Was looking at the noms for Ellerslie on Saturday (and yes I did watch all of Giant Turtles heats as his name caught my eye :D ).

Happy to see Pinzaara's name and that looks like it'll be a really nice race... oh and so surprised to see Time After Time. Thought he had been retired.

Will she be running? Hope so... she could beat that (very nice) field!

Yep, it's probably going to be her second to last start. It's a bit of a scary field - Ryan Mark is an incredible talent.

Great field for the Captain Cook down in Wellington too - only eight of them, but six G1 winners!

SUCH a nice field! Can't wait. Also looking forward to the one with Ginner Hart, Flower Bomb, Touche. Eight Schillings etc.

... and of course Pinzaaras race!

Was surprised to read Amun Ra was gelded (!).

Great racing again so far at Ellerslie today. How good was Volkstok? :eek: He's a bit scary.

Watching the replays and still shaking my head. I don't know how he won that race.

Just looking at the tab results thingie and saw that Giant Turtle won... is that who you mean? Do tell! :D

GOOD LUCK to Pinzaara. Hope she does it, ed!

Do you think I Do wins today?

Replays tomorrow... can't wait!

I was still talking about Volkstok'n'barrell. :)

But Giant Turtle was really good today as well - looked like he was gone but fought back.

I hope Pinzaara wins too, but I'm not confident today. It's a tough field and she's drawn a wide gate. But I'll be proud of her whatever.

Not sure about I Do. Of course she's good enough, and I'd love to see her get another big win - this is her second to last start before she retires. But I think Puccini will be tough to beat today.

Okay thanks and will be sure to watch Volkstok'n'barrell as well as the one with the silly name haha.

I will be happy whoever wins the big race and yes, be proud of your girl (fngers crossed for you!) who most certainly has a chance!

Good luck! Safe home, kids.

Shuka! I did not expect that but he was sensational.

Haha yay!!! That was awesome!!! What a finish! I woulda died of a heart attack if I had been there. I don't think I have ever seen so many of my favorite horses all across the track at the end like that.

Very happy he did it (again)!

NICE run by your girl and like you had said, very tough field but she did well!

Enjoyed your Shuka piece in the Informant. :)

That was great!!!

Thanks! He's such a nice horse, and it's easy to write about him.

Very proud of Pinzaara. Thought she would be 3rd until those last few strides, but it was still a great race for her.

I just watched the Giant Turtle / Wealth Prince race again (don't judge me :D... I really am liking both those horses so much and am hoping Wealth Prince wins his next out) and realize I forgot to ask you about Southern Comet.... hope he's okay.

Sorry to read about Chris Dell, a name I am not familiar with. Hope he'll make a full recovery.

It doesn't sound like his mount made it... do you know who it was?

It's sounding a bit better for Chris - a brain scan showed no signs of bleeding or damage, which is very good news. But he does have a bad concussion, so it will be a long recovery process.

Yeah, not good news for the horse, unfortunately - broke both front legs. :( He was an unnamed two-year-old.

The latest on Chris:
http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...injured-jockey


And I was happy to report this story:
http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...-New-Years-Day

That's a win-win. I was worried that Te Akau might not want to release Cameron from his contract, so it was very nice of them to do that. And now they've got one of the very best riding their horse.

Didn't make it to Ellerslie yesterday - was in the office writing our newspaper previews for the week. But there were some really good races! It was so good to see Snowdrop (daughter of Daffodil) win again, and Vavasour was just amazing in her race.

Loved both and was very happy to see Lucky Feather win as well!!! I should probably keep my mouth shut but was holding my breath watching the jock on Carlotta going up the rail... you ever watch a race and just feel like they're being a little reckless? Like I said I probably shouldn't even being saying it, but...

Nice runs by both Bingo and Gustavo too.

Very much liked the retired thoroughbred video on the NZ Racing site. :)

Some exciting fields for Saturday. Welcome back, Pondarose Miss (!!!) and good luck to Fritzy Boy, Soriano, Postman's Daughter, and then to O'Marilyn, Pump Up the Volume, Ransomed, and like a hundred others. :D

Can't wait to see which race Tomorrowland runs in.

