Macca

And the other 3 ...

6 replays from the weekend. Thanks to 'Ace' via youtube. I make a point of liking his uploads Anyway, here's the first 3 ...

Nakeeta Jane is duly Blackbooked (via racenet) Yesterday I was cursing it ... but such is the nature of racing that no grudges can be held in the interests of the folding stuff GTB. Mind you, if Miss Fabulass holds on for 3rd the trifecta would have only paid 200-300 with Oohood winning. All of the first 4 across the line are probably worth following. Especially the Frankel filly (Miss Fabulass) The NRL GF was a fizzer ... defense wins Championships hey! Roosters were deserved victors.

My tips are Philadelphia, Seattle, Chiefs Paging @Dr. Gonzo @titan_uranus @DeeSpencer Remembering we're looking for road winners only ... the games are listed in an above post. Good luck! From here on in every odd numbered week carries bonus points - week 5 carries 2 points for instance. We get another classic match-up with SNF this week and the MNF game is a good match-up too.

Yep, they might find 1 run for Grunt as the Cox Plate is 4 weeks away. And I just remembered that there are a couple of feature races at Sha Tin tomorrow DZ - the 2 main races tomorrow have got a number of top-raters running around so I'll probably have a couple of 'multiple' F4's looking for a decent dividend. I usually work on just the 2 choices for the win unless there is a 3rd that jumps out at me. Boxing in a F4 is too pricey. Here are the 2 features (the racing from Sha Tin will be on the free-to-air channel as well) The National Day Cup 1000m Group 3 The Celebration Cup 1400m Group 3

I watched Grunt from the barrier and it didn't seem to have to work hard to get to the lead but It's hard to know for sure without times & sectionals. They run up the hill a bit at Caulfield in the distance events so it could be that? Is its next run in the Cox Plate? There's a few other races at Caulfield or even next week at Flemington that it could run in but Mick Price might want to freshen the horse up ... 2nd in the Cox Plate picks up a cool $1Million. Ended up even for the day after all that - went awfully close with 4 or 5 trifectas. Anyway, we class breaking even as a win don't we DZ! ha ha

Grunt run out of the Underwood and Blair House never really threatened although it did run 4th. Homesman won well though with Tosen Basil running on well. Humidor was honest as usual in 3rd. The first 2 are worth following up on although Homesman always seems to get into the finish so you therefore get a run for your money. Grunt just doesn't like Caulfield but is fabulous at Flemington.

Was hoping 'Thrillster' could catch the winner for a better dividend in the tri but Smart Melody too good ... Thrillster was drawn in the 17 gate and was wide throughout but still ran on well. They ran a second quicker than the Guineas prelude and 'El Dorado Dreaming' ran on well again. A couple to watch - especially 2nd & 3rd.

Terrific win by Native Soldier ... reckon it's a serious horse. Another Weir runner of course! Ideal lead-up for the Guineas for the horse - I don't believe the extra 200m will be a big problem but the Guineas will have a crack field engaged. Long Leaf ran on ok but the winner streeted them.

I've included 'Long Leaf' in a trifecta at good each-way odds ... a Hayes horse too.

Had a nibble at Weir's horse 'Kemono' and of course it comes 2nd ... at least PL was eliminated @Dee Zephyr There should be an unwritten law that PL always has a payoff!

Had to step out DZ but just watched Grey Shadow salute on replay ... another one for Weir! Being a trifecta punter means I can include the Weir runners when it suits. Missed on the 2nd horse this time but there's a bit to play-out today. Decent field in the next and then we've got the Guineas Prelude's and then the Underwood.

Good work again DZ ... it's good to have an early collect or 2. I was on Cliff's Edge to win and got an ok percentage of the trifecta in the Bondeiger race. But that's the nature of going for a lesser percentage in boxing 5 in a trifecta. Lots of small wins with the odd decent collect. Paid ok with the favourite missing though (which I also had included - Prized Icon) As for DK Weir ... he's possibly going to pick up 1 or 2 more winners today.

Nice return to form by Cliff's Edge ... reasonably good odds for that class of field too. Like's it longer obviously so one to follow. Next up is the $1Million Caulfield Stakes in 2 weeks over the 2000m.

