Racing: Reflections on another weekend of heavy tracks

Jockey Isaac Lupton (left) and trainer Mark Oulaghan after the Grand National. Photo / Otago Daily Times

The final day of the Grand National Carnival and the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa were the highlights of another wet day at the track on Saturday.

BACK THESE

Excuse Me Madam: Taken on in front, but fought back to be narrowly beaten. That bravery will be rewarded.

Show Up: Tried hard to pick them up, but the winner got too big a break. Should be improved by the run and watch for something on a bit better surface.

All In Tempo: One of those affected when Irish Colleen and Who Knows crashed in the big race. Can find form quickly.

Lovingthelimelight: Found the line strongly to finish third.

Yangming: Got back and wide, almost certainly not the place to be at Te Rapa this time. Stuck grimly to his task and could be back on track next start.

SACK THESE

Conchord: Might have been unlucky on the first day at Riccarton, but did nothing on Saturday. Starting to appear a shadow of the real Conchord.

PULLED OUT

The rain was responsible for Katie Lee being withdrawn from the Foxbridge Plate and if the track is wet at Hastings on Saturday week she's also likely to be missing from the Mudgway Stakes. Sydney might be the option.

CLOBBERED

Stupendous was the worst affected by the two fallers in the Foxbridge Plate and also checked were All In Tempo, St Germaine, Run Like Al, Beautiful Girl, Vonusti and Lion Tamer.

RIDE OF THE DAY

Difficult call in the conditions at both meetings, but Isaac Lupton did everything exactly right to win the Grand National on Counter Punch. Honourable mention to Opie Bosson's ride on Nicole Amy at Te Rapa on a horse with little 1600m experience.

THE GOSS

Pressure mounting in a call for NZ Racing Board action on critical matters.

BE AWARE

The Foxbridge Plate fall by Leith Innes and Sam Collett is a sage reminder that jockeys are the only participants in horse racing who are required to put their lives on the line.

It's an occupation that can be extremely rewarding emotionally and financially, but it's dangerous.

Police have a dangerous job these days. Much is made of it when one is killed in the line of duty and rightfully so. More jockeys are killed or badly injured than police and there's far fewer of them.

And then you've got the likes of tetraplegic Tony Williams, parked in a wheelchair for more than 2 decades after an horrific Rotorua race crash.

Remember that the next time you feel like bitching when jockeys call off a race meeting because they consider a surface to be dangerous.

MAD IF YOU DON'T

The Avondale Jockey Club would be crazy if it didn't come to the party with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and the Auckland Racing Club.

The ARC has just announced it will pick up the running, for this season only, of the Avondale Cup, Avondale Guineas and Concorde as a result of Avondale declaring it will not race at all this next 12 months.

NZTR and the ARC want to retain the original race names, but say they will not do that without Avondale's approval.