DION TO BECOME MEDIA MAN

My son Dion has announced that he is having a change of direction in his career and while he will still be heavily involved with racing, it will be from the other side of the fence.

Dion has been a breath of fresh air through the riding ranks in this state over the past few years and he will be sadly missed on race day. Having been involved with horses since the day he could walk, it was little wonder that Dion was destined to be a jockey. And a very good one at that! Dion has been a real go getter throughout his riding career and he was always determined to do things his way and to make it on his own. (don't know where he would get that trait from?)

Dion has been a fearless rider and has never been overawed by any one or any thing which has stood in the way of his success. He has always been well accepted by owners and trainers alike and his cheerful and friendly nature has helped him to survive as well as to succeed.

There is no doubt that having Dion involved has given me a real incentive to stay motivated through some of the industries quiet years and he will be a big loss to my stables on race day. Dion is keen to stay involved with the stables at track work where his judgement and assessment of horses will be highly valued.

In two weeks time Dion will take up a full time position with PERTH RACING where he will be involved with race day telecasts to Singapore as well as being the face of local racing on TV. Dion will also be covering trials and track work while also doing speed charts for local racing. I am sure that his "gift of the gab" will stand him in good stead over the coming years and I wish him all the best in his new venture.

ROYALE HARVEST HOLDS FORM

Tough mare ROYALE HARVEST showed by her gallant second on Saturday, that the heavy racing schedule she has had lately has not worried her at all. As I have mentioned a number of times, this mare needs plenty of racing to help her maintain fitness, being a lazy worker and having an enormous appetite.

I would love it if every horse had her constitution and will to win. The mare may butter up again at Belmont next weekend before having a short let up at AMELIA PARK FARM. Providing I am happy with her fitness and her condition, we may even take her up to KALGOORLIE over the round for a race like the HANNANS HANDICAP.

First things first though. Lets see if she can win me a race at Belmont on Saturday on ITALIAN day!!!!

GLAMOURZON TO HAVE SHORT LET UP

Consistent mare GLAMOURZON, who has been racing in great form without winning over the past few months, will have a short freshen up before being set for the KALGOORLIE round. The mare is a tough campaigner who can position up anywhere in a race which makes her ideally suited by the goldfields track.

The mare has great form over 1600m and races like the COOLGARDIE CUP and BOULDER CUP look right up her alley. She doesn't need a lot of racing to bring her to her top.

TWO RUNNERS FOR TOMORROW

After not having a runner at Belmont last Wednesday, we head to the races with two live chances for tomorrows meeting. ROYALE HARVEST steps out in race four and is trying to make it three straight. She has no form at the 1600m but I wouldn't let that put you off. The biggest thing against her tomorrow is the fact that she hasn't raced for two weeks but the way she felt at track work on Thursday morning suggest that she is close to her best. The mare prefers to have her races close together but we have kept the work up to her.

My next runner is GLAMOURZON. She is as honest as they come and although she tends to not be a favourite with the punters, I can assure you that my Daughter and I both love her dearly. She returns us a cheque most times she goes around and that's a lot more than some of the other horses going around do. There is nothing to suggest that she won't do the same again tomorrow. Happy punting!

SHASHTI DOES IT AGAIN

She is only three and only lightly framed but that hasn't stopped her from taking on the older horses at her past two starts and giving them a beating. There is a race in town for her in the not too distant future.

WHO'S THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?

There is no doubt about his desire to want to get to the line. FAIREST AND BEST gives it his all as he reaches for the line in race one last Saturday after another top ride by DION.

A COUPLE OF VERY HAPPY YOUNG LADIES

ROYALE HARVEST appears to be revelling in the attention as she is led back to scale.

ROYALE HARVEST MAKES IT TWO STRAIGHT

Dion sits up for the photo as he eases ROYALE HARVEST down on the line to win her second race for this preparation.

NO OPERATION FOR DION

After visiting the hand specialist this morning, Dion has reported that he will not require an operation to help mend the un-displaced fracture in his finger.

The specialist has made up a hard plastic cast for Dion to wear for the next three to four weeks which will protect the injured finger and assist the healing. I can't see any reason why he won't be able to pick up my yards or use the vacuum cleaner around my place one handed during that time!!!!

DION OUT INJURED AGAIN!!

