CONGRATULATIONS are in order for the excellent telecast by Sky Channel of the Golden Slipper day, plenty of action, lots of colour and free from boring tipsters.

Every punter worth his salt is well armed long before he reaches the racecourse, he has done his homework and all the idle chatter is not going to sway him away from his selections.

There is an old saying, never advertise anything for free; by the time you get there it will be all gone.

WIDE BARRIERS mean little to good horses that was illustrated again in the Golden Slipper Stakes on Saturday; good horses can overcome wide barriers, because they are good, as was seen with the winner, Vancouver.

Tommy Berry was chock full of confidence before he left the mounting yard, he was a man on a mission, he quickly turned a negative into a positive.

When the gates opened he was there where he wanted to be, sitting a shade wide as expected, but free of any likely interference and a lot of horse underneath him.

Berry rode a masterly race, did every right at the right time, while Gai Waterhouse was the architect of it all, she continues to write the record book.

The run of Ready For Victory was very encouraging, he was new to the Sydney way of going, he has quite a lot of potential, he may even wait for the Sires Produce Stakes now that Vancouver is unlikely to run.

IT’S EASY TO KNOCK a sire but first you have to know the facts, there is a case in the defence of Oamaru Force, sire of the runaway winner, The Big Dance at Bendigo, on Saturday.

Oamaru Force has now had his time but did he ever have a chance, the opportunity that every sire deserves but not always receives.

He was a horse with a great turn of foot, he broke two records on separate courses, winning the Group 3 Shorts at Randwick over 1100 metres, he ran a race and course record of 1.3.47, and a race and course record of 1.3.14 at Canterbury.

Every sire needs good mares to support him and a minimum of 50 foals on the ground after his first season, as thereafter it becomes a matter of attrition.

NO INTEREST IN RACING, that was apparent when they raced at Newcastle last week, when two young women were seen walking down the road while the field was lining up at the 1600 metres start.

Just as the horses were ready to jump, the women could be seen walking away with their backs to the racecourse, going down a side street.

The racecourse is encircled by a three metre cyclone fence, but obviously the girls were not fans of the Sport of Kings.

I AM NOT CONVINCED YET that Contributor is the saviour to our ailing weight for age problems; it is getting a bit like boarding house soup it doesn’t get any better.

He is rising six, at best there is another season, he will need to get to 2000 metres before I can warm to him.

That is the recognised distance where we measure the best weight for age horses, nothing has changed, that is when a racehorse earns his stripes.

RON QUINTON was interviewed after winning the Sebring Stakes with his highly promising filly Peeping.

Always the consummate gentleman lavishes praise on others before himself, and what a great rider he was indentured to Theo Green, among the most respected identities the turf has known.

REPRESENTAVIES of both the Queensland breeders and the Magic Millions will meet on Thursday at the Ipswich race course to discuss the success of the sales, and what areas can be further improved, as the sales in Queensland continue to go from strength to strength.