WHY IS IT SO???? A FEEL GOOD STORY!!

Some horses are born to be champion racehorses and reach great heights. Take SO YOU THINK, BLACK CAVIER, NORTHERLEY etc. Some are born with just as much ability but they never reach greatness due mainly to unsoundness. This list is far bigger than the first.

Then there are those which look like they will be smart racehorses. They want to be smart racehorses. But no matter what the trainer does, the jockey does or how much the staff love them.......the reality is they just can't run quick enough. This is the longest list of them all!!

For many of these, they end up making up the numbers for season after season on outer country tracks. Others end up (as harsh as it may seem) at the knackery whilst others are given away to a good home only to be left forgotten after a few months or a few years when the new owner looses interest in them.

Then there is "MARLEY!" Or to those who don't know "MARLEY" (and there isn't many) there is VIRTUAL BEL. Unfortunately for his lovely group of owners, VIRTUAL BEL was one of the slow ones. No matter what anyone did or tried, the boy just couldn't make it. He was slow. Very slow!

This did not stop him from being the most loved horse in the stables and the most pampered of all horses. What he lacked in ability, he made up for in character and kindness. From the time he came to the stables as a yearling, my head girl Sarah fell in love with him. No matter how slow he proved to be her love for him was unending. Look in the dictionary under the word DEVOTION and you will probably see a picture of Sarah and MARLEY! She even carved both their names in the freshly laid concrete outside his yard. How soppy is that???

Well the time comes when slow horses have to be moved on and we prepared a heap of buckets to collect the tears. Sarah can be a big softy! She had already declared that if the horse was to be sold to race on the outer country tracks, she would buy him herself and keep him in her back yard but she didn't need to worry. "MARLEY" was not sold he has been taken over by the grand daughter of the part owners and will be spoilt rotten for the rest of his life down south.

The new owner is happy. "MARLEY" is happy. Sarah has stopped crying and she is very happy especially since she will receive regular updates on his progress and has visiting rights for life.

See I told you it was a feel good story!!!

YOU HAVE TO LOVE GINGER MEGGS

A couple of pearlers from my favourite comic strip of late.

IN A DEMOCRACY ITS YOUR VOTE THAT COUNTS. IN FEUDALISM ITS YOUR COUNT THAT VOTES!
and
NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU PUSH THE ENVELOPE, IT'LL STILL BE STATIONERY.
or
MINIMALISM IS AN EMPTY ART.

GUYNO BACK FOR NORTHAM CUP

Evergreen stayer and my all round good mate GUYNO steps out in the 1600m Northam Cup on Sunday and I am looking forward to the event. GUYNO hasn't raced since running an unlucky third in the recent Kalgoorlie Cup, however that race was run over a far more suitable distance than Sunday's race.

GUYNO spent a few weeks down at AMELIA PARK after the Kalgoorlie Cup and since he has been back in the stables he has been as bright as a button. The horse who is a real stable favourite for both his ability and his nature, has been keeping my son Dion on his toes at track work of late. The old boy is usually so relaxed and a fool proof ride however he thinks he is a 2yo again and is not letting anyone take him for granted. I might even have to stay awake next time I throw my leg over the old boy when he starts doing bush work or beach work!

Jason Whiting again takes the ride on the old boy on Sunday and I doubt that there will be a horse hitting the line any better than him in the race. I have only had two runners in the Northam Cup over the years and they were back when the race was run over the more genuine Cup distance of 2200m. Both horses won the race and it would be nice to make it three from three with GUYNO on Sunday. If he does happen to get up he will pass the magical million dollar mark in stake earnings. I can feel a head ache coming up!!

We have four runners at Northam on the day and all are capable of running nice races with my first and last runners appearing to be the best.

2YO'S READY TO RUMBLE

Tomorrow we step out four two year olds in the first event of the day and I am very happy with the progress of all of them. Whilst I am not going to the races full of confidence about any of them winning, I am confident that they are all capable of running nice races and will develop into handy winners for the stables over the next few seasons.

