I don’t know whether it was genius, foolhardy, pigheadedness or just plain gutsy on Gringotts, but Nash Rawiller, take a bow.<\/p>\n
You are one of a kind, my friend.<\/p>\n
And I mean one of a kind in every sense.<\/p>\n
Nash<\/a> is not the easiest bloke to chat to, he can make a conversation feel like you’ve walked into the wrong room. He’s awkward, doesn’t waste words, sometimes gives you a stare that makes you want to check whether you’ve said something stupid. He’s different. He’s wired his own way. He’s not polished, he’s not rehearsed and he’s definitely not playing the game the way others do.<\/p>\n But put him on a horse and boy oh boy \u2026 there isn’t another hoop in the country you’d want in your corner when it’s on the line.<\/p>\n There’s no one else riding who would have risked the public pasting if Saturday’s move went wrong. But Nash doesn’t ride for the critics he rides for the win. <\/p>\n Sticking to the inside on a $2.45 favourite in a $1 million race, when every winner before and after was near the outside fence, was pure Rawiller.<\/p>\n Bold. Brave. Borderline mad. But brilliant.<\/p>\n Yes, he’s gone against the script before in the 2022 Queen Elizabeth on Think It Over, swinging to the extreme outside to beat Zaaki but The Gong might have been his most audacious call yet. And he pulled it off.<\/p>\n And tell the truth, if you backed Gringotts<\/a> and he got rolled, what would you have said about Nash after the race? Exactly.<\/p>\n He turns 51 in two weeks and he’s still riding like a man half his age with twice the hunger. Difficult to talk to? Sometimes.<\/p>\n Different? Always.<\/p>\n But when the whips are cracking and the margin is a cigarette paper, give me Nash Rawiller every day of the week.<\/p>\n Only wish we had another 25 years of him.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n LOCALS LOVE BIG TIME RACING<\/p>\n Congratulations to Ciaron Maher<\/a> for giving a big mention to Racing NSW and the Kembla Grange Race Club, and not just focus on himself, when interviewed after Gringotts’ win in The Gong<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are great meetings,\u201d Maher said. \u201cI know it is testing conditions (with the rain) but it hasn’t worried one person who has walked on track, they are all having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n Probably not quite as good a time as Ciaron as he counted his winning prizemoney, but he is right, these big days are great and the Wollongong locals let their hair down big time on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n BONG BONG A SMOKING SUCCESS\u00a0<\/p>\n The annual Bong Bong<\/a> Picnic races were on last Friday and reports are this fabulous day was as fabulous as ever.<\/p>\n Ciaron Maher is Bong Bong’s most famous racing local these days with his major NSW stables situated not far from the famous track.<\/p>\n Ciaron didn’t have a runner at the meet on Friday, but organised a marquee on the day for his owners and staff.<\/p>\n Trainer Andrew Dale<\/a> produced a Maher-like statistic by saddling up nine of the 34 runners in the six races including Mojo Music<\/a>, a five-length winner of the 1200m Sprint.<\/p>\n Good on you, Andrew.<\/p>\n For those of you a little short on geography, Bong Bong is in the Southern Highlands just an hour’s drive from Sydney and close by the major township of Bowral.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE \u2013 CAPTAIN MCMAHON<\/p>\n The ATC has its challenges, no one’s pretending otherwise but there’s a new-look team in town, and with acting CEO Steve McMahon steering the ship, there’s a good vibe about the place that hasn’t been felt in a long while.<\/p>\n Will McMahon be the long-term CEO? That’s a question for others but in the short time since he stepped up to the top job the change has been noticeable.<\/p>\n McMahon’s biggest tick comes with being approachable and willing to come out from behind his desk and actually talk face to face with trainers, participants and members.<\/p>\n Problems are not being ignored and swept aside, the club is trying a unique way of doing things, by acknowledging there are problems then fixing them.<\/p>\n He’s been out at sparrow’s at trackwork (with me), asking questions, actually listening that old-fashioned thing everyone talks about but rarely bothers to do. He even fronted up to the NSWTA AGM and faced some hard questions on Friday.<\/p>\n And all this while he and the board are putting the final touches on the ATC’s case ahead of this week’s meeting with Racing NSW, and the stakes are sky-high.<\/p>\n It’s early days, sure. But you don’t need to be a genius to see what’s happening. There’s openness and straight-shooting coming from the top, and it’s been missing for far too long. The tough calls are still ahead they always are, and the ATC isn’t rolling in spare cash but for the first time in a long time, people feel like they’re back in the room. Back in the conversation.<\/p>\n The Australian Turf Club faces a critical meeting with the industry regulator in Sydney next week as its future hangs in the balance.https:\/\/t.co\/wi4HzEFLF5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Racenet (@RacenetTweets) November 20, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n LEGEND COL PROUD AS PUNCH OF HIS GIRL<\/p>\n What a buzz it must have been for Cindy Alderson<\/a> to win a $1m race at Cranbourne<\/a> with Jigsaw<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n Cindy’s dad Colin Alderson, who trained such stars as Nicholas John and Sky Heights, is almost Mr Cranbourne.<\/p>\n He had a lot to do with the present training centre at Cranbourne taking shape and that’s just the start of the good things he has done for racing.