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MESCELLANY

The major 5.1 magnitude aftershock in Christchurch this morning at 7.49am has led to the abandonment of tomorrow nights (Thursday) Harness Meeting at Addington Raceway.

The decision to abandon the meeting was made by the Club in conjunction with HRNZ officials.

Addington Raceway CEO, Shane Gloury, explained. “Everybody here worked so hard to get the place ready to go after the weekend, but this mornings’ aftershock put us back to where we were after the first quake.

“There is a range of issues that necessitated the abandonment. There is damage in many of our major rooms in the Metropolitan Stand – we’ve had ceiling tiles and light fittings that have collapsed and have been strewn across the floor, TV’s that have been destroyed, broken glassware and crockery and our lift has also been damaged. Many of the rooms are a mess.

“We also have the Welfare Centre at the Raceway in the Twiggers Stand There were 280 people that stayed here last night and that number is expected to swell after this morning’s aftershock which means that the Welfare Centre will require use of more rooms and facilities here over the next 48 hours. The Drivers’ Rooms and First Aid areas are also currently being used as a quarantine facility for those that are ill.

“Engineers inspected our building structures this morning not only to ensure the safety of those in the Welfare Centre, but also the other buildings that we use on race night. On a positive note there has been no structural damage to any of our buildings and the racetrack, lighting towers and stables all appear to be fine.”

“When you consider that tomorrow night’s racemeeting was to be at night, the wider obligation we now have to the community in respect of the Welfare Centre and the fact that aftershocks could occur during the racemeeting which could potentially threaten the health and safety of patrons, participants and workers, the decision became easy. There’s just too much risk involved to allow us to proceed with the racemeeting tomorrow night.”

All events scheduled at Addington Raceway through until Sunday 12 September have been cancelled including two greyhound race meetings and the Great NZ Craft Show. Addington expects next Monday’s trials to be conducted as planned and that harness racing will resume next Friday night for the feature Avon City Ford/Ordeal Cup meeting.


Credit: Shane Gloury

INTERDOMINIONS

2010 INTERDOMINION SERIES

In a departure from tradition the Series will be held at three venues. Harold Park on Friday 19 February, Newcastle Saturday 27 February and the Finals at Menangle on Sunday 7 March

HORSES

2010 AVON CITY FORD (NEW BRIGHTON) CUP

Tim Butt has the high ground as the preliminaries take place for the bigger hurdles ahead. He has won three major paces in the last month, starting with Stunin Cullen, continuing with Raglan, and then again after a classy repeat by Stunin Cullen in the Listed Avon City Ford New Brighton Cup at Addington last Friday night.

This was a sublime performance by Stunin Cullen, who has two priceless talents: brilliant acceleration, and a quick step off the mark. Driver Anthony Butt used both in the Cup, his manners gave him a flying start, and his speed to race off to an early lead and again clear them on the corner.

Monkey King, who was second at that stage after a slow start and a big run to sit parked at the 800m, was never a serious challenger in the straight and driver Ricky May knew it, choosing to drop in behind Stunin Cullen at the 300m. He was a strong second, holding off Raglan, who edged Bondy out of third.

Stunin Cullen is close enough to being the early favourite for the Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup, though that might change when Monkey King makes the improvement that is coming. Whether Stinin Cullen has the stamina to complement his speed is a question that he will answer before too long. "I've said all along that he has more speed than any other horse I've driven, but he'll never be Flashing Red tough," said Anthony. "He's a lot more relaxed. I was reluctant to make mid-race moves with him before because of his breathing difficulties, but I wouldn't be now," he said.

Brother Tim knows that speed alone will not be enough to win at times, and says "there are other ways of winning races". This season, Stunin Cullen has achieved his two wins in front, but his second in between wins to Raglan, showed that he was even more lethal coming from off the pace. He says the horse will have an easy time for a week or two and probably have two more races before the NZ Cup.

The return of the stablemates Monkey King and Power Of Tara produced runs much as expected, Monkey King slow off and indicating a lack of match fitness near the end, and Power Of Tara pleasing although 10 lengths off the winner. Trainer Benny Hill was more than satisfied.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 22Sept 2010

HORSES

IN THE POCKET

In The Pocket, the stallion bred by Brittany Farms in the USA who came to New Zealand in 1993 and revolutionised our harness racing breed has died. The outstanding son of Direct Scooter and Black Jade who won $1,537,473 on the race track in the US pacing 1.53.8 as a two-year-old, was put down at Wai Eyre Farm in North Canterbury and is buried there.