We have JUST JESTER, SAXON COAST, HOT SASSO and STATE YOUR CASE all making their race debut and on exposed trial form SAXON COAST and HOT SASSO look like being the best chances. Both youngsters are by first season stallions, SAXON and DUE SASSO and both are more than capable of giving their respective sires a nice kick start to the season. Both babies are unbeaten in trials however I wouldn't underestimate the chances of my other two babies.

JUST JESTER and STATE YOUR CASE have been hitting the line strongly in their trials and both have worked well during the week. There are a couple of smart horses in the race with the placegetters out of the Initial Plate competing and another couple of smart trial winners making their debut. All in all it promises to be an interesting race.

KLASY SPY AT LONG LAST

He has been frustrating! He has been close on a few occasions. Finally at Northam last week KLASY SPY was able to break through for his first win. The horse has promised to deliver for quite a while now and on five occasions he nearly did. The horse has run second at Ascot, Belmont and Northam but it took for him to have his fifteenth start before he was able to finally break through.

The group of mainly first time owners have had a lot of fun with the horse and I am sure that there are more wins in store for him. They have been patient with the horse and have learnt a lot about racing along the way. It is not unusual for a horse that has taken a while to break through for their first win to put a few more wins together fairly quickly. Hopefully that is the case with this horse.

Most of the owners involved with KLASY SPY have been bitten by the racing bug and are now involved with another horse, a 2yo old filly named CHARCOAL ROSE. I can't wait for her to get to the track in November.

I LOVE THIS SIMPLE COUNTRY LOGIC.

YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE THIS FARMER'S OUTLOOK & COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO LIFE .......

While suturing up a cut on the hand of a 75 year old farmer, whose hand had been caught in the gate while working his cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Julia Gillard, and her being our prime minister.

The old farmer said, "Well, ya know, Julia is just a Post Tortoise."

Now not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked,

What's a "Post Tortoise?"

The old farmer said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a Tortoise balanced on top, that's a post Tortoise."

The old farmer saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain. "You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she's up there, she sure as hell isn't goin' anywhere, and you just wonder what kind of dumb bastard put her up there in the first place."

NEW SEASON BABIES SET TO GO

This weekend sees the first of the new season two year olds hit the track for the first time and I for one am very much looking forward to watching the babies step out. Over the past few seasons we haven't had either the quantity or the quality of precocious young horses that we have in years gone by. We have certainly taken care of quantity this season however it is quality that we are looking for. That only comes from sifting through numbers and assessing as early as possible what is likely to make an early runner and what needs time.

This weekend we have a number of young horses nominated however we are only likely to run 2 or 3 of them depending on what gains a start. I know it may sound like I am pushing my own barrow but I can't for the life of me understand why we only have one two year old race every fortnight from October through till January yet we continue to program races at mid week meetings for horses, a lot of which would battle to win a race at Mt Magnet.

Training young horses is completely different to training tough old gallopers which have been around for years. Young horses can be only one more gallop away from shin soreness or general growing pains as well as simply having had enough. Throw into the mix that most youngsters will get some form of upper airway disease during their first preparation, makes it more important that there are races available for them every week. There are 8 races most days of the week around the state for the older horses yet only one race every fortnight for the babies.

Personally I believe that the two year olds create far more interest and excitement than a field of plodders. No disrespect intended towards our older equine friends who have been around 60 or 70 times for 2 or 3 wins but they do have plenty of options available to them for when and where they can race. I don't see race clubs programming a $200,000 or a $1,000,000 race for horses with a 55- 65 rating yet the Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond Stakes are both Gr 1 races with high stakes as is the Karrakatta Plate. Surely that in itself tells us that we should cater more for this age group of horses.


