I hear Californian wine goes down pretty well, but obviously the grapes in Steve Coburn's part of the world (Nevada, to be pedantic, rather than California) have a reputation for being a bit sour.
His whinge after Californian Chrome could only tie for fourth in the Belmont was at odds with the class displayed by the horse's trainer and jockey.
He's since pleaded mea culpa on a couple of talk shows, but his argument that it's unfair for some horses to bypass the first two legs of the Triple Crown is a bit silly.
Winning three top-grade races in a row isn't supposed to be easy - that's why it hasn't been done for 36 years.
Having a 'mare'
A year ago, I was extolling the virtues of the Golden Girls series for standardbred mares. The news this year isn't so good.
Despite $7500 being put up for each of the four heats, and $10,000 for the final, the nominations for the c2-c4 pacing grade have been far too light, forcing the cancellation of the final heat (scheduled for next week) and the final on June 27.
Harness Racing New Zealand and the clubs get some stick occasionally about not providing opportunities for intermediate grade pacers, but I'm not sure what else they're supposed to do when the numbers simply don't turn up when nominations are open.
A Terror-able option?
Some of you might be a bit impatient and itching to get a bet on the New Zealand Trotting Cup. Well, guess what - you can. The New Zealand TAB opened an option on Wednesday with odds for the first three favourites - Terror To Love, Adore Me and Christen Me - and a ''the rest of the field'' option.
The defending champion Terror To Love has been installed as a $3.05 favourite, with the other three prices hovering from $3.40 to $3.50.
Time's ticking away
Yesterday marked my 18-month anniversary in the job. Not particularly memorable, except for a passing comment from sports editor Hayden Meikle shortly after I started: ''You've got three years to report on an Otago-trained group 1 winner or you're out''.
So I'm halfway there and the closest we've got is Natuzzi's second in the Telegraph this year. I can write about our hopes until my fingers bleed but at the end of it all, it comes down to the trainers, jockeys and drivers.
So don't think of the black-type status, the money, the trophies, the adoring cheers from the crowd as you prepare your horse for a bid at the highest peaks in racing - there are more important things at stake here.
Lazy Fiver
Terry Kennedy put me at ease prior to Swami's run on Sunday, explaining to me that the horse jinxes itself, so it wouldn't be my fault if it didn't win or place. So the good news is that I'm absolved of any blame for it running eighth. Let's try Western Art on debut in race 1 at Addington tonight.