It never rains it pours. So the saying goes. That certainly is the case with my jockey's and in particular this time, DION.

About five weeks ago Jason Whiting broke a bone in his hand in a barrier incident when riding Shashti at an Ascot mid week meeting. Jason has only just resumed riding and now my son Dion has suffered a similar injury. Dion was returning to the stalls this morning after giving ROYALE HARVEST her final work out for Saturdays race when she decided to "chuck a wobbly". She didn't do a lot however Dion became unbalanced and fell forward hitting his hand on ROYALE HARVESTS head thereby fracturing his little finger on his left hand. ROYALE HARVEST has had a bit of history for feeling very well coming up to her races and although Dion was prepared for her she was still too quick for him.

Dion will not be taking any further race rides until further notice. This will depend on what the specialist tells him later today. This is a severe blow to DION as he is struggling with his weight as it is. Dion was lucky to escape serious injury when being crushed in the barriers at the Belmont trials on Monday.On that occasion x-rays cleared him of any bone damage however he was not so lucky this time.

They certainly earn their keep these little guys of the pig skin don't they? Meanwhile I am heading off to Northam to hopefully keep up my good form of late. Jason Whiting is replacing Dion on Shashti in the last and hopefully he can square up on her for causing his injury some weeks ago.

NO RUNNERS FOR BELMONT WEDNESDAY

Even though we have a stable full of horses here, this Wednesday's Belmont fixture sees us without a runner. I only have about six of the eighteen horses in race condition at the moment with a few more ready over the next few weeks. Everything we have been starting of late has been running very well apart from the one or two which have gone for a spell for various reasons.

On Thursday we venture to down town Northam again where we have managed to win a race at our last two visits. On Thursday we have a first upper in LOOKIN' ROSEY making her debut, then we have a long wait till the last for SHASHTI to have another crack at winning another race. She won very impressively there last start and her form suggests she should be hard to beat again.

Hope they have that wine tasting on offer again at Northam like they did Sunday week ago. Not a bad drop the BARWICK ESTATE WINES!!!

MORE AND MORE CHECKING OUT THE SITE!

I have been quite surprised by the number of people who mention to me that they are regular viewers of this site and very pleased by the feed back that I have received.

As I have said many a time on this site over the years, I am not a computer person nor a journalist and all the articles here are either meant to be light hearted, informative or both. I have given up trying to be controversial........ ever since I got hit with that $5,000 fine for opening my big mouth in the mounting yard that day.

Anyway as I was saying, its great to receive so much positive feed back regarding the articles and photo's and I hope I can keep it all going. With the horses all performing so well of late it makes it a lot easier to write positive articles. Happy punting.

FAIREST AND BEST

This young horse showed by his effort on Saturday that he is very very well named. Not only does he have a smart racing name, his stable name is "JUDDY" and watching the young bloke duck and weave his way through traffic on Saturday made me think he may be something a bit special.

There is no doubt that coming back from 1200m to 1000m was not the ideal for him however he did shape as though his first run had done him the world of good and we didn't want to give away a good barrier. A combination of a top ride from Dion and a real desire and determination to win, saw FAIREST AND BEST do what I hope he is going to do a bit more of in the future.

The horse was programed to run at Ascot on Wednesday however a re-think after studying fields and barrier draw saw us take our place last Saturday instead. He has pulled up well from the race and should go around again in a fortnight.

ALCEDO HITS TOP GEAR

Alcedo shows a return to winning form with a strong fought win at Northam.

ALCEDO....FINALLY!

I don't think I have ever trained a more frustrating horse than ALCEDO. For a horse who is bred to be a group winner and who shows more in training than most of my top horses have ever shown, it is no wonder that he has been a real challenge for me.

As a two and three year old I kept on telling the owners that they had a potential top liner on their hands in Alcedo. Every jockey who ever threw a leg over him agreed with me. I kept telling the connections that once ALCEDO matured, he was headed for the top. Unfortunately,the only thing that was heading upwards was my boiling point and frustration with the lack of results with this horse.

It wasn't until about eight months ago that with the aid of some new technology and a vet who couldn't believe what was happening with the horse, that we finally discovered what ALCEDO'S problems were. The vet recommended a three month spell and to keep our fingers crossed when the horse returned. After two disappointing runs we were all ready to retire the horse and to cut our losses however I felt he was worth one or two more runs.

