Three and a half years ago I decided to take the advice of a few of the regulars here, and leave this forum.

These regulars often labelled myself, and a few others, as troublemakers, claiming that we stifled good debate and discussion on this forum. They kept calling for us to leave so that they could discuss racing and sport in a serious manner.

So, after three and a half years, what’s the verdict?

Although I stopped posting, I didn’t stop accessing the forum, often looking in to see how it was performing without the likes of myself, and a few of the other so-called ‘Troublemakers’ who had also vacated the forum.

It seems that those who wanted change, eventually got what they wanted, but strangely enough, they soon started complaining that the forum was dead, lifeless, boring and nobody wants to have any serious discussion anymore. In fact, most of the complainers themselves rarely post here anymore. WTF!

Like most minority groups, the complainers thought they were speaking for everyone, but when you count the number of regular posters who no longer post here it’s quite obvious that they spoke only for themselves. Could it be that the lively banter and humour is what the regular posters liked most about this forum? Probably.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw a recent post from the chief complainer, the one who thought it his duty to tell anyone who disagreed with his views (which was quite often everyone) to ‘get off’
This is what he posted a few weeks ago:

'Let's hope this place will undergo something of a return to former glories over the next little while....'

So there you have it, it now appears that the days when all the troublemakers ran amok, were actually the ‘Glory Days’ of this forum! This is straight from Lostaclue himself.
Finally! Something we agree on.


How does that old saying go “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”

I was saddened to learn LostaClue had gone.

He is uninformed, vague, confused and full of his own importance.

Maybe I'm not so sad after all.

Are we to believe we will no longer read:

Kingston Town couldn't win at Caulfield - Purple doesn't get a mile and a half - Nine year olds don't win Group one races - Carlton are certainties to make the eight - Cadel Evans isn't an elite athlete.

I hope not.

Some say it’s to do with the degeneration of the site. I think it's more to do with his falling out with nearly everyone on the site.

He never changed his style or trawled for filth or pandered or commented on everything or started another identity because one wasn’t enough, though if he could have worked out how to do these things, there's no doubt he would have.

It’s a free site, there’s no entry test. All you need to declare is ‘I’m worthy’ and the job’s done. You can say it with a copy of Tolstoy's Crime And Punishment in one hand and a glass of red in the other; you can say it with a smoke in your gob; you can say it if you have an axe to grind and you hate the world because you never quite made the grade and someone’s got to pay.


The LostaClue avatar meant something. If it was a long contribution it was time to put on your pyjamas and kiss the missus goodnight as there was no way you'd make it even half way through without falling asleep.

If you woke me out of a dead sleep in the wee small hours and insisted I name my favourite poster on this site, I would probably punch you in the nose for waking me up in the wee small hours to ask me a dumb question.

Great to see such fervent acknowledgement and celebration of our national day.
It's quite evident that the pride we hold for our country and our lifestyle is growing, year by year.

Every year there seems to be more and more Aussie flags and green and gold being displayed, in shops, on cars, as clothing/footwear and more recently in homes. Even seeing a few permanent flag-poles in peoples front yards with our Aussie flag waving in the breeze.

The interest today as opposed to say 20 years ago is quite remarkable and it's great to see the younger generation just as keen to acknowledge and celebrate our National Day.

Don't ya just love being an Aussie!!!!

I only go to the TAB these days to put money into my betting account, not like the old days when I'd spend my whole Saturday afternoon and half my pay-packet there.

When I was at the PubTAB this morning I saw an old guy, probably mid 80s who's been a regular there since I was a teenager. This old guy was standing at one of the betting screens checking out the prices and the form, there he was, tapping at the screen and swiping his finger over it like a kid with an ipad.

It's funny, but I remember it was that same old guy and a few of his mates, who have since passed-on, that really put on a turn when the TAB got rid of the paper-based race-sheets and form-guides and replaced them with the screens. 'We don't want all this computer rubbish!' they protested 'How are we supposed to know how to work all these TV screen thingos?'.

I thought to myself, how attitudes change. I wonder how he'd react now if the TAB said it was going back to the old paper-based info sheets? His protests would no doubt start all over again, I can just hear it 'We don't want that old rubbish back again, we like the computers, they update every 30 seconds and we don't have to walk around the outlet looking for race-sheets'. 'Fair go!'

Fair go indeed, the day will come when today will be considered the 'old days' and one can only imagine how the PubTABs will look when that day arrives, sadly, I don't think me ol' mate will be around to see those changes.

Hope the connections of Barigan Boy gave young Omer Ay a decent size sling after his determined effort last Saturday.

Not too many jockeys would have kept the horse in the race at the expense of their rear-end.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8j0ncyULis

With the Magic Millions 2 year old Classic being run today, I thought I’d check to see how many of last year’s top-priced yearlings have made it into the race.

I checked the top 30 yearlings from last year whose prices range from $1.35m to $350,000 and found that Oakleigh Girl ($420,000) is the only runner from that list who will line-up today.

Top price last year was a Fastnet Rock-Smart Company colt who cost $1.35m and will race as Valentia if/when he races.

Next was a Redoute’s Choice-Apercu colt who cost $800,000 and will race as Aperchoix if/when he races.

