PLACE:  Hastings

DATE:  Saturday 6th March

RACE:  6

TIME:  2:47pm

DISTANCE:  1600m

DRAW:  6

WEIGHT:  55kg

JOCKEY:  Jason Waddell

Mark Walker' comments below: 

He has been coming along well and he has drawn 6 out of 8 on a good track.  Senior Jockey Jason Waddell will take the mount.  I am pleased with him leading into this race as he has trained on nicely since his fine win at Rotorua.  Jason should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and give him every opportunity.  This is a very good field being on a Saturday, however he is in good form and this is a TBS Bonus race worth $15,000 which he is eligible for and worth running for, even though he is dropping back to the 1600m distance he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

TELL A TALE 

PLACE:  Matamata 

DATE:  27th February

RACE:  9

TIME:  5:11pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  8

WEIGHT:  57.5kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

 Mark Walker comments below: 

Tell A Tale has been coming along well and he has drawn 8 out of 11 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race and he has trained on well since his great run at Te Rapa.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and he gets into this race well at the weights carrying 57.5kg with Veloce Bella carrying ½ a kilo more than him this time out.  It is a good field however he has the home track advantage, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance.

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Matamata

DATE:  27th February

RACE:  3 

TIME:  1:20pm

DISTANCE:  1200m 

DRAW:  7 

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments below:

Rio Fortune has been coming along well and he has drawn 7 out of 17 but they only run 14.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race and his work has been good this week.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and he comes into this well at the weights carrying the 56kg.  It is a very good field, however he has the home track advantage, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.  

VOLKARRIE 

PLACE:  Rotorua

DATE:  19th February

RACE:  5

TIME:  3:07pm

DISTANCE:  1950m

DRAW:  4

WEIGHT:  55kg

JOCKEY:  Shane Dye

Mark Walker Comments:

 He has been coming along well and he has drawn 4 out of 9 on a dead track.  Senior jockey Shane Dye will take the mount as James McDonald was committed to another ride before we entered him for this.  It was unfortunate that Wairoa scrapped his race tomorrow however I am pleased with him heading into this race on Friday as he worked up nicely yesterday morning.  Shane should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw and he should get a nice run throughout around mid field.  It is a step up in class for him but this race has a TBS Bonus of $15,000 which he is eligible for, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.

TELL A TALE

PLACE:  Te Rapa 

DATE:  13th February

RACE:  7

TIME:  4:17pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  2 

WEIGHT:  59kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker's comments below: 

Tell A Tale has been coming along well and he has drawn 2 out of 10 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as his work has been good this week and he has done well.  I have elected to make some significant gear adjustments taking the blinkers and the nose band off him.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw if he jumps well, we have jumped him out of the wooden gates and he has done it fine so hopefully he doesn’t give the field a head start on Saturday.  It is a good even field, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance.

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Te Rapa

DATE:  6th February

RACE:  3

TIME:  1:50pm

DISTANCE:  1200m

DRAW:  7

WEIGHT:  57kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

 Mark Walker Comments:

 He has been coming along well and he has drawn 7 out of 8 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am very pleased with him leading into this race, he is fresh without a trial but his work has been good.  He has drawn wider than I had hoped for however James should be able to position him well in the field from the wide barrier draw in this small field.  It is a good field however he looks in very good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance.  All going well after this race he will progress on to Matamata on Saturday the 27th of February. 

PLACE:  Trentham

DATE:  30th January

RACE:  6

TIME:  3.23pm

DISTANCE:  1600m

DRAW:  7

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments:

He has been coming along very well indeed and he has drawn 7 in a field of 18. At the moment the track is rated a Dead 4 , but weather forecasts are good and we are expecting a Good track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am very extremely pleased with him leading into this race, he really thrived after the short break we gave him after the Zabeel and he has trained on very nicely.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and  the 1600m distance will suit him ideally at this stage of his preparation.  It is a very strong field but he is back racing left handed, he gets track conditions to suit him and he can certainly measure up in this field. With a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance.  

PLACE:  New Plymouth 

DATE:  21st January

RACE:  8

TIME:  5:30pm

DISTANCE:  1800m

DRAW:  9

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

 Mark Walker comments:

Volkarrie has been coming along well and he has drawn 9 out of 14 on a good track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him leading into this race and he has pulled up very well from his good run at Paeroa last week.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw.  It looks to be a fairly even field apart from the top weights and the Pukekura Park course should suit him.  He is backing up quickly, however he looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.

