MAIN WHINGE THIS WEEK:

YOUR MISSION PETER CHADWICK IS TO WIN BACK THE PUNTERS

THE feelings of MOST PUNTERS who have their say through the WEDNESDAY WHI NGE is that new CHIEF STEWARD PETER CHADWICK faces a mission impossible cleaning up racing in south-east Queensland.

Whilst most insist that Alan Reardon should have been consigned to the retirement paddock much sooner, the racing public in general believes the legal system in the north is stacked in favor of those prepared to bend the Rules.

NATHAN EXELBY, in his column THE VERDICT in THE SUNDAY MAIL wrote: CHIEF stipe Peter Chadwick wasted no time opening the account in his new post, with apprentice Clayton Gallagher becoming the first scalp of the new regime, incurring a 16-day suspension (last Saturday at Doomben). Gallagher pleaded guilty to careless riding after his win on Defence Missile. Stewards also opened an inquiry into interference in the second race and later suspended Brad Stewart for 13 meetings for his ride on Prue’s Angel.

That prompted this response from ALBY WHITEHEAD, who describes himself as a life-long punter on Queensland racing whose patience is wearing well and truly thin:

‘I want to welcome Mr Chadwick with the message that his new home should have had a big broom put through it a long time ago. They kick the crap out of the ‘red hots’ but the gallops are just as bad but don’t attract the same negative publicity.

Instead of starting out by taking a big stick to an apprentice the new Chief Steward should start looking at the rides of some of the senior jockeys – like Brad Stewart on the odds-on Ef Troop a few weeks back (albeit before Mr Chadwick’s arrival) and Jeff Lloyd aboard another odds-on favorite Asharani on Saturday. Both were rated ‘victims of wide runs’ but I would have thought a better description might have been ‘given a sore back’.

Watching the races from Brisbane on TV I noticed Mr Chadwick sharing some friendly banter with Jeff Lloyd at the scales after his copybook ride to win on Tawfiq Boy two races earlier. Like many other punters there was a need for him to have a less than friendly chat with the old hoop after his performance on Asharani.’

 

PUNTERS GUN-SHY WHEN IT COMES TO ODDS-ON FAVS IN QLD

BRIAN McLEOD of BRISBANE made this interesting observation about Saturday racing in Queensland:

‘IT’S deadly for punters wanting to back an odds-on or short-priced favorite at the major metropolitan meeting in south-east Queensland on a Saturday.

Saturday there were three early shorties – Asharani, which went the way of many favorites from the Van Dyke stable, and got beaten – one might say after a pretty ordinary ride from Jeff Lloyd.

Fiji Flyer blew from odds on to $2.8 and was beaten by the well-tried Defence Missile which was gifted an easy lead and never looked like being beaten.

Then we had From Within which started $1.7 despite some of the good judges questioning whether it would be suited with the sting out of the ground. That proved wrong when it bolted in but by then the punters were a bit gun-shy after having their fingers burnt on the two previous that looked good things.

It’s just typical of how many of the favorites perform at the major Saturday meetings but there seems to always be acceptable excuses from a stewards’ perspective while the punters are left to ponder why they missed the start, were trapped wide, never got clear or generally performed like mules for no apparent reason.

Just look back at a couple of ugly rides from a punter’s point of view on Ef Troop (Brad Stewart) and Asharani (Jeff Lloyd). These blokes would hold their own with the best jockeys in the land but on occasions seem to ride like inexperienced apprentices.’

IN Sydney and Melbourne the worst punters seem to have to contend with are multiple runners from the stables of champion trainers Chris Waller and Darren Weir. In Brisbane the nightmare is working out whether a hot favorite will run to form or flop badly.

There seems to have been reluctance in the past to see any sort of strong action from the stewards against high profile identities in the industry. Perhaps the racing police are sick of belting their heads against a brick wall at appeals level with a smart lawyer seeming to find a loophole to beat anything from ‘hitting horses’ to ‘not giving them every chance of winning’.

Your ‘mission’ Peter Chadwick, if you choose to accept it, is to win back the punters who are walking away from betting on racing in south-east Queensland because they no longer have the confidence to bet.       

