It's been a while between a round of questions in Racing Matters, so let's resurrect that old favourite with a few things to ponder. -
•If you were on course at Wingatui last Friday, will you ever forget the emotion-charged atmosphere at the track, particularly after The Diamond One's win?
•Will there ever been a more appropriate race call in trying circumstances than Dave McDonald's personalised and passionate call to get The Diamond One home in the White Robe?
•How well is Rory Hutchings riding at the moment?
•How well is Dexter Dunn driving at the moment?
•Can you argue with Ricky May's mature decision to save Terror To Love's owner some money by suggesting an alternative driver for the champ this week?
•Speaking of which, who is your pick to win the Interdominion this year? Beautide? Terror To Love? Christen Me? Franco Ledger? Lennytheshark? David Hercules?
•Are you looking forward to the Interdoms returning to a three-heat format in Perth next year?
•Who will be the driver for Quick As A Trick when he next lines up?Having heard complaints from racegoers about having to pay at the gate when attending race meetings, why were the crowd numbers so light at the Waikouaiti Trotting Club meeting on Sunday when it was a lovely day AND it was free entry?
... to ponder
•How many times have you seen some of the Hall Of Fame fillers on Trackside as they plug the gaps before the next show?
•Can you recite any of them word-for-word yet?
•Did you know you can get from channel 63 to channel 62 on your Sky remote by pressing the down button once? Yes, I did too. Still, helpful to have that pointed out time and time again, I suppose.
•Have you been caught out with the split coverage of meetings across two channels? Or are you carefully checking the electronic programme guide when you set up your recording?
•Do you punt with the New Zealand TAB or are you punting off-shore? If it's the latter, why?
•Will our best gallopers spend even more time campaigning in Australia than New Zealand in the future, considering some of the eye-watering purses up for grabs in Sydney and Melbourne?
•That said, how come the harness fields at Alexandra Park tonight are so small, despite decent stakes being on offer?
•On a completely non-racing note, is it all that time at sea that causes cruise ship passengers to show a complete lack of spatial awareness and speed when walking the streets of Dunedin?
Lazy Fiver
Even with two picks, I couldn't produce the goods last week. Parramatta was particularly disappointing at Ashburton.
Hopefully, Sakhee's Soldier ($3.60 yesterday afternoon) can overcome a fresh-up Rising Romance in race 5 at Ellerslie tomorrow.
