The biggest talking point once again at this very same raceday was the farcical track presented at Trentham that was concrete from the outset and wasted bettors money and confidence. This has happened with the same names in 2011 when the track was watered (too much) and official rating was a Slow7, which is ridiculous when the winner Mufhasa ran around the outside rail to win in 1:07.04. Mufhasa won the race in 2009 on dry ground on the speed near the inside rail in 1:07.39 and that is a slower time than he did on the supposed wet ground in 2011 where he ran around the outside fence to clock 1:07.04. It defies logic to this day and makes the track people and stewards and club officials in an indefensible position especially after the shenanigans today. They watered in 2011 for fear of some drizzle making Trentham potentially slippery and the meeting being put in peril yet in 2014 no water for a couple of days as some rain was forecast. They cannot have it both ways and anyone that gambles for or against the weather is a surefire loser. A staggering admission was the track in 2011 got only watered the inside half (it was a no go slow area all day) of the course and so the outside lanes were dry hence Mufhasa running bionic time. You cannot make this stuff up and it keeps happening at this track and club and G1 raceday. Trentham today should have been upgraded to a Fast1, which is unheard of in New Zealand racing it should be noted and may well be not allowed anymore, after the opening event as the track was drier than a bone. The chief steward on the day was Ross Neal and he had three other stipes with him in J Oatham, N Goodwin and B Bateup so plenty of eyes and ears at the track. They have no excuses and some of these names have been at meetings like Te Aroha last year on their sole G1 day and Ellerslie on Auckland Cup day or Te Rapa on their sole double G1 day when track conditions espoused were nothing like the actual reality. Te Aroha was wet and they ran in the middle of the track or wider so was visually damning and the Auckland Cup track looked as shifty as it was, so bettors are getting treated unprofessionally. Why they did not protect bettors money and make Trentham the concrete jungle it was after one race is beyond belief. The fact they made the decision after R5 is an insult to customers as by that stage many wagers were already on and locked in (people have kids and sports to attend on a Saturday and shopping these days so need to be told the facts from the outset) before the inevitable late scratchings that happen when mistruths about a track told do eventuate. Bettors were put onto substitutes that had no hope on concrete footing and this being the first day of the Triple Trio introduction made it a disaster as more confusion reigned than ever imagined. Television hosts actually had no idea about the product they were selling (awful advertorials) then scrambled to explain haplessly with the favourite coming out of the Telegraph and others in the last race very late what would happen. Lotto officials could be heard laughing out loud as simplification is the turnover key. The key glaring fact is connections did not want to risk Cauthen (favourite for the Telegraph) on such a disgraceful and potentially campaign/career ending surface. He could have come out a lot earlier if at R2 the upgrade from a Good2 to a Fast1 was made and then bettors are protected more plus the available time to alter bets or re-wager then comes into play. More scratchings just made the Triple Trio a nightmare and probably was as bad a piece of self-inflicted own goal advertising as ever seen for a near monopoly business. Trentham is the closest track to NZTR and NZRB plus TAB headquarters and a Trackside studio/bureau so the red faces and not again on this day utterances would have been numerous. It could not have been scripted worse and for several seasons now nothing is going right or working that is tried so confidence is shot and people can smell panic, fear and sense straw grabbing. Irish Fling made it three wins in a row for the Telegraph regarding female gallopers (Guiseppina 2012, Final Touch 2013) and they dominate the New Zealand racing scene now as everything is geared in their favour from handicapping to race bonuses. In fact the last nine runnings of the telegraph have seen five female winners. It is a slippery slope to put all the eggs in one basket especially towards breeders when in fact turnover (betting) is the only way to stop the industry bungee jump happening in recent years to become cordless by so many spectacularly failed policies and inane steerage. Irish Fling gave her sire Darci Brahma the G1 double at Trentham today with Recite (filly) winning the 3yo Levin Classic feature and beating the boys. Darci Brahma has after four seasons not had a G1 winner in Australia and that is all that matters from a top shelf stallion perspective. He may be doing well in New Zealand and Singapore but the latter do not breed horses and betting is their main business core like Hong Kong. A sire has to crack a G1 in Australia to register on any credible stallion performance measure and no amount of spin can change that cold hard fact. If or when he does get a G1 winner in Australia you can be assured it will be ticker-tape time and fees could be increased plus the sales average for his stock will rise. It was the first G1 win for part-trainer Guy Lowry but not for the other preparer Grant Cullen, who won a Wellington Cup (when it was 3200m and a G1 race) with the massive upsetter on the tote mare Miss Bailey in 1999. Mark Du Plessis rode a patient race and collected the G1 double on the day having scored atop Recite in the Levin Classic. He should be able to donate something to a worthy cause now with such easy percentages pocketed for a days riding work! Natuzzi ran a game second and a bump at the start by the fourth finisher Albany Reunion ensured he settled further back than wanted. Alarmingly in the stipes report sees not one mention of Albany Reunion jumping inwards markedly and bumping Natuzzi but it seemed like day for so much being missed. Confidence is at an all time low for bettors as they want to bet but also want proper protection and be told the facts not spin and guesses that are an assist or attempts to prop up rapidly falling turnover. Jaggard fresh up ran third and this horse alone tells you the race result is not a true G1 sprint plus of course the track being concrete and many just went around like they were running on hot coals throughout. Twice before has Jaggard run in a G1 race and finished dead last both times outclassed so how he can be third not beaten far in a G1 sprint does put realism and perspective into the result. Albany Reunion for one so lacking in racing ringcraft ran a good race and has a future but that wayward start and then hesitancy to wind up in traffic matters. Sitara ran on okay and Pizzazz was actually big after doing a wheelie at his second stride out of the gates. Pizzazz was sent home from Hong Kong as uncompetitive and it is frightening that the 7yo can be a top notch sprinter in New Zealand as this is more proof the depth is non existent here. Barbaric was the off course sub by jumping favourite and had no chance on concrete ground so wasted the bettors money and made Triple Trio a turn off for many that got put onto this false representative due to the late withdrawal of Cauthen. Tote manipulation can rear its ugly head again when a million dollars is on the line as it does not take much in the small New Zealand win pools to make something a false favourite. How that Barbaric was favourite warranted an inquiry itself and when a big pool is guaranteed (that was nowhere near supported by the amount bet hoped) you do assume laying off cannot happen either? Pandora’s Box opened by a large guaranteed pool size and late scratchings as then the control goes into other hands and trust becomes the issue or as is the term these days integrity. Final Touch was awful in beating home one runner and is a mere shadow at the moment of the triple G1 winner from last season. The race time of 1:07.48 may sound fast but it is not in reality for the Trentham chute and dogleg. The day was a debacle and hard to defend anyone or anything as this sort of palava has happened before at the same raceday and with same people still there. Hard to learn from massive mistakes when they keep making them and they are all self-inflicted human errors such as trying to gamble on what the weather will do or not. The only horse out of the race that could measure up possibly at G1 outside New Zealand would be Albany Reunion one day. Not a true G1 sprint result at all as too many facts and indicators say otherwise apart from the visual aspect and associated track conditions presented that made once again this raceday a laughing stock. They cannot possibly have a third occurrence of Telegraph day ridiculousness as then sponsors bail and bettors (customers) are gone if not already plus no one believes in three strikes your still in for the thoroughbred world anymore.