 

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY SIDE OF RACING FROM THE PAST WEEK

THE GOOD

IS NATURE STRIP A GENUINE WINNING CHANCE IN THE EVEREST?

NATURE STRIP earned a slot in THE EVEREST with a track record breaking win over 1000m in the G2 McEwen Stakes at the Valley last Saturday – but is he a genuine winning chance?

There are plenty of good judges questioning whether the brilliant speed that Nature Strip possesses will be sufficient to run his rivals off their legs or whether the big finishers will run over the top of him at the end of 1200m.

Trainer Darren Weir says Nature Strip is the fastest horse he has trained. The speedster is fourth favorite for THE EVEREST at $8 behind Redzel, Trapeze Artist and Vega Magic.

 

HOME OF THE BRAVE LIKELY TO STEER CLEAR OF EVEREST SLOT

GODOLPHIN import HOME OF THE BRAVE is not likely to seek a slot in the $13 million The Everest despite his impressive win in the G2 Theo Marks Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.

Home of the Brave beat Epsom favorite D’Argento and Trapeze Artist, second favorite for The Everest, with stable spokesman Darren Beadman suggesting trainer James Cummings had plenty of other options.

 “James has mentioned the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes as an option,” Beadman said. “He is a horse that runs with purpose so a race like that (The Everest) would be suitable but there are options for him.”

DECISION ON POC TAX TO BE MADE SOON BY QLD GOVERNMENT

AAP reports that the Queensland Cabinet is set to discuss the Point Of Consumption tax with a decision on allocation due within a fortnight.

The news agency understands there are divided opinions in Cabinet on how the tax, which should raise about $70 million, will be spread.

Cabinet is believed ready to make a decision on Monday week which will then go to a review committee.

The POC, which is a 15 per cent levy on all bookmakers betting on Queensland races, comes into law in three weeks’ time.

NSW racing codes have been promised about $40 million from its POC and Victoria is also expected to get a boost.

The Queensland Government is committed to making up a payment by Racing Queensland back to UBET for its deduction.


THE BAD

WALLEY WORLD SERVES UP ANOTHER UPSET FOR THE PUNTERS

LEAN MEAN MACHINE would normally be included in the ‘good’ section of our look back at weekend racing but qualifies for the ‘bad’ with his win in the G2 Run to the Rose coming at the expense of a more strongly fancied stablemate.

It was groundhog day for Sydney racing on Saturday with yet another Waller fancy being beaten by a stablemate rated an outsider in the betting. On this occasion it was Zousain $4.8 finishing fourth to Lean Mean Machine $14.

Whether the win of Lean Mean Machine was aided by the heavy track, it was the most impressive of the day. The handsome galloper powered home to beat the unlucky Graff which was trapped wide.

Winner of the G2 Sires’ Produce Stakes at Doomben in May, Lean Mean Machine was having his first start since he failed in the Gr1 JJ Atkins won by The Autumn Sun at Doomben in June.

Graff is now the $4.6 favorite for the Golden Rose in a fortnight ahead of Lean Mean Machine and The Autumn Sun at $8.

Waller also trains The Autumn Sun which was Golden Rose favorite before finishing a luckless third on Saturday in the Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes behind Tarka and stablemate Dealmaker.

WAS THE EFFORT OF APPROACH DISCREET DISAPPOINTING OR NOT?

IT’S hard to understand some of the ‘good judges’ declaring the defeat of heavily-backed APPROACH DISCREET at the Valley last Saturday as not that disappointing.

Granted the Darren Weir-trained youngster did a bit of work to get across but raced outside the leader and eventual winner TAVIRUN which did far more early yet raced away in the straight.

It was yet another occasion at the city Saturday meeting where the declared ‘good thing’ of the experts performed below expectations.

 

IT’S ABOUT TIME FOR UPDATE ON WHAT’S HAPPENING AT FARM!

DOOMBEN seemed to have benefitted from the break while Saturday racing in Queensland went to Gold Sunshine Coast for three weeks.

But the racing public is still none the wiser on what is happening with Eagle Farm.

The last news out of the BRC bunker suggested it would be December before the new-look Farm was ready for racing and then it might be only the one meeting before the New Year.

Surely some of the ‘spin doctors’ for RQ and the BRC can pen a ‘feel-good’ piece on the progress of the redevelopment to at least keep the punters and the racing public up to date on what is happening with Eagle Farm.