We are now able to play some racing from NZ on TVG BUT as it has clearly replaced HK as my favorite racing in the world (and for some time incase you hadn't noticed haha!) I have never wanted to... I like it being fun and staying strictly a fan BUT I might have to play him to win just once cause I think he is soooo good.

We'll see.

So how is my favorite boy Veyron anyway? Frustrating still not being able to read the articles! Too bad they don't unlock them after like a week or so!

Veyron seems to be really well, and he's going for the Zabeel Classic on Boxing Day. He won it in 2012 and was second to Shez Sinsational in 2011.

Agree about the Carlotta ride - it was not a good call to go for that rail run.

So good to see Pondarosa Miss back after those injuries she suffered at Hastings in August! It would be amazing to see her win, and she's being aimed at the G1 Auckland Cup in March.

Oh thank you for the Veyron news!!!!!

edit - Scratch what I said about playing Tomorrowland... I need to just be a fan and not start playing my favorite racing!

Here we go. Good luck, Pondarosa Miss!

She did it! Oh, wow. I can't believe it.

Just watching the replay. Such a great comeback performance from her.

I'm so impressed that she was totally fearless in taking that rails run - you would understand her being nervous after what happened in August.

Sort of feels like the rest of today's racing doesn't really matter after that! Haha! But there's still some really good stuff to come. :)

"... she's back, big time!" Haha that was outstanding!!!!! Thrilled! :)

Just watched it again... wow!

Ummm no disrespect to Leith Innes but that was a kinda strange ride on Deanne Martin!

Awww I was so hoping for Zennista but nice win by Surpass.

Yeah, it was a strange move. I think I understand what he was trying to do, but it didn't really work out for him in the end.

Wow, that's a heck of a performance from Tomorrowland. Nice horse.

Oh he won? Awesome!

Who won the Eulogy, ed? I am having trouble with the tab results.

Choice
Attention Seeker
Palace Rock

:)

Oh! Okay thanks and will watch the replay tomorrow and the one for Tomorrowland (who I decided not to bet as I edited above but am pretty sure he probably went off at like no odds anyway... better for me to just be a fan for the racing overt here) as well.

Good luck to Soriano, Postman's Daughter et al... hope to wake up to good news about that race!

Sports Illustrated!

Wow, the stallion Fast 'N' Famous is going incredibly well at the moment - stakes wins in the last 8 days with In Style, Adventador, Tomorrowland and Sports Illustrated, and a 2nd with Attention Seeker in the Eulogy.

I love her (Sports Illustrated, who I hadn't even heard of till now haha!)! That was really really nice to see oh oh, Soriano... happy she picked up a check and look really good doing so (!!!). Just such a nice field. :)

Tomorrowland!

Nice win by Choice... cool how she found that extra gear and just flew past everyone! Why was O'Marilyn scratched though?

http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...s-for-OMarilyn :)

Not totally convinced about Mongolian Khan's win in the Salver yesterday. He looked strong, but he had such an easy lead. I want to see him do that off a strong pace before I'm a true believer.

But he has won three out of four now, so he's got some talent.

If I can get over the name, Marky Mark was a nice winner of the 2yo race. First NZ winner for Makfi. :)

http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...-seven-lengths :eek:

Ed it's 6:30 in the morning here and I have been trying to access that trial for like 20 minutes... I don't know why it always seems to be hit o miss with these things. Is it that they are only up for X amount of time or only certain tracks (or is it me? :D). Oh well... can't wait to see him!

Have not yet seen Mongolian Khan but this made me laugh!

Cool that NZ Racing added trackcams! Anywhere else in the world I really wouldn't care. :)

Surprised to see Veyron's name in the noms for Saturday... will he go?

Happy to see that Amun Ra might be entered.

Oh yeah Park Princess too as I hadn't realize she had returned for one last month. :)

I think trial replays take a bit longer to be uploaded - not sure why that is. But hopefully it will be there soon!

I was surprised to see Veyron nominated as well. I'll be talking to his trainer later today and I'll get back to you.

I think you're right cause I'm now able to view the ones from Foxton (I have no idea where that is!) from the other day so yes... I guess it takes a few days.

Exciting about talking with Veyron's people!