The horse has now strung two good runs together, winning in good style at Northam on Wednesday suggesting he may be over his problems. I feel that if the horse can regain his confidence in some weaker provincial races, we may just be able to get him to perform somewhere near his best after another few runs. We live in hope!!! As the vet said; keep your fingers crossed.

SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND

LUCIANI STABLES kept up the consistent form of late with a two winners from three runners on the weekend. ROYALE HARVEST was our only runner at Belmont on Saturday and she once again blew away her opposition to win her scond race on consecutive Saturday's. The mare is racing in great style and heart at the moment and really does appreciate the quick back up. It was her third run in as many Saturdays and the ease of the win suggests that there should be more in store. For a horse who normally likes to settle back, it was nice to see her respond to some early urging by Dion to take up a forward position.

On Sunday we took two runners to Northam and allthough the first one was very dissapointing, our second starter SHASHTI, more than made up for the dissapointment with a very impressive win. Now that she has broken through for her first I hope she can keep up the good work.

In between my two runners it was great to see STORMY'S SON sire his first winner. STORMY'S SON will always remain an old favourite of mine even though he didn't win me a major race. The horse was desperately unlucky on a couple of occassions in Victoria and I am sure that given a bit of time, his stock will also start to show his ability. Congratulations to his connections for the win of SHADY STORM yesterday.

FINALLY SHASHTI GREETS THE JUDGE

SHASHTI shows her winning style at Northam on Sunday. This filly has been very unlucky on a number of occasions however finally things went her way yesterday and she won like the good thing that her price suggested she was. Dion even gets time to pose for the photo courtesy of Hollands Photographic,

HAPPY CONNECTIONS

ROYALE HARVEST is lead back to scale by a very excited couple of part owners, David Law and Shirley Piper with an equally pleased Link Robertson on board.

ROYALE HARVEST HITS THE LINE STRONGLY

A brilliant ride by Link Robertson helps ROYALE HARVEST win at the last meeting at Ascot for the 2007 season. (Photo courtesy Hollands Photographic)

A BIT OF MONKEY BUSINESS TO KICK START THE WEEKEND

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ANOTHER PEARLER FROM MY DARLING DAUGHTER

Just to prove to you that I have got a sense of humour, try and read this without having a little chuckle to yourself. I know its a bit close to home but hey its all true. And now she tells me she has a good Italian boy as a boyfriend!!!!

WOGS Vs AUSSIES

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ONLY ONE RUNNER SATURDAY

ROYALE HARVEST will be our only runner at Belmont's opening meeting this weekend. With winter just around the corner, the move to Belmont couldn't have come at a better time. The main grass track at Ascot is starting to show the effects of a long hard and dry summer and I am yet to be convinced about the ability of Ascot to stand up to winter racing.

Meanwhile I am very happy with the way ROYALE HARVEST pulled up after her last start win at Ascot and there is no reason why she wont run just as good a race again this weekend. She has had a relatively easy week and should be ready to rumble come Saturday!

ROYALE HARVEST AT LAST.

Bonnie mare ROYALE HARVEST showed her true colours at Ascot on Saturday with a win which was full of merit. After enjoying a good run throughout, courtessey of a brilliant ride by Link Robertson, ROYALE HARVEST became the target of a desperate ride from opposition jockey Willie Pike around the bend, before going on to win in convincing style.

In a race where the two main chances joined each other at about the 700m mark, Link quickly seized the initiative to pocket Willie before the corner and then have to withstand some severe buffeting on the bend as Willie tried desperately to give his horse galloping room. A big pull in the weights plus a determined effort from the mare saw ROYALE HARVEST go to the line strongly to win in great style.

Willie has been riding in brilliant style lately however I think even he would agree that most jockey's, given the opportunity, can get a well prepared horse over the line if it is capable of winning. At her two previous runs ROYALE HARVEST has been on the receiving end of some bad interference resulting in the contributing jockey being suspended. for a moment it looked like the same thing was going to happen again on Saturday.

ROYALE HARVEST is a gross type who doesn't mind a quick back up and at this stage she may even take her place again in a race restricted to fillie and mares at the opening meeting at BELMONT this weekend.