Cape Boys cleaning up in Durban

Hi Guys, the name is Craig, Mr Eudey was my Father. I even let Rowdy call me Craig! I think WinZip has forgotten (or has a very short memory) that someone like Alistair Gordon might not have a champion at the moment but when he had the likes of Scarlet Lady, Extra Cover, Brea Rabbit,Mauritzfontein etc other trainers could not beat them(or very seldom) What has he forgotten how to train since then?:X

Craig Eudey Wrote:

---

> Hi Guys, the name is Craig, Mr Eudey was my
> Father. I even let Rowdy call me Craig! I think
> WinZip has forgotten (or has a very short memory)
> that someone like Alistair Gordon might not have a
> champion at the moment but when he had the likes
> of Scarlet Lady, Extra Cover, Brea
> Rabbit,Mauritzfontein etc other trainers could not
> beat them(or very seldom) What has he forgotten
> how to train since then?:X


Don`t think this young man can remember the excellent Natal trainers of years gone by. Names like Fred Rickaby,David Payne,Reg Passmore to name but a few come to mind.

Some of the reasons why the so-called 'Cape boys' have little or no reason to respond to this thread :

We have better things to do on a public holiday than debate the strength (or lack thereof) of Durban based trainers. It's a silly argument. But if you insist then go to the records and examine all the Grade 1 races from whatever period you like as long as it is over any 10 year term. (I use Grade 1 only because that grade represents the pinnacle of performance).

Without wishing to draw attention to who is top let's rather focus on which centre is VERY poorly represented. Yip - it's good old Durban.

It wasn't always so. Back in the 1970's, when they DID have a number of really good trainers ( Herman Brown snr., David Payne, Fred Rickaby, Syd Laird etc.,) they RULED. They came down in force for the Cape season and cleaned up. They also raided Jhb consistently and successfully.

This trend was only really reversed from the 80's onwards when Millard sprang to prominence. Others were quick to follow.

Fact is - Durban trainers (with the notable exception of Dennis Drier) have hardly set any stages alight CONSISTENTLY for 30+ years at Grade 1 level. And that's the real issue - CONSISTENCY. One is almost forced to draw the conclusion that there must be something fundamentally wrong with Durban racing as it is a statistical impossibility to perform, on average, so moderately for such a long time. Reason? Buying horses is as much luck as it is science so a major centre has to, on average, acquire its fair share of top horses even if it does not necessarily possess top spending power; largely because paying big prices is no guarantee of getting a good horse and also because a multitude of top horses have historically been unwanted or acquired for bargain basement prices.


Note to Garth - Ramsden was successful LONG before Jooste ever placed horses with him. I am open to correction but I think he might have even been Cape Champion before the acquisition of Jooste horses.

Thank God I was not holding my breath WinZip. Not a peep on this thread or a pm to me with your name. (td)

Craig, if these stats are true, what would be causing the difference ?
Cant believe the breeders,jocks,trainers are any different in the centers.
Or is it just bad luck, buying power,training facilities ?

Neigh, off hand I can think of about 8 group 1's won by Natal trainers so far this season but would need to check into it properly. If you look at history, racing seems to have had cycles where one region seems stronger than another and it changes. The Cape studs are in general bigger than most other studs around the country and many of their horses that they do not sell or want to retain for stud possibly are then raced with Cape trainers as they can go and watch their horses run. Not all by any means but mostly. Also the top fillies that they do want back for stud are raced with or leased to the Trainers who have supported them and bought their expensive yearlings and supported the stud which is natural so buying power gets you more horses of good quality and it is like a circle. Not complaining but that is life in racing and how it works. I am sure if I spent a million plus at one of the Cape studs I would probably get a nice filly to race for them or that I could lease. I wish I had that million or 20 to spend like some have!

I believe the track conditions (training) in CPT help to develop the better juveniles into becoming graded race winners later.
However those same tracks cause a lot of problems later for older horses. (could be a reason for inconsistent form in CPT horses later in their careers).
These top horses then seem to perform out of their skin on the Natal surfaces.
Craig, I dont know if my reasoning is correct and Im sure there are many other influences (dont have the stats to back it up) that effect these horses like climate, enviromental change etc.
Food for thought !?

Neigh, there are many factors such as the Cape in summer is one of the most beautiful places to be in for both horse and human. Horses that have been there for the season come back so well. An old course manager said he actually felt sorry for the Natal managers as Cape town prepares their tracks for the main season in summer and Jhb in spring and autumn but Natal has to do it in winter. Very difficult to do. I know first hand at home that in summer I am cutting the grass once a week at least. I have not had a mower on for 6 weeks now and still looks fine. There are many factors but to say that it is just the training ability of Natal trainers is ludicrous when so many have had champions and top horses in their care and have certainly not forgotten how to win top races given the right horses.

Craig I agree 100% with you. One would like to maybe find some of the reasons and use it to your advantage for the future. Easier said than done though. The reverse is also true that Natal horses do well in the Cape season.
Maybe we all just need a good holiday !

I fail to understand why winzip or any others cant give their opinion on the trainers from the different provinces as he hasn't singled out anyone .as a punter I have a list of trainers when betting that I refuse to have stolen money on and the list from natal is a lot longer than the list from cape town and Gauteng..

Pirates, at least you consistent! If it is GC or Natal it is bad! My belief is if you going to slate or run down someone whether rightly or wrongly then have the balls to do it with your name at the top. As Anton said on tv, "opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one" If your comments under the guise of opinion could affect some ones livelihood then don't be a coward. Put your name, address and telephone number to the thread.:X

craig you can drop antons name you can even drop lester piggot and Vincent o briens name my opinion stays the same and helps my punting using an imagino line ...back to winzip I cannot see a post where he mentioned a persons name .as for gold circle they have already blackballed my name due to my comments on here but the truth hurts and I will stick to my comments that I have made on here in the last few years ...