Third top-price was a Lonhro-Cirque Du Soleil filly who brought $700,000 and will race as Twirl if/when she races.

Next was a Fastnet Rock-Awesome Planet colt who was knocked-down for $600,000 and will race as Awesome Rock if/when he races.

Rounding out the top 5 is a Redoute’s Choice-Daralara colt who also cost $600,000 and races as Here Comes The Boom. HCTB started in the Maribyrnong trial at Flemington last October where he finished 9th of 14 beaten 10 lengths behind another MM graduate in Risen From Doubt (a $140,000 purchase).

The favourite for today’s race is Unencumbered, he was a $70,000 bargain-buy yearling at last year’s sales and has already earned his connections $323,000 with 4 wins and 1 placing from 5 starts.
Funny how it always seems to be the cheap ones who go on to be the better racehorses.

Just for the record, I'll be backing Unencumbered in today's Classic.

Why do clowns like Greyshot, who can't deal with a different view to their own, bother starting threads in the first place?

You give an opinion and get banned because they've had their argument shot-out from under them.

Little wonder very few respond to his threads, I won't bother any more either.

Boban's Epsom for mine.

Always Back at the tail of the field, always in trouble, always wide and got up in the last stride.

Can't wait for next year to see this bloke run again.

Seasons greetings to all the staff and regulars at R&S, hope Santa brings you what you want and the new year brings us all plenty of winners.

Might be good for all the former regulars who haven't posted for a while to let us know that you're still alive and kicking.

Merry Christmas to all.

Very interesting article from yesterday's Melbourne Age:



A well-known Victorian racing identity accused of mishandling more than $190 million from an exclusive punters' club has not paid a $5 million bill for the half-brother of champion mare Black Caviar.

Bill Vlahos, representing the BC3 Thoroughbreds syndicate, bought the yearling – the most expensive sale of its kind in Australian history – six months ago from bloodstock company Inglis.

At a court hearing on Friday, Mr Vlahos was questioned over the whereabouts of a $194 million Westpac account containing the punters' club funds, but which the bank says does not exist.

Bill Vlahos: Faces a lawsuit from Inglis over a $5 million payment for Black Caviar's half-brother.
Bill Vlahos: Faces a lawsuit from Inglis over Black Caviar's half-brother. Photo: Nic Walker

Mr Vlahos said he only realised the money was missing this week, as his Dubai-based business partner had been dealing with Westpac.

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Mr Vlahos has had more than $26 million of his fortune frozen and is prohibited from leaving the country after at least one disgruntled member of his exclusive punters club began legal action about the missing funds.

He is now potentially facing another legal action over his purchase of Black Caviar's brother. Inglis is considering suing to recover payment for the colt, known as Jimmy, which until two weeks ago was gravely ill with a hoof disease, laminitis.

Mr Vlahos and BC3 Thoroughbreds made headlines in 2012 when they purchased Belle Couture, the half-sister of Black Caviar, for $2.6 million.

BC3 Thoroughbreds has reportedly told Inglis they were awaiting funds from the US to settle their debt for the injured colt.

Black Caviar's lineage is now the most valuable in the southern hemisphere, but the illness, while not fatal, means the record-breaking colt is unfit for racing and could only have a stud career ahead of it. The insurance policy taken out on the colt can only be paid out on death.

The gambling syndicate led by Mr Vlahos is understood to be made up of high-profile sporting and media identities who gave millions of dollars to him to bet on horse races on the promise of high returns.

The court action over the syndicate was launched after Mr Vlahos repeatedly failed to hand over money allegedly owed to a company called Aloga, which is based in the tax haven of Bermuda.

On Friday, the NSW Supreme Court heard Mr Vlahos told the company its $26,169,000 was held in a trust account with Westpac and he was arranging to have the funds transferred.

But Mr Vlahos, who was ordered to fly up from his home in Torquay to take the stand, said that on Thursday he discovered that the account "did not exist".

"I'm shocked. I'm worried about everyone's funds including my own, which are substantial," he told the court.

Mr Vlahos said he opened the account six years ago with a business partner, Daniel Maxwell, who now lives in Dubai.

Mr Vlahos told the court that several years ago, while working as a psychologist, he treated Mr Maxwell for marital problems. Later, Mr Maxwell became involved in Mr Vlahos' punters' club.

Mr Maxwell promised large trading volumes would be available for the gambling through his contacts, Mr Vlahos said.

"I never had reason to doubt the existence of the account," he said. "Mr Maxwell dealt with the account primarily. I never had reason to speak to anyone at Westpac about the account."

On Tuesday it was reported that Mr Vlahos had emailed members of the punters club responding to members' concerns about delays in payouts after he revealed he was closing the club.

Robert //sdick//s, SC, for Aloga, said the freezing orders might have to be extended or taken out against other people to ensure the shareholders of Aloga retrieve their money.

However, David Studdy, SC, for Mr Vlahos, suggested Aloga shareholders had invested $3.8 million and any amount higher than that "might be paper money – it's profit, it may not even exist".

The court orders allow Mr Vlahos to spend $10,000 a week on ordinary living expenses and $200,000 for reasonable legal expenses.