8 - 9. New York Fella (u/p), R9 - 7. Gettysburg Address* (u/p).

* = best

Hobart 23/02/09 - review

Monday night's race meeting was combined with the greyhounds. The Tote had the harness weather as Fine. But the greyhound weather as showery. They was ran at the same venue one of the codes must improve there act to the information being released to the public.

Do you believe this information is important & do you believe track ratings are important in harness racing (like the gallops) & should they be taken more seriously. Give us your thoughts below.

Tas Tip's at a glance;

R1 No. 4. UDOIT(1st at $1.30) 1000th career winner for driver Ricky Duggan, R2 No. 2. MARCHELLA LOMBO (u/p), R3 No. 4. WINJAMMER (1st at $2.00 & $1.20), R4 No. 4. ROMAN TIMES NZ (u/p), R5 No. 8. NEW YORK FELLA (4th) well done to Jade Munnings first race winning drive on Ronnie Rat, R6 No. 10. THE DEVIL NOTCHER E/W(u/p), R7 No. 1. DEE EM GANDALF (u/p), R8 No. 7. FLYING DUBAI (u/p), R9 No. 5. CRACKA DIAMOND (u/p).

Devonport 22/02/09 - review

Tas Tip's at a glance;
R1 No. 7. LITTLE BLUEJEANS (Last, flat tyre), R2 No. 7. BUDDAHS BEST MATE (Won, $10.50 & $2.60), R3 No. 7. GRAND PASSION(3rd, $1.40), R4 No. 4. JUMPIN JACK JASPER (5th btn fav), R5 No. 1. TOPONETERRY (5th, tightened & checked), R6 No. 13. DODGERMEMATE (2nd, $1.50), R7 No. 1. DREAM GOLD (Won ,$2.50 & $1.30), R8 No. 3. KARALTA CROWN(2nd, $1.30), R9 No. 2. SOPHIES PLEASURE(5th, broke after start).

Devonport 16/02/09 review

Tas Tip's at a glance
R1 No. 1 GALAXY RAIDER NZ 1st, R2 No. 3 MARCHELLA LOMBO 7th, R3 No. 6 ETERNAL MISS 3rd, R4 No. 2 TROJAN CALM NZ 4th, R5 No. 2 HITEMUP 8th, R6 No. 7 COOL CARD NZ 3rd, R7 No. 1 THE CHEROKEE CHIEF NZ 2nd, R8 No. 6 SAINT NIADH 8th, R9 No. 5 BAJARDO RIVER 6th

Hobart 14/02/09 Review

Tas Tip's at a glance;
R1; 5. Left Loaded 3rd, R2; 9. Our Zellweger 1st, R3; 1. Really Amos 12th, R4; 9. Our Sir Jeckyl 1st, R5; 8. Grand Passion 1st, R6; 4. Make A Memory 1st, R7; 6. Unrivalled 7th, R8; 3. Babyitsu 1st, R9; 5. Advance Attack 1st

'Talking Horses' with Dr John Kohnke, presented by Roberts Limited Prospect

Wednesday 11^th February once again saw Roberts Limited Prospect present a free information seminar with Dr John Kohnke.

The evening began with Trevor Mazzoni from Roberts Limited thanking the crowd of about 60 people for their attendance and introducing Dr John Kohnke. The gathering was predominantly Standardbred people, with Thoroughbreds and pleasure horses also represented.

Dr Kohnke talked for about 2 ½ hours on preparation for racing and blood counts. He gave valuable insights into the need to correctly condition horses and the stages the horse goes through in its preparation for racing. The information was backed up by information from many case studies and experiments that have been carried out throughout the world. Dr Kohnke's address also noted many small pointers that could be used to detect problems before they escalate.

His section on blood counts, pointed out the differences in machines used for equine blood and human blood, as well as the differences between Standardbred and Thoroughbred blood counts, and the importance of taking blood correctly and at the right time to achieve accurate readings.

The evening ended with about 10 Kohnke products being given away as door prizes. Dr Kohnke announced that he was donating a quantity of products to people affected by the Victorian bushfires and that he would be donating $5 from the sale of copies of his book 'Talking Horses Common Problems', which is available from Roberts Limited, to that cause.

Most trainers would be aware that Dr Kohnke has developed a range of horse feed supplements and other products and you can find out more about these on his website www.kohnkesown.com.

What may not be so commonly known is that Dr Kohnke also produces fact sheets and newsletters covering a whole range of horse nutrition, training and care subjects. These are freely available from produce stores and may also be downloaded from his website. The summer 2009 edition of the newsletter deals with topical issues such as 'strategies for the heat'.

Submitted by Kirk Bourne

The secret's out - new handicapping formula revealed

I don't know how many people got to attend the handicapping consultation forums held in Launceston and Hobart last week, but details of the proposals seem to have been kept under tight wraps for some reason.

Seemingly they had to be 'explained' at these forums rather than released beforehand so that people knew what it was they were going to be consulted on and could give it some thought, which is a bit strange, really, since the new system is described as 'streamlined and simplified' and much more user-friendly for owners, trainers and punters.

Possibly because of the fact that Queensland is at the tail end of the forum schedule and the cat's already out of the bag via the other States, Harness Racing Queensland has just taken the revolutionary approach of telling industry participants ahead of time what it is they are going to be consulted on.

So, if you missed out on attending in person, you can now read the summary of the HRA Integrity Rules & Handicapping Committee recommendations on handicapping which Harness Racing Queensland has been kind enough to make available.

There's some interesting changes afoot, including -

• no penalties for 2yos carrying over into subsequent seasons
• horses automatically drop back one class after 10 non-winning starts (but not further than R1, C1 or M1)
• there is no 3MA scale in the new system
  
• 3yos will not get an M penalty until they win an M0 race, so 3yo feature races such as Derbies, Sires Stakes Finals will only attract a C penalty

There's a lot more detail in the published summary, but these are the major shifts away from the present system.

What do you think? It's taken a long time to produce these recommendations; did they get it right?

Brenda Bourne

Launceston 8/02/09 - review

Tas Tip's at a glance;
R1; 1. Artifice (won $1.30 & $1.04), R2; 1. Lifttherunrate (4th), R3; 2. Cullens Count (7th), R4; 8. Rojen Pacific Nz (3rd $1.50), R5; 4. Gueneverselancetot (7th), R6; 10. Winjammer (6th), R7; 1. Hitemup (7th), R8; 4. Swanmaiden 9won $7.40 & 3.40), R9; 1. The Reflon Man (3rd $1.80)

One of our bloggers thought Necroplis was a good each - way chance in Race 4

Necroplis did get up at odds of $10

Burnie 6/02/09 (Thorate Incentive & Coastal Plate Heat Night)- review

Tas Tip's at a glance;
R1; 1. Celtic Legend (won $1.10 No Place Div), R2; 2. Debrama (3rd $2.50), R3; 2. Im Sneaky Nz (7th), R4; 2. No News At Seven (4th), R5; 9. Cool Card Nz (2nd $4.30), R6; 5. George Grant (2nd $1.50), R7; 1. Ronnie Rat (2nd $1.04).