Is it too much to ask them to do their job and risk offending those who prefer to sweep the Farm farce under the carpet?

 

THE UGLY

WAS IT JUST A GOOD OLD FASHIONED SLAUGHTER JOB BY LLOYD?

NO edition of ‘the ugly’ look back at weekend racing would be complete without recording the ride of Jeff Lloyd on the odds-on Asharani at Doomben.

Punters who listened to the pre-race raps from trainer David Van Dyke (he said she was on trial for a Melbourne trip for the Thousand Guineas) and took the shorts would have been in need of a tranquilizer after Asharani saw more of the outside fence than the rail and beat only one home.

Those who backed the horse and then had to listen to the SKY host suggest it was disappointing would have been even more angry considering no mention was made of the Lloyd slaughter job.

They could at least take some comfort from stewards requiring the horse to trial before racing again but little from the fact they didn’t question Lloyd concerning his tactics. Their report reads:

ASHARANI – Began awkwardly and was then bumped shortly after. Improved on to heels approaching the 600m and shifted wider on the track. When questioned regarding the horse’s performance, jockey J. Lloyd explained that his mount over-raced in the early stages and was caught wide before being restrained near the 500m to obtain cover behind GLOBAL CHOICE. He added that when placed under pressure from the 500m the filly failed to quicken as anticipated and proved very disappointing. A post-race veterinary examination revealed no abnormalities and a swab sample was taken. Trainer D. Vandyke was advised that in light of today’s poor performance the filly would be required to trial satisfactorily prior to racing again. Mr Vandyke undertook to report to stewards anything that becomes evident in coming days which may have had an effect on the performance. 

 

BETFAIR FIRST TO RETALIATE TO POINT OF CONSUMPTION TAX

IN response to various Australian State/Territory Governments introducing Point of Consumption (POC) taxes on wagering revenue, Betfair wishes to advise of upcoming changes to the Discount Rate available to our customers.
 
These changes are not something that we take lightly. Nationally, POC taxes impose an incremental 11% tax that Betfair must pay on top of Product Fees and GST (approximately 40% and 9.1% of wagering revenue respectively). After POC taxes, Betfair will pay approximately 60% of its wagering revenues in fees and taxes before operational expenditure, payroll and company tax, and capital expenditure.
 
Betfair works hard to educate State/Territory politicians as to the uniqueness of the betting exchange and the importance of our punters to the broader wagering industry. We will continue to work hard to provide our customers the best possible prices while remaining a viable business.
 
We advise that, from 1 October 2018, the discount on the Market Base Rate for Betfair’s customers will change to the following table:
 

Betfair Points

 

From

To

Discount Rate 

-

6,999 

0%

7,000

16,999

10%

17,000

28,999

20%

29,000

48,999

30%

49,000

79,999

40%

80,000

149,999

50%

150,000

 

60%

 
In addition, a customer’s address will determine the maximum discount they are eligible to receive. In the table below, we have set out the maximum discount rate which will apply to each State/Territory. The maximum discount rates have been set taking into account the POC tax charged in each State/Territory.
 

Resident of

POC tax rate on wagering revenue

Maximum discount rate

Date applicable

South Australia

15%

40%

From 1 October 2018

Queensland

15%

40%

From 1 October 2018

Australian Capital Territory

15%

40%

From 1 January 2019*

Western Australia

15%

40%

From 1 January 2019*

New South Wales

10%

50%

From 1 January 2019*

Victoria

8%

50%

From 1 January 2019*

Tasmania

0%

60%

Current

Northern Territory

0%

60%

Current

New Zealand

0%

60%

Current


*Until 1 January 2019, residents of the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria will be eligible to a maximum discount rate of 60%.

The new ladder (set out above) was the best solution to ensure that all customers are treated equally, that the betting exchange remains vibrant, and that a customer is not overly disadvantaged based on where they live. This is evident by Betfair putting in place a solution that now allows South Australian customers to be eligible for the Discount Rate again.

Unfortunately, the ladder change by itself is not enough to deal with the significant incremental tax, and therefore Betfair has made the decision to introduce caps on the Discount Rate by State/Territory.