Tabcorp originally quoted TT at $3.00 (overall), but is now in to $1.85 for the final and $1.40 for the heat which probably tells you two things: thats easily the shortest price of all candidates and is consistent with its top form but not its average performance.

The opposition is not great, of course, as no other stayer can run fantastic time these days, so they take it in turns to win. But neither can TT, or not reliably. Hes just run a heat and final at The Meadows the heat in a very smart 42.01 and the final in a woeful 43.40 when he looked like he would rather be somewhere else.

Since the Association Cup, TT has run 13 times for 6 wins. The best of those would have been a 41.37 triumph at Sandown but others were pedestrian and he only just got there. Alternating with those were 7 almost embarrassing losses.

None of these runs were ever queried by stewards yet they made up the most amazing and continuing set of form reversals I can remember. All told, they were in stark contrast to his pre-split pad career.

Confusing everything is TTs frequent habit of waiting for a leader to move off and leave him space on the rail. That was particularly true of his awful 28 September run in the Sandown final but I suspect there was more to it as he actually jumped in front from box 6, then went backwards at a rate of knots.

To summarise, there are two different TTs one before and one after the Association Cup in April. I have no idea which one will turn up in the next week or so. We are all used to dogs sometimes losing form for whatever reason - but an up/down, up/down, up/down series is just not manageable. If you think TT is fine then go for it, but it is just a gamble and not well priced anyway.

Exactly!

By the way, dogs are not gallopers.

The 28 Sep run was at Meadows, not Sandown. I mis-read my notes.

That was one of the races where TT failed to gallop - he just cantered - at some cost to many investors and the sport's integrity.

My guess is that very few punters will support TT at these prices. Still, many gamblers will not study the formguide and will get sucked in.

Why don't you just open an account with the Corporates that LAY-DOGS
You should make a fortune Bruce!!

For the record Bruce: TT has had 47 starts, 29 wins, 8 placings
For Bruce? are you sitting down? $755,ooo Jealousy is a CURSE.
I would bet that his winnings will swell to $1 million before the New Year. Are you feeling sick Bruce??

Is that the punters fault or the dogs fault?

Not sure what result you are expecting with your comments. Anyone watching him run can see he gets iffy sometimes when things don't go his way, but it's not as if u can drag the dog into the stewards room and tell him to put in or he's out and that they're watching him.. it's a dog.. He doesn't have a jockey on his back navigating him.

The trainer can't make him chase anymore than he can, they're animals. If he doesn't wanna do something he wont.

I nominated the dog as a "great galloper" but then got told that dogs don't gallop. Really! I pointed out his erratic form - of a level which would have stewards jumping up and down for an ordinary dog. But they haven't.

Terry - I am doing "irreparable damage to the industry" by pointing out the truth. Would you prefer lies? Will anyone take my advice? No idea but anyone who takes the $1.40 or $1.85 is on the way to the poorhouse - whether TT wins or not. It's a question of value. By comparison, the AFL GF was probably correctly priced (one guy had $500k on Richmond at $1.37 on the morning of the match) while offering $1.40 about the Roosters was way under the odds and $3.00 about the Raiders was overs.

Sam - Agrees the dog has been "iffy" but still dumps on me personally. Fair dinkum!

Brett - Complains that his dog (assuming he represents the syndicate) is hard done by because I called her ordinary, although she beat TT into 5th place, running 42.57. This is SHE WILL BLOOM which is a handy bitch with $100k to her name, helped by the fact that she usually begins well. She has 2 wins and 2 losses at Meadows, running between 42.50 and 43.00 (or 8-15 lengths outside the record). Times at other tracks have been similar. This puts her amongst the batch that is below real class and which takes it in turns to win (as I said before). Anything in that category is ordinary in my book. The problem here today is that - unlike sprinters - the staying group are almost universally "ordinary". At best, they can pull out one good run in their career but never repeat it. Whether due to breeding or training that is really what is doing damage to the industry.

I offered my analysis and opinions because you will never read anything like that in publicity or on authority websites. Good news only. The public deserve better (but probably don't read G-D).

I will give you another example. Xylia Allen's last two races were an absolute disgrace - and she was then retired. The public were dudded. But neither run attracted any comment at all from stewards. Presumably, they respected the dog's history more than the public they are bound to protect.

With a very few notable exceptions the staying caper in the last decade has proved lucrative to good 600m dogs which set up a good lead and flop over the line, never running time. Fanta Bale is easily the best of those - very consistent but not in the same bracket as Space Star, Miata, etc. However, the fact that she was seldom beaten tells you a lot about the class of the opposition.

Just stating that they're animals.. they're gonna do what animals do. Only so much a person can do. If a horse has a bad run, they can pull the jockey in and ask questions.. We can't pull a dog in and ask questions about what it was doing. It's just going to do what it wants, regardless of what the trainer tells it to.

That is the downside of the punting on dogs, however it is also the upside.. you don't have anyone on the back steering..

Xylia Allen's last two races were an absolute disgrace! and then retired. Bruce remember Graham Langlands last game in the white boots? Some don't know when the "Tap on the shoulder" is coming.
You can't forgive Champions a few loses? BECAUSE YOUR A PUNTER?
Your comparison to the AFL or NRL has no significance?

The Staying caper! You can only beat, whats in front of you!
And you don't get any extra P/M breaking track records. FACT

The Health of the Greyhound

"Being aware of this fact, and understanding the galloping sequence of the greyhounds legs will provide a far better picture and understanding just where to look for an injury, in response to how a greyhound negotiates a racetrack.Being aware of this fact, and understanding the galloping sequence of the greyhounds legs will provide a far better picture and understanding just where to look for an injury, in response to how a greyhound negotiates a racetrack."

And many others.

Jamie,

Apart from my typo on Sandown - which mistakes are you talking about?

The point is if a dog fails to chase, first they must be vetted and second penilised if the stewards deem that it is necessary.

In my time I had dogs rubbed out for a lot less. But hey you couldn't do that to a pin up boy for the industry. Not a good look when you go down at $1.40.

Going back many years Texas Gold was in trouble in NSW for his racing style.

This is the look you do not want for the punting public, that's where your prizemoney comes from....

EXTERNAL LINK
thank goodness it was a qualy and not seen by the punting public.

and this....

EXTERNAL LINK

I cant blame trainers either and stewards prob seeing it the same way....likely why their ftc dogs are prob getting a pass.....from a breakers/trainers perspective I'd imagine it'd be like asking Usain Bolt to break 10 secs for a 100m with his hands tied behind his back......it's just not going to happen and about time these racing admins recognise that fact.

A gr8 sport has been ruined for serious punters(Bruce is correct there), for what a handful of people did in each state. All they've done is created a vicious circle and at the start and end point are dogs that don't chase!

Box 1

Watch it over and over.

$400,000 dog, Trainer knows what he is doing. So what gives.

EXTERNAL LINK