Champagne Haze - Tantamount to Cheating!!

You know, this does not take away from the fact that the horse was sent to the races undercooked, and COULD NOT WIN! This kind of action is, IMO, an act of negligence and, ultimately, fraud on the racing public. Champagne Haze should not have been a runner.

As I commented initially, had this kind of thing happened in the UK, The Jockey Club would have acted in the most draconian way, and the trainer would have been severely dealt with. They do not allow it, and neither should we.

It is high time that someone was made an example of, so that others think twice before sending horses "out for a run" I still maintain that there is a rule against this action which, in this case, should be enforced.

There are circumstances where horses do need runs, but generally, they will be priced accordingly, 25/1 and up, Not ODDS ON. Accordingly, common sense prevails and punters are not prejudiced. Sometimes they do pop up on us, though, but that is the nature of the game & why we enjoy it.

Champagne Haze, after beating Rabada, became a Public Horse, and therefor should be expected to win, or at least put up a bold showing for his fans. Excuses like the ones proferred by the Alexanders & Fortune are unacceptable.

I'm not sure if I understand rules anymore - There is a clear rule that says: "62.1 Every HORSE shall be run and shall be allowed to run to the best of its ability and on its
merits."

Now you CANNOT run to the best of your ability if you are not fit or ridden from behind which is not the way this horse runs when he wins. There was no attempt by Fortune to get him handy ever but rather leave him behind for what reason? It is astonishing that giving PREP runs is the accepted norm now as a look atr the STIPES report shows...NOTHING. Not vet asked to examine the 5-10 - No questions asked to the stable as to the half-baked effort . Just plain NOTHING.
So we all sit and say sour grapes - I had such a small interest that not worth the effort really BUT if we allow PREP runs for Feature races are we so NAIVE to think that lesser horses are not being prepped in exactly the same manner for MR Handicaps etc? Don't be fooled and think that because a horse has limited ability the same thing does not apply. Here was the perfect chance to at least ASK the question and act but nothing done.

“We go out trying to win with all of our runners. This run was clearly a prep for his classic plans. The fact that he didn’t run up to scratch because of a possible combination of fitness, track conditions or the way the race turned out, is highly regrettable,” he said in conclusion.

This statement is from the stable and how the NHRA cannot or will not act on that is beyond me because basically they changed tactics and did not send out a fit horse. What more do the NHRA need? How would any punter know if the horse was fit or not? For get the fact that there is a big race coming up - THE RULES DO NOT CATER FOR PREP RUNS.

“We go out trying to win with all of our runners. This run was clearly a prep for his classic plans. The fact that he didn’t run up to scratch because of a possible combination of fitness, track conditions or the way the race turned out, is highly regrettable,” he said in conclusion.

Now if we substitute classic plans for a MR64 and this horse for a 6yr old then we would all be a little worried but when it's done for a "big race" then is above board and accepted practice. No apply the rules as they are written or why bother having stipes at all.

The real issue here is far greater. I received 14 tweet messages asking me what was going on not one of the tweets was from a SA based punter.

I also got 3 text messages pointing me in the direction of the race incase i had not watched it.

the amount of emails i get into the studio asking about

delays
breaking through stalls
poor rides

is astounding.....

Karma is a bitch..... :sick:

Dave Scott wrote: Statement has been issued by the stable it has been posted on Sporting Post

In which they admit to everything we are alleging in so many words....

They is also a guy taking their part saying if he was an owner he wouldnt care about these handicaps only big races. Thus the stable were correct in the prep.

Prep run or not. Shouldve been in top 3 atleast

easy wrote: The real issue here is far greater. I received 14 tweet messages asking me what was going on not one of the tweets was from a SA based punter.

I also got 3 text messages pointing me in the direction of the race incase i had not watched it.

the amount of emails i get into the studio asking about

delays
breaking through stalls
poor rides

is astounding.....

So our racing IS getting shocking publicity.............I keep expressing that concern but nobody gives a shit!

TBH I am less concerned about the result(It was a MR handicap after all) than I am about the way the authorities have handled the situation ...................if they had any idea about their role they would have asked questions ........................surely that is standard when a 1/3 shot runs unplaced ................perception is everything in an industry that is as mistrusted as racing.

rob faux wrote:

easy wrote: The real issue here is far greater. I received 14 tweet messages asking me what was going on not one of the tweets was from a SA based punter.

I also got 3 text messages pointing me in the direction of the race incase i had not watched it.

the amount of emails i get into the studio asking about

delays
breaking through stalls
poor rides

is astounding.....

So our racing IS getting shocking publicity.............I keep expressing that concern but nobody gives a shit!

TBH I am less concerned about the result(It was a MR handicap after all) than I am about the way the authorities have handled the situation ...................if they had any idea about their role they would have asked questions ........................surely that is standard when a 1/3 shot runs unplaced ................perception is everything in an industry that is as mistrusted as racing.

I was in Ladbrokes on Saturday and their studio guy says " the starters are having a shocker at Kenilworth, and it's even worse at Turffontein "

ShezaPunter wrote: They is also a guy taking their part saying if he was an owner he wouldnt care about these handicaps only big races. Thus the stable were correct in the prep.

Prep run or not. Shouldve been in top 3 atleast

To the 30 or so members of the racing community in SA it's acceptable, to the 1000's of punters that keep the game going it's robbery

Rob

Sadly im not making it up. Sa racing has veey little cred with UK punters.

Some of it is not understanding rules : like the overturned result in the baby race last week... that kind of stuff i do explain

But the daily bollocks of

False starts
Shocking overounds
Loose horses
Small fields and odds ons getting stuffed

This gets lots and lots if airtime and opinion

easy wrote: Rob

Sadly im not making it up. Sa racing has veey little cred with UK punters.

Some of it is not understanding rules : like the overturned result in the baby race last week... that kind of stuff i do explain

But the daily bollocks of

False starts
Shocking overounds
Loose horses


Small fields and odds ons getting stuffed


UK worse than SA on this one....