PLACE:  Paeroa

DATE:  15th January 

RACE:  5

TIME:  2:28pm

DISTANCE:  1670m

DRAW:  4 

WEIGHT:  54kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald 

Mark Walker comments below: 

Volkarrie has been coming along well and he has drawn 4 out of 8 on a good track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him leading into this race and he has worked up well during the week.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and he steps up to the 1670m which should suit him.  It is a big step up in class for him but it is a nice race for him having a TBS Bonus of $15,000 which he is eligible for and he gets in on the minimum weight of 54kg, he looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

PLACE:  Waikouaiti 

DATE:  1st January

RACE:  6

TIME:  3:15pm

DISTANCE:  1250m

DRAW:  2

WEIGHT:  54.5kg

JOCKEY:  Kylie Williams

 Mark Walker comments below:

Chanson d'Amour has been coming along well and she has drawn 2 out of 12 on a good track, senior jockey Kylie Williams will take the mount.  I am pleased with her leading into this race as she has trained on nicely since her last start and I have removed the Blinkers for this race to see if she will settle better.  Kylie should be able to position her well in the field from the good barrier draw.  She needs to make the step up to this grade and she gets the chance to do so here, she looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running she should be a good each way chance.  I will assess this run before making further definite plans for her.

PLACE:  Taupo

DATE:  30th December

RACE:  3 

TIME:  1:45pm

DISTANCE:  1750m

DRAW:  6

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments: 

Volkarrie has been coming along well and he has drawn 6 out of 8 on a good track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him leading into this race as he has pulled up and trained on well since his good run for third at Matamata.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw.  He does back up fairly quickly however he looks well placed in this race, it is a pretty even field, he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

PLACE:  Ellerslie

DATE:  26^th December

RACE:  9

TIME:  6:12pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  7

WEIGHT:  58.5kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments:

He has been coming along well and he has drawn 7 out of 15 but they only run 14 on a good track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am very pleased with him leading into this race, obviously I was a little disappointed in his last start but I do think he has trained on nicely.  He has been doing a little bit of jumping around the tyres to keep him motivated.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and stepping up to the 2000m distance should suit him ideally.  It is a very strong field and he is going back right handed and I do think he prefers going left handed, however he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance, but if he run in the first five in this race I will be more than happy with his performance. 

PLACE:  Matamata

DATE:  23rd December

RACE:  3

TIME:  2:15pm

DISTANCE:  1600m

DRAW:  2

WEIGHT:  57kg

JOCKEY:  Jason Collett (claims 1kg)

 Mark Walker comments:

He has been coming along well and he has drawn 2 out of 12 on a dead track, senior apprentice jockey Jason Collett will take the mount and 1kg off his back.  I am pleased with him and he has he worked up nicely leading into this race.  Jason should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw.  Hopefully the rain stays away and the firm track and the 1600m distance should suit him.  It is a fairly even field, he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.  If he run in the first four in this race I will be more than happy with his performance and there are plenty of nice races coming up for him over the summer period.  

CHANSON D’AMOUR

PLACE:             Riccarton
DATE:                18th December
RACE:                10
TIME:                  6:30pm
DISTANCE:       1200m
DRAW:               4
WEIGHT:            54.5kg
JOCKEY:           James McDonald

Mark Walker's comments: 

 She has been coming along well and she has drawn 4 out of 19 but they only run 14 on a good track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with her leading into this race and she will race with the Blinkers On for the first time.  James should be able to position her well in the field from the good barrier draw but we will just ride her quietly from the barrier.  It is a big step up in class for her however she looks to have strengthened with the break.  She looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running she should be a good place chance and if she runs in the top five in this race fresh up I will be more than happy with her performance.

PLACE:              Wellington
DATE:                 5th December
RACE:                8
TIME:                  4:57pm
DISTANCE:       1600m
DRAW:               8
WEIGHT:            59kg
JOCKEY:            James McDonald 

Mark Walker's comments:

He has been coming along well and he has drawn 8 out of 15 on a heavy track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  He has travelled up from Rangiora well and is currently in Otaki where he has settled in nicely.  I am pleased with him leading into this race however I am not pleased with the weather conditions as the track is very heavy.  The rain is very frustrating so I do plan to scratch him if the weather and track don’t improve.  At this stage of his campaign and carrying 59kg I don’t want flatten him.  If he does take his place in this James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and give him a lovely run, he does look in very good order as usual and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance as long as the track comes back to dead.  It is unfortunate but if I do elect to scratch him on Saturday I will keep him fresh for the week and I will run him at Te Rapa on Saturday the 12^th of December over 1400m. 

PLACE:              Matamata
DATE:                 3rd December
RACE:                7
TIME:                  3:10pm
DISTANCE:       1400m
DRAW:               5
WEIGHT:            56kg
JOCKEY:            James McDonald 

Mark Walker's comments: 

He has been coming along well and he has drawn 5 out of 15 on a dead track, stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount in this apprentice race riders race which is an advantage being the countries leading apprentice.  I am pleased with him leading into this race; he has trained on well since his first up run and his work was good on the course proper this morning.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw, unfortunately the rain has come and the track is cutting out a bit, so we wouldn’t want it to get any worse over the next couple of days, it is a pretty even field, he looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.