Interesting to see Pus$y O'Reilly's name again! I had forgotten about her.

GOOD LUCK!!!

You should be very proud of your girl, ed. Tried her heart out. :)

Next time.

Tough field!

Watched the replay (wow I didn't think Pus$y was gonna do it)... is Barbaric okay? Just not her day?

Nice win by Ruud Awakening (and Touche looked really good flying there at the end)!

Yeah I loved that Ruud Awakening-Touche race. Definitely two horses to watch in the Karaka Million on the 27th!

Pinzaara was a naughty girl today - she got herself a bit sweaty before the race, then wasn't paying attention in the gates, so was slow away. But I really liked the way she finished it off down the stretch. Yeah, next time. :)

I was a bit worried when I saw Barbaric finish way back. Seems to be OK - apparently lost a shoe during the race, and that foot got a bit sore afterwards. But nothing serious.

Thanks for the update. Your girl did finish well. :)

Hey if there were a contest for who spent the most time looking for news on the Trentham Stakes I think I'd win. :D :confused:

I know it's next weekend, only wish I knew who were going!

I see Titch is entered on Wednesday at Hokitika and am wondering why I've never heard of it (!).

Good luck, old boy. :)

edit - Did he win the Auckland Cup twice?

He did win an Auckland Cup, yeah! And he's also won several steeplechases. The trainer likes to do strange things with his good horses - it was the same with C'est La Guerre, who he took to two really minor country race meetings on the way to his Derby win in 2008.

Hokitika's another really small country meeting. Strange place for a G1 winner to be running!

I had no idea. That is awesome!

Looking at the entries for Telegraph day... Wow, I wish I could be in Wellington on Saturday. Amazing.

Wow that is some field for the Telegraph!

Who is the favorite? Has Guiseppina won since she won it last year?

Honestly I would never be able to play this race... mind-numbing looking at the entries. :)

Odds:

Final Touch $17
Durham Town $9
Jetset Lad $18
Demophon $26
King Montrose $31
Antonio Lombardo $16
Undisclosed $31
Guiseppina $8
Xanadu $6
Burgundy $4.80f
Nashville $10
Sir Lovesalot $21
Galaxy Star $14
Shandream $17
Civics Rock $60
Rough Odds $40
Open 'N' Shut $16
Kit Ann Miss $60
Kaptain Kirkup $60
Taurus $31
Huffer $31
Vincent Mangano $50
Special Draw $60
Trapiche $60

Other really interesting races include the G2 Wakefield, which has an undeated 2yo filly called Recite who looked VERY good in her only start so far, and also the G3 Wellington Stakes - Abraham Lincoln takes on stakes class for the first time. He's one of the Derby contenders I really like, so I'm interested in how he goes here.

I haven't watched the replay yet but surprised that Titch didn't hit the board. Maybe he needed one back (?).

Do you know much about the fillies in that race with Abraham Lincoln? Blanket Bay and Lucky Country?

Is Zennista a lock in her race or do I not know enough of those horses?

(God I love the name Sir Lovesalot). :D

Who do you like in the Trentham, ed? Sentimental pick?

Pretty big step up for Open 'n' Shut!

I'm still just so thrilled by that field. There is no way to make a pick!

http://www.thoroughbrednews.com.au/i....aspx?id=64382 :cool:

I don't know a lot about Blanket Bay, although she did well behind Little Wonder at Ellerslie on NYD. Lucky Country looked good in the spring and was 7th, only beaten 3.1 lengths, in Rollout The Carpet's 1000 Guineas. So she's pretty good. But I do think it's Abraham Lincoln's race. I'm also kind of interested in Survived - the same trainer/jockey combo as Jimmy Choux, and he was unlucky in his first start and nicely won his second. So he could be one to watch.

Zennista's a good chance in her race, but she has a big weight on her back too. I like Glad - she's a real up and comer, looked very good in her win at Ellerslie last time and gets in with a low weight.

On The Level for me in the Trentham - good enough to be third to Jimmy in his Derby in 2011, then a long injury layoff, and then he FLEW to finish second in his resuming run. I think he's back, and I think he wins this.

I can't pick one in the Telegraph either. Maybe Xanadu.

I've narrowed it down to ten. :D

I think Guiseppina might repeat but I change my mind every three minutes, so...

(I would be really happy to see Durham Town win. Isn't this the race that he fell during last year?).

I've only watched one replay so far but oh what a beautiful win... such a nice girl.

Great to see Final Touch win another one. :)

Yeah, exactly. And he did pretty well here.

But Final Touch was AMAZING. She had to carry a big weight, and she's more of a miler than sprinter - I thought one or both of those things would stop her from winning this, but I was wrong! Really happy to be wrong.

Whoa, Weismuller had a big breakout performance in the Wellington. Second favourite for the Derby now after that, and deservedly so.

Recite looks really, really good.

Just to be clear that is the 27th of THIS month, right? (Can't get on the NZRacing site!).

I know the Karaka Mile is the same day... any idea who will be there?

Not rushing you but cannot wait for your pre-Derby posts! :tro:

Yep, this Sunday! I'm not sure who'll be in the Mile yet, but we'll get to see the entries tomorrow. Ruud Awakening will definitely be the Million favourite, although I think Gobi Ranger is a good chance too.

Looking forward to doing them! Habibi and Weismuller will definitely be featuring.

In fact, early entries for the Mile are there now. It's maybe a little bit disappointing, although G1 winner Choice Bro adds interest.

Current long-range Derby odds (too many for me to type out!):
https://www.tab.co.nz/racing/#994