In The Pocket (23) leaves behind an outstanding number of top horses to carry on his legacy in New Zealand including siring sensations Christian Cullen, who set four New Zealand records and won 22 races including the the New Zealand Cup, and the pocket rocket, Courage Under Fire, who won 34 races including 6 Derbys.

But it doesn't stop there. In The Pocket is also the sire of many, many more standouts including Changeover, Winforu, Tribute, Bella's Boy, Light And Sound, London Legend, and London Pride, aswell as the speed queens Tupelo Rose and Under Cover Lover.

He is the sire of more than 600 winners in New Zealand and Australia with combined total earnings of more than $26,500,000. While in North America he has also been and an outstanding siring success with such standouts as Sanabelle Island (1.50.8 $1,660,526 57 US wins) and Crew Cut Zach (p4 1.51.4f $1,006,055, 53 US wins) sired by him.

Voted stallion of the Year in 1998/99 and 2003/2004 In The Pocket, stood at Woodlands Stud, near Clevedon in Auckland, for many years before being purchased by Ian Dobson in September 2005 to stand alongside his most famous son Christian Cullen at Wai Eyre.

The In The Pocket Syndicate was formed with Darryl Brown, of Wai Eyre Farm, and another prominent Canterbury owner, Noel Kennard, joining Dobson in the ownership of In The Pocket .

Brown said he had a small share in the stallion. It was a sad day for the stud to have to put In The Pocket down. The stallion was 23 and had left a very strong legacy of horses.

Noel Kennard said it was "incredible to be involved with such a fantastic individual."

"He has revolutionised our breed. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have Christian Cullen, or Courage Under Fire, or any of Cullen's many outstanding sons. In The Pocket was a stunning individual," Kennard said.

-o0o-

Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 8Sep2010

In The Pocket may have passed away early last month, but his legacy is going to be inestimable.

The best sire New Zealand has seen in modern times since Smooth Fella and Vance Hanover, and only to be surpassed by the success of a son, In The Pocket will live long as a sire of commercially successful sires in Christian Cullen and Courage Under Fire and now quite possibly Changeover. But his influence and contribution to the New Zealand breeding industry is going to extend well beyond that.

The first shuttle sire to step foot in this part of the world when he arrived in 1993, In The Pocket brought refinement, gait and speed to a broodmare population which in many ways was still old fashioned and often course insofar as types. New Zealand's broodmare population was brought up to speed so to speak by a class horse, but even more important was the outcross factor that In The Pocket brought to the table.

At the time when the pacing population around the world was becoming saturated with Hal Dale and Meadow Skipper blood, as a son of Direct Scooter and a Tar Heel mare, In The Pocket proved the perfect foil - he could be said to be the right horse in the right place at the right time for New Zealand. Now New Zealand has a significant proportion of broodmares by In The Pocket, Christian Cullen and Courage Under Fire among others - a much higher percentage than anywhere else in the world anyway - and is brilliantly set up to take advantage of the next round or stage of leading sires or high-profile pacng prospects straight off the track.

The value of outcross blood in a broodmare population cannot be underestimated, so thanks to In The Pocket, New Zealand breeders both individually and collectively have a lot to thank him for. The best present example of this can be observed in Bettor's Delight, a sire with no less than 16 crosses to Hal Dale who was crying out for outcross blood in his mares, and sure enough he has crossed brilliantly with In The Pocket and Christian Cullen mares. It is the speed factor of the Direct Scooter and In The Pocket sire line which is proving so effective and complimentary to the toughness that a sire such as Bettor's Delight from the Cam Fella line can offer.

There was nothing fashionable about In The Pocket's pedigree when he hit the ground in February of 1987, but he was a top class juvenile who won over $1.5m by the end of his 3-year-old season, being second only in performance that year to Horse of the Year Beach Towel. Lou Guida was involved in his ownership then, before George Shaw bought him for stud duties in America. In The Pocket initially stood for two years at Walnut Hall in New York before moving to Winbak Farm in Maryland, a State which allowed him to shuttle, while later he also stood in Ohio.

Before settling into a more permanent home at Woodlands Stud and then at Wai-Eyre in his twilight years, In The Pocket also stood at Vance Lodge in Auckland, at Lantana Lodge and the Stallion Station at West Melton, while also doing a stint at Alabar in Victoria. We can therefore count nine individual farms he frequented during his stud career which spanned two decades, with eight of those years spent doing time in both hemispheres. In The Pocket didn't always get a lot of favours in his life, but it would be fair to say that he has been good - and he was always a lovely horse to be around - to all those who came into contact with him in some form or another.

