THE AIRLINE PILOT

Now I have to own up to being a big fan of Dean Martin and I can remember his TV shows back when I was growing up. In a way they were the forerunner for shows like Hey Hey etc but I don't think anyone ever got close to Deano! Check this out when you have a spare couple of minutes. (Thank you to my good mate Pat Birmingham.)

HOW TO LICK A BOWL CLEAN.... PUPPY STYLE

I must be a sucker for a good puppy yarn or photo but these photo's sent through to me by my daughter this morning take the cake.... Literally!!!!

LADY XAAR ALL THE WAY

LADY XAAR hits the line strongly with Daniel Staeck on board.

Lightly raced 3yo filly LADY XAAR made an impressive and successful return to the race track today in what I hope to be the first of many wins for her. The filly was racing first up after a spell and finally had some luck with the barrier draw after drawing bad barriers all of her last preparation. Daniel Staeck who rode the filly quickly had her in front controlling the tempo and she was able to hold on for a good win.

The filly was withdrawn from the 2008 yearling sales by her owner/breeder Peter Walsh when problems were revealed on the pre sale x-rays. The filly was found to have ring bone in both front pasterns and we didn't expect her to have any sort of race future. I broke the filly in at the farm later that year and we figured we may as well see how long she stands up and if she has any ability.

True to the norm with horses with ring bone disease, the filly continued to go sore even though she showed heaps of ability. After her last preparation Peter was happy to move her on however we talked it over and decided to give her one more preparation with most of the work done at Amelia Park. The training facilities there are superb and I was confident that if we could get her fit without a lot of galloping, we may be able to get her to stand up to a full preparation.

This is exactly what we did and with the benefit of plenty of swimming and walking as well as working on a softer surface, the filly has made it to the races on very little galloping. Providing we can keep her sound I believe she has the ability to win a lot better races than she won today.

MORE OF THE SAME FOR STRIKEN

It's the same horse, the same very happy Shirley Piper leading him in but a different jockey on board with Paul Harvey up this time.




Paul Harvey sits up for the photo after steering the much improved STRIKEN to the line for a very easy win over 1400m last Saturday. That win made it three from his last four attempts.

IN STRIKEN FORM

What can I say about STRIKEN that hasn't been said before? The horse made his race debut nearly four years ago and in that time he has gone to the races on 46 occasions. He has started favourite on a number of occasions only to let his supporters down but he always managed to run a good enough race to convince the poor punter to give him another go. He managed to do that again and again and again.

As far as his owners, jockey's and trainer were concerned, the horse was frustrating but consistent and would generally manage to put a dollar or two into every one's bank account. He soon became the brunt of many jokes and the scourge of many punters. It got to the point where his owners considered sending him to Kalgoorlie to continue his racing. Had it not been for a period of a few weeks when he became a barrier rogue for no apparent reason, I am sure he would have been in Kalgoorlie right now. It was his bad barrier manners at the time which saved him as we all felt he was to much of a risk to send up there!

Fast forward eight months and we have a reborn horse, racing with a determination and attitude which we rarely see today. So much so that the horse has gone from having a winning strike rate of one in fourteen to one in seven and a half. It is very rare for a horse to improve their winning strike rate as they get older, certainly when they get past four years of age, however what this horse has done is really quite amazing. Along the way he has also managed to pocket around $310,000 for his connections. Not bad for a "bridesmaid" and for a horse who was labelled in yesterdays press as the "knock of the day" by the form analyst.

I have absolutely no idea what has brought about the turn around with the horse except maybe he was a late maturer. Either way the horse looks like maintaining his place in the stables for a while yet and there are no immediate plans for him to visit Kalgoorlie.In the meantime I have to say that over the years I have been asked on more than one occasion whether horses know if they have won a race? One visit to inspect STRIKEN at the stables will tell you that he certainly does. I have never seen a more confident and happy looking animal in the stables. He has developed a personality and an air of superiority about himself which I hope he can maintain for another season or more. Go "Lex!"

A STRESSFUL DAY AT AMELIA PARK

I know that to some owners, their young horses are as close and as important as their children. And so they should be. So for those of you who can't sleep at night wondering whether your precious little babies are being well cared for whilst out in the cold weather down at AMELIA PARK, I thought I would let you have a look at just how tough and stressful, life is for the little darlings down at "Horse Heaven." Peter Walsh recently had the staff drop a few truck-loads of clean sand into each paddock so that the "kids" had somewhere to lay down.