Over the winter months we see time and time again small fields going around for $40 or $50,000 so I don't think the argument that they sometimes end up with small fields in early season two year old races is a strong enough argument not to run them. Every state in Australia has small fields at different times of the year for different reasons. Considering most trainers now have more babies in their stables than ever before and the racing authorities have been told as much I believe the issue needs revisiting. I often wonder why race clubs and our racing authorities in general don't become more proactive instead of sitting on their hands and being reactive when it comes to issues such as these. Then again, Ive been wrong before and will be again but somehow I don't think I am on this issue!!!

PENGUINS

Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica - where do they go? Wonder no more ! ! !

It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life..

The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life.

If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried

The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing:




"Freeze a jolly good fellow"

"Freeze a jolly good fellow."


Then they kick him in the ice hole.




You really didn't believe that I know anything about penguins, did you!

MEET WALTER. YOU WILL KNOW HIM.

ITALIAN LOAN... NO DOUBT ABOUT US DINGS!!!

An Italian walked into a bank in New York City and asked for the loan officer. He told the loan officer that he was going to Italy on business for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000 and that he was not a depositor of the bank.

The bank officer told him that the bank would need some form of security for the loan, so the Italian handed over the keys to a new Ferrari. The car was parked on the street in front of the bank.

The Italian produced the title and everything checked out. The loan officer agreed to hold the car as collateral for the loan and apologized for having to charge 12% interest.

Later, the bank's president and its officers all enjoyed a good laugh at the Italian for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral for a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drove the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage and parked it.

Two weeks later, the Italian returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest of $23.07. The loan officer said, 'Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?'

The Italian replied: 'Minga! Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $23.07 and expect it to be there when I return?'

Ah, the Italians... Bada Bing!

WE ARE BACK UP AND RUNNING.

Sorry folks! (Again !!!) I know it appears as though I have been very slack with my loading of news articles etc however there has been a legitimate excuse this time. It hasn't been laziness but site malfunction. After spending a bit of time with one of those computer gurus today it appears as though we may be back up and running. I have to admit that over the past few months while I have failed to refresh the news page, there actually hasn't been a hell of a lot to report.

We have all been working our butts off here with little to show for it in the way of results. I can't remember our last Saturday runner but that is all about to change over the next few months. What I can say is that we have taken on board a whole heap of young horses and I am looking forward to the 2yo races starting up this weekend.

Young horses being what they are, I do expect that we will have a bit of fun but the real results will come later in the season and into the next few seasons.I will do my best to keep you up to date with new horses that are about to hit the track and hopefully there may be a winner or two amongst them.

Meanwhile I have an array of emails sent to me by some real sicko mates as well as my daughter (she could be the worst one of the lot) which I will try my best to load up. You should get a laugh out of most of them. The video below brought a smile to my face!!

ELDERLY LOVE

BOB


Bob works hard at the office but spends two nights each week bowling, and plays golf every Saturday.


His wife thinks he's pushing himself too hard, so for his birthday she takes him to a local strip club.


The doorman at the club greets them and says, 'Hey, Bob! How ya doin?'

His wife is puzzled and asks if he's been to this club before.

'Oh no,' says Bob. 'He's in my bowling league.

When they are seated, a waitress asks Bob if he'd like his usual and brings over a Budweiser.

His wife is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and says, 'How did she know that you drink Budweiser?'

'I recognize her, she's the waitress from the golf club.

I always have a Bud at the end of the 1st nine, honey.'

A stripper then comes over to their table, throws her arms around Bob, starts to rub herself all over him and says,


'Hi Bobby. Want your usual table dance, big boy?'

Bob's wife, now furious, grabs her purse and storms out of the club.

Bob follows and spots her getting into a cab.

Before she can slam the door, he jumps in beside her.

Bob tries desperately to explain how the stripper must have mistaken him for someone else, but his wife is having none of it .

She is screaming at him at the top of her lungs, calling him every 4 letter word in the book..

The cabby turns around and says,

'Geez Bob, you picked up a real bitch this time.'


BOB's funeral will be on Saturday.