<\/p>\n Col is 80 years young and still going pretty strong and I guarantee he would have given a big cheer when Jigsaw broke clear.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n SABAJ POSSESSES STRENGTH<\/p>\n Sabaj<\/a> had no luck when brought to Sydney for the Silver Eagle at Randwick last month and he probably should have run second to Linebacker.<\/p>\n Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr<\/a> took him back home after the Sydney mishap and he’s found his top form with a win at Flemington on the last day of the carnival and then a victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Cranbourne Cup.<\/p>\n The acceleration he showed at the finish of the 1600m on Saturday was a bit special. Sabaj is already the winner of five of eight starts and a Group One win for him is not too far off.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n MUNCES ARE BURNING TURF<\/p>\n Chris and Corey Munce<\/a> are on fire in Brisbane sitting second in the metropolitan premiership on 30 wins some 18 ahead of third and they did it again on Saturday when Deep field mare Walsh Bay<\/a> won her sixth race on the bounce at the Sunshine Coast meeting.<\/p>\n Walsh Bay is now in Cup mode having won the Toowoomba Cup (2000m) in September, the Queensland Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm in October and on Saturday the Mooloolaba Cup.<\/p>\n I note the owners of Walsh Bay are the Honourable P McGauran and Mrs M Capuano.<\/p>\n That just has to be the very likeable Peter McGauran, until recently the chairman of the Australian Turf Club, and previously a long time National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n JENNY BACK AND WITH A BANG<\/p>\n Forest Gump missed Jenny, and racing missed Jenny Graham.<\/p>\n There aren’t too many bigger or brighter smiles in racing than Jenny Graham<\/a>‘s and on Sunday at Taree, the champion trainer had every reason to beam. She saddled up her first runner in two and a half years, and wow, didn’t her 2YO Vantorix<\/a> announce himself in style.<\/p>\n You don’t often see a baby on debut thrown straight into an Open Country Maiden<\/a>. That’s a tough school. But Vantorix didn’t just handle it, he handed out a galloping lesson to the older horses.<\/p>\n And punters were wide awake. The Captivant youngster opened with the TAB on Friday at $7.50, and with only 13 cents worth of deductions, anyone who snapped up the top odds was sitting pretty at $6.50, a far cry from the official $1.55 he jumped.<\/p>\n A brilliant comeback for Jenny. A serious debut for Vantorix. And something tells me this won’t be the last time we’re talking about him.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n YOUNG GUN DELIVERS FIVE OF THE BEST<\/p>\n Some days a jockey just gets in the zone, and at Canberra on Sunday young gun Dylan Gibbons<\/a> was riding like he owned the joint with five winners, and not a soft one among them.<\/p>\n The well-spoken polite young man didn’t just turn up, he dominated. He judged pace, threaded needles, and produced finishes that only a rider brimming with confidence can pull off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Things didn’t go to plan in the days feature event the $200,000 Canberra Community Chest (1400m) when he was caught deep but he remained calm and allowed his mount Kintyre to travel and stay relaxed which proved the winning action.<\/p>\n Dylan’s already one of the most polished young talents in the country, but days like this reminds everyone just how high his ceiling is. Five winners at the nation’s capital, that’s not a good day out. That’s a statement.<\/p>\n And Dylan Gibbons delivered it loud and clear.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM\u00a0<\/p>\n One of my pet hates is when commentators tell you this horse has firmed from $8 to $3 and they fail to mention that the two opening $3 chances in the race have been scratched.<\/p>\n Tim Ryan of the TAB does it best when he says, \u201cWe put up $8 this horse, but with deductions it is about $3.30 to $3.\u201d<\/p>\n The other way is misleading punters.<\/p>\n UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM\u00a0<\/p>\n Which bookie spruiker has been pointing out errors on social media regularly of late? He better hope they don’t fire back as I skipped through his last few months on \u2018X’ and found some ripping mistakes.<\/p>\n UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM\u00a0<\/p>\n Just because someone writes something on social media doesn’t make it true. And it happens in racing it seems every minute. I am amazed how many others then chime in and agree with the post and throw extra mud on top without even checking to see if the statement\/post is true.<\/p>\n Some posts are just wrong while others are posted to cause harm to an individual or an organization and don’t think because someone is well known it doesn’t happen.<\/p>\n \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/p>\n BLACKBOOKER \u2013 A WIN IS COMING<\/p>\n SYLPH<\/a> \u2013 The daughter of I Am Invincible was beaten at Canterbury on Wednesday but I don’t think it will be long until she is in the winner’s circle. The winner was impressive but Sylph will improve from the run and appreciate a bigger track than Canterbury to showcase her ability. A well-bred filly ready to stake the nest step.<\/p>\n CALLISTEMON<\/a> \u2013 The 5yo mare was first up on Saturday at Kembla and things didn’t start well as she begun a couple of strides slow. She travelled well and gradually picked her way through the field to finish fourth. That run will bring her on and another isn’t far away.<\/p>\n