The best value is often with the very good team vs very good team at home ... in any sport really. The good teams tend to do well away from home against average or poor opposition. So I felt more comfortable with the Juve pick rather than the Gunners pick. Plus, Juve with Ronaldo are way more potent now in terms of goal-scoring opportunities. Everton was a good pick DZ ... they are a decent team talent-wise and will probably finish top 8 again as they normally do.

If one was to look at a block of picks over a long period of time in that 10-20 range you'll find that a large percentage of those picks become busts. And most if not all of the top 20 picks are standout juniors. The later picks is where Taylor can also show his real worth as a recruiter (over time) Or, he may have a rare gift. But with recruiting, that rare gift is often a bit of a ruse ... it comes and goes. (Wells at Geelong & Brisbane's Scott Clayton) With Taylor, it's so far, so good! We're riding a good horse but we haven't rounded the home turn yet. The list is by no means complete. We need 20 top players ... not 22 best 22 players.

Yes, from adversity comes opportunity. Turning a negative into a positive and all that. We can look at it another way ... we are selling an asset that creates collateral which can be spent on other investments.

In a number of overseas sports 1-2 years to go in a contract doesn't deter a player (or the players manager) from shopping themselves around (privately)and nor does 1-2 years deter another club from approaching that player. It is why certain top players often end up being tied up to long term deals ... those long term deals not only satisfies the player involved but satisfies the club as they then are placed in a position of strength. Once the length of a contract extends beyond 2 years the thinking changes. We're really only talking about the top players here. For instance, there is a chance that Jesse's management was approached quite some time ago. Same for Scully etc. A long term deal keeps the wolves at the door. To be honest, I was more than a bit concerned when Jesse only re-signed a short-term deal back when his contract was extended. And I suspect a number of others felt the same way.

West Ham have rallied! 12th! Always nice to get a big scalp too ... Man Utd have got some issues though. Pogba taken off in the 70th minute.

Well done DZ ... I'm looking forward to tomorrow as well. Lots of stories from today though ... Shoals & Santa Ana Lane for the 'Everest' - lookout! 'In Her Time' a big chance too. Nature Strip out of the Everest ... 2 slots open now with 2 weeks to go - Viddora? Home of the Brave? Chautauqua officially retired - hope we get to see the horse again ... Clerk-of-the-Course? Hartnell was brilliant carrying top weight in the Epsom Ace High back in business - Wadda will be happy. Oohood finally breaks through in startling fashion - it's a good horse. The 'Metropolitan' really was a bit of a lottery but 'Patrick Erin' might be able to go on to bigger things Collingwood lost.

Market forces value the picks so even if the picks are over-valued as I believe they are, arguing for more is a futile exercise as market forces rules. Real estate works in a similar way. In a way, it ends up being fair-for-all as there is a consistent view that ends up reflecting the market forces. An example of that is that if Lever & Hogan end up both being very good players for their entire career's then we've neither won nor lost when equating both deals together. But from my point of view I want more for Hogan regardless of what the market forces dictated. With Lever, I was happy with that as I believed we paid unders (based on my view that picks are overvalued) I suppose one deal evens out the other? I reckon the landscape will change in 5 - 10 years when the true value of picks is better evaluated. 'Busts' cannot continue to be ignored as if they shouldn't happen.

I included Oohood but just missed the trifecta DZ - had 4th but not 3rd. Can not complain at all though because I have had a good day ... just snagged another trifecta with Hartnell winning the Epsom in fine style. Track record again for Hartnell - broke 01:33 for the mile but the track is playing fast. But Hartnell was carrying top weight so it was a magnificent performance.

Oohood finally breaks through and wins the Flight Stakes ... now set for the Caulfield Guineas to take on the colts. With $2Million up for grabs why not? Apparently there is a GF going on elsewhere ... care factor zero ?

Well I put my money where my mouth was with Santa Ana Lane & Shoals and picked up the First4 - you little ripper! These small fields can still deliver decent dividends. Less than a 3rd of the dividend but I will take that any day! Plus we got Shoals up for the place with another best bet saluting. That result will throw a cat amongst the pigeons with regards to the Everest - Santa Ana Lane smashed the track record and had the rails all the way ... Shoals might have been the run of the race though.