Clairwood - Ag man what a shame..

oscar Wrote:

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> The Vaal has to be the worst place to race in
> SA..its far, the tracks are poor, the facilities
> are poor and the racing is weak...they stick it
> out because to recreate that poor facility would
> cost Billions in and around Jhb..

for the sandton boy i sup pose you have the point oscar i ask you one question show me the better natural training facility in joburg

harry hotspur Wrote:

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> to follow that up why a year ago was there such an
> uproar with regards to the small fields at
> durbanville and the draws had to be done after
> trainers accepted and still to this day trainers
> scratch if they get a bad draw even if they get a
> 12 day suspension?

HH
Clairwood, Kenilworth (summer course) and Durbanville all have the same 600M run in and the Kenilworth Winter or "old course" has only a 450m run in...

Flash Harry Wrote:

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> oscar Wrote:
>

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>

---

> > The Vaal has to be the worst place to race in
> > SA..its far, the tracks are poor, the
> facilities
> > are poor and the racing is weak...they stick it
> > out because to recreate that poor facility
> would
> > cost Billions in and around Jhb..
>
> for the sandton boy i sup pose you have the point
> oscar i ask you one question show me the better
> natural training facility in joburg


lovely place to train a horse

that is my point justin i spend many mornings with johan on the back tracks miles and miles of natural sand tracks. randjes and turffontein dont come close

oscar Wrote:

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> The Vaal has to be the worst place to race in
> SA..its far, the tracks are poor, the facilities
> are poor and the racing is weak...they stick it
> out because to recreate that poor facility would
> cost Billions in and around Jhb..the guys that run
> racing just go about doing their jobs 9am to
> 5pm..who can blame them for not caring..its the
> directors that control the RA Trust money
> shareholding in racing that need to answer the
> questions as regards tracks..imo GC are just
> following the lead set up in Jhb..selling off the
> better track..surely to goodness Scottsville
> should go..trainers hate it and it is not good for
> horses legs

Definitely better than what Gauteng offers.
Scottsville has one of the most demanding straights in SA (esp for young horses).
Riding instructions differ from course to course and has to be precise.
It it obvious, mediocre trainers and jockeys will hate the course because their horses will be "shown up".

The course might not be level as a "builders level", but I have not heard of a single TOP trainer having said that they hated it. Certainly not in an interview.

Anyway, how boring it would be if they used a "dumpy level" on all courses.

As others on the forum have said , Greyville and Scottsville are specialist courses.
We have to live with it.

Remember the old Commentator's tower at Clairwood racecourse? And how before the advent of computerisation all eyes were focussed on the tower when the man up there put the numbers in the frame after the finish of each race.

In a close finish it used to be an agonising wait before the numbers were put in the frame. No on course TV and slow motion replays those days. You wait for the man to emerge and he reveals a number [wooden board] which he displays with both hands before it slots into a wooden frame.

just heard deez dayanand congratulate the staff at clairwood because the horses are winning from the inside middle and outside draws up the straight...lol

mikesack Wrote:

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> Remember the old Commentator's tower at Clairwood
> racecourse? And how before the advent of
> computerisation all eyes were focussed on the
> tower when the man up there put the numbers in the
> frame after the finish of each race.
>
> In a close finish it used to be an agonising wait
> before the numbers were put in the frame. No on
> course TV and slow motion replays those days. You
> wait for the man to emerge and he reveals a number
> which he displays with both hands before it slots
> into a wooden frame.


.................and the long tote building behind the stands with the tote indicator board on the roof ......... each number was represented by a big "thermometer" which gave you a very rough estimate of what each horse was paying .........white for a place and red for the win!

HH, 2 of the races had 10/11 runners so all were down the middle and the other race had 18 and the 1st 8 past the post were drawn 5 14 11 9 17 10 18 1. 3 in the 1st half of the field ran in the 1st 8. I think the winner could have won from the road on the inside he had so much in hand!

there will be many tears when this course close mark my word..... new market and germiston the crying still happen today

Let's do the maths.....we lost Gosforth Park, Bloemfontien and Newmarket and gained an inferior sand surface at the Vaal and an unfair inside grass track at Turffies....it don't add up too well....and this was done to save and improve racing.....no use crying over spilled milk we still have the old cow....and when she cannot be milked any more we will buy milk from France Canada Australia USA and the UK.....

@ flash Harry..natural course?