The wonders of modern technology!!! Better still the wonders of me being able to deal with modern technology. I took these photo's on my simple little Nokia flip top phone which does not have email access. My office manager Jacqui then suggested that I send them to someone who had email access on their phone and ask them to email them back to me. All that done I was then able to save the email images and load them onto this page. Not bad going I reckon for a mug horse trainer. There may be some hope for me yet in this wonderful age of modern technology!!!!!

ITALIAN CLOCK.... THATS RIGHT. CLOCK.

This is the way the boys tell the time back in the old country!!!

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 cups of coffee

Hi folks. An Oldie but a goodie that I stumbled over tonight. You know how I just love all the deep and meaningful stuff. Try this one.

P.S. Dedicated to my good friend Sharon.


The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 cups of coffee
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when
24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the
2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a
very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with
golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them
into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into
the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if
the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into
the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked
once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the
empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want
you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the

important things--your family, your children, your health, your
friends and your favourite passions---and if everything else was lost and only
they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job,
your house and your car.
The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put
the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles
or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time
and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things
that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical
checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There
will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the ! golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the
coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may
seem,there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
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GUYNO RESUMES WORK

My favourite old race horse and mate GUYNO has resumed work at Amelia Park and I can't wait for him to get back to the stables. Even though he hasn't won a race for a fair while, there is something special about having the old boy around.

He may be getting older and the best may be behind him however I have no doubt he could still dish it up to some of these so called "Cups" horses if he met them at a reasonable weight or on a more level playing field. In fact if I can get him back carrying some sensible weights again I reckon he is capable of winning me another Perth Cup.

In the meantime we will simply let him plod around down at the farm for a couple of months to get him out of the cold wet winter paddocks and into a warm comfortable stable. There are no set plans for him as yet however a tilt at the Cups at Kalgoorlie would not be beyond him if we can get in on the right weight.

Don't disregard him if we go that way!

QUIET WEEKEND COMING UP

I look like having time to catch up on some office work and household chores this week end with the stable not having a runner at the Belmont meeting. I actually enjoy a Saturday away from the races as it gives me a chance to see how the rest of the world lives while keeping tabs on the eastern states and local races on Sky! I am sure that someone will come up with a bright idea of something to do so I can't see myself sitting around idle for very long.

While we don't have a runner this weekend we have been busy turning over some new stock and we certainly look like being busy again fairly soon. There have been a number of horses who simply haven't measured up over the past few months but we will be taking a few new two year olds to the trials on Monday and I reckon a couple of them go better than average. A couple of them will head back to the paddock after their trial as they are still a bit immature and need a bit more time but most of them will head to the races over the next few weeks if they stay sound.

Two year olds trialling on Monday include RIC'S PEARL, SENTOFF, DOMERIN, PRIMA VISTA, LUBRICHI, ASHORE and PEARLS OF WISDOM.

While I am always keen to try out my two year olds there are a few older horses which will be ready to hit the track soon including BASKERVILLE STREET, FOUND AND KEPT, FARIDAT, ASCOLI, TERADA, ROSE OF MAY and AYTOZED along with a couple of late developing two year olds DONNAIOLO and COUNTESS PANETTI.

All makes for a lot of work and hopefully a lot of fun over the next few months.

LIFE IN THE OLD BOY YET!!

What a wonderful old horse STRIKEN has developed into over the years. While carrying a bridesmaid tag for so long the six year old has returned to the track this campaign in superb form and I don't think he is done with yet. STRIKEN has won two of his past three starts and ran a mighty second at his other run. He seems to be enjoying his racing and has given everyone at the stables a big thrill. He was a bit of an old rogue to ride in his younger days however Jason Whiting who rides him in most of his track work seems to enjoy the challenge and looks forward to the old boys antics every morning now. With nearly $270,000 in earnings to his name, it is no wonder he thinks he is something special around the stables these days!!!




STRIKEN stretches his neck and every muscle in his body to stick his nose in front on the line at Belmont on Saturday.



Part owner Shirley Piper gets a big thrill out of the lead back to scale of Striken on Saturday.