Vaal, Tuesday 14 December

mr hawaii wrote:

pools looking very bad again

And this is with the bookies putting money into the pools if we chose that option with them.
I think the punters are just giving up on our racing and have had enough of this.

The bright side is that the tote now have to do something to increase the pools.
Hopefully new bets and incentives and better service for the punters.
Glad the punters are now talking with their money,only way to get through to them.

mr hawaii wrote:

the horses in the second seemed like thy were running in soup...very heavy and perhaps some horses are short of work through rain

My first thought after watching that race was also wow that was a motley bunch. But maybe the going as you've said. They looked like they were all running on the spot.

At least De Kock's assistant warned us about Sing Girl Sing.

Leopenaws wrote:

I like the look of EARL in race 4. With a drop in MR, 200m shorter, a more positive draw and 42 days of some push-ups and stationary bicycle at home, he should be tip-top for this one. @7/1 makes for a sweet EW? Down to 7 runners though.

Great call, Leopenaws!!

Hope you made a buck Grey!

About the pools. Kak racing,kak service not one of the favs ran even 2nd in the 1st 4 races what does anyone expect. Couple that with our kak economy and that's what you get.

And only one handicap race in the first four races,the rest where maiden plates.

Niko loves to have a go at work riders , the man should stop punting

durbs wrote:

And only one handicap race in the first four races,the rest where maiden plates.

Durbs wait.

Don't say that, it doesn't suit the narrative that it's just the handicaps in which all horses in the race have a chance, regardless of form.

You should know that if it's a handicap, you need to include the entire field, because even if the dog who ran a combined 250 lengths behind in the last few starts over C/D wins the race, that one run 13 starts ago in which it earned its now plummeting rating is the run that you absolutely should've noticed in the form guide for this race.
It's simple Durbs. Don't now begin to talk about maiden plates.

Anyone else like Eastern Belle at 20's or am i just wishful thinking on this one?

For what its worth Thor, I haven't lost a Maiden race in almost six years - I haven't played a single one. Over the years the UK hcp racing has been vastly more fruitful and reliable than SA Maidens, so I make up the numbers there. There are just too many variables for me in Maidens, especially when there are new runners.

I think they intrinsically work differently than handicaps too, these horses run at the same weight, they have never won, they are youngsters and judging their improvement is difficult when they don't have any sort of collateral measure to make. One Maiden race could really have been rubbish when a horse ran close and that makes it look better than it is. In Handicaps I just feel reading form is more accurate according to the true merit scale.