...back home after the big weekend of the year... bad planning meant I was on the train when Quitus was running this afternoon Monday (7th) but had seen Querido do a pleasing race for 6th yesterday... he will be much better for it. The two top Love Yous of the generation were first (Quatre Juillet) and second (Qualita Bourbon,off 25m) so pass the news on to Gwen and Duchess Kurt.
The pros all went for Offshore Dream to repeat in the prix d'Amerique and they were right, though 3 false starts and a mixup in the mont didn't help several runners' chances. Interestingly the recent admission of good young horses who haven't won enough money but have won two specified races is proving an increasing challenge to the traditional money won criterion. Last year Offshore Dream only got in as a 5yo because he had won the Criterium Continental and this year Orla Fun (3rd) and Prodigious (5th - and the big run of the race) only got in through this route. All suggesting that each generation is improving on the last and several older runners with lots of gains are no longer competitive. (Orlando's year first and third!)
Attended the General Assembly of the UET (European Trotting Union) for the 13th time... quite a sense of deja vu allover again regarding the difficulties of harmonising rules across Europe and tackling doping. There is increasing desperation regarding the British bookmakers attacks on European tote monopolies like the PMU, which is why French trotting is so affluent. (Over 200 million euros prizemoney in 2007 at an average per race of nearly 19,000)
Lots of good food and wine and company -pictured late on Sunday afternoon are Bill Green (right), Therese Fontaeus from Sweden who is working with him at Hieville, and cousin Geoff Hadfield.!)
Chatted at length with "Mr 123racing" Rob Earle from Christchurch. Another Kiwi changing the world! Check out http://www.racingworld.com/
From our NZ correspondent at Motukara on Prix d'Amerique day:
Torias Secret came 5th, never had any room to finish she would have won easily. Next racing on friday. Niburu came 3rd, raced really well, good finish . Jack Hinton came 6th, didn't get a run to finish, no room same as Torias. He would have been 3rd. I think he's racing Tuesday. [He is but has drawn 13 in a mobile and the racebook says " Difficult to follow. Peak effort would take him close in this."]
Apologies for not mentioning Trotupastorm's very nice win at Ashburton on Boxing Day. Observers both on the spot and on video felt he was trotting much more smoothly than before. Could there be French hands at work here??
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