While he didn't make it as a sire in America without the support of a big stud or syndication after being placed outside of the major breeding States, In The Pocket was an immediate success in New Zealand. Christian Cullen and Under Cover Lover came from his first crop, and they were quickly followed up by Courage Under Fire, Classy Filly and Tupelo Rose among others. Star youngsters such as Light And Sound, Bella's Boy, Lennon, Advance Attack and Tribute would follow before Changeover would prove a crowning glory. The success of Christian Cullen and Courage Under Fire as racehorses and as sires is entirely another story.

In The Pocket's record presently shows about 660 New Zealand-bred winners from 1300-odd foals for a winner-to-foals percentage above 50, when 40 percent is an accepted success rate, while he has another 27 Australian-bred winners from the handful of foals he produced each year there. And his North American stats show 537 winners of over $50m, with 169 six-figure winners headed by the super mare Sanabelle Island ($1.6m). In New Zealand, he was a two-time winner of the Sires' Premiership and among the leading sires every year for the 12 consecutive seasons between his first crop racing as 2-year-olds and last season, when declining foal numbers saw him dip out of the Top 10 for the first time. As a broodmare sire he already has well over 200 New-Zealand-bred winners, headed by Bettor's Strike and Tintin In America

It was five years ago now that Ian Dobson along with Noel Kennard and Wai-Eyre studmaster Daryl Brown purchased In The Pocket for what was then a record price, and he settled into a peaceful semi-retirement in North Canterbury alongside his super sire son. There was always a question mark over In The Pocket's fertility, which was probably not all that surprising in his latter years after what he had been through as a shuttle horse, but his last crop will be five yearlings from a book of 29 mares. He has three fillies entered for next year's Sales, but no further foals after four mares came up empty last season.

Brown says the decision to put In The Pocket down a month ago was not a difficult one when he suffered "quite a bad bout of colic. We could have operated to save him, but he was already retired and had had a good innings."

Thus when most sires are looking forward to a new season at stud, In The Pocket has gone to the great breeding barn in the sky, safe in the knowledge that he will be remembered for a very, very long time.



Credit: Shelley Caldwell writing in Harnesslink

HORSES

KIWI INGENUITY

Grand racemare Kiwi Ingenuity has almost certainly finished her racing career. Trainer Robbie Holmes all but confirmed the retirement after she cut her off-side tendon sheath at the back of her fetlock joint near the finish of the Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup at Addington on Tuesday.

The cut was "very deep" said Holmes. "It's been stitched and she will stay for a week at the Canterbury Equine Clinic," he said.

While Holmes has left the door ajar in case there is a longshot change in plan, part-owner Hamish Scott said the decision was "ninety-nine percent. She's done a wonderful job, and her career from here is really as a broodmare." Holmes said racing her again wasn't really a risk worth taking. She had a tenative booking to Art Major a year ago, so I'm pretty sure that's what will happen now."

Holmes was confident of running into a place in the Cup until she started going "slightly rough" halfway up the passing lane. "I thought I'd run a hole the way we were going. She paced the last bend very nicely, then went rough for no reason at all. She got organised, and then did it again." Holmes said she caused the injury with her second break.

Kiwi Ingenuity won 11 of her 27 starts, and with 8 placings earned $523,200. Her notable wins included the Southland Oaks, the Group 1 Wayne Francis Memorial New Zealand Oaks, the Pelorus Classic, the Group 2 Caduceus Premier Mares Classic, the Group 1 PGG Wrightson Breeders' Stakes, the 4YO Diamond at the Harness Jewels in 1:52.1 and the Group 1 Rosslands Queen Of Hearts at Alexandra Park after her fourth in the Miracle Mile behind Monkey King, Smoken Up and Karloo Mick.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 11Nov2010

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Late last month Cavalla Bloodstock bought Power Of Tara off the group of owners that had enjoyed much success with the big Live Or Die gelding. It didn’t take Power Of Tara long to register his first win for his new owner either. Just three weeks on he was winning the Blue Jean Cuisine Winter Cup and doing so at lucrative odds of $25.

2010 BLUE JEAN CUISINE WINTER CUP

Stephen McNally took the reins of the fourth-string Brendon Hill runner in the 3200m contest on Friday night. Bailey’s Dream, Harley Earl and Tennis Ball were all more favoured than their stablemate but getting up to the 3200m generally sees the big horse come into his own. This was the case on Friday night when a patient drive by McNally paid dividends with a late burst that gained a narrow win.

Rangataua Ray got closest to Power Of Tara -the pair combining for a $187 quinella. Nominal favourites Bailey’s Dream and Bettors Strike could only manage third and fourth respectively. The pair effectively cancelling each other in the running, which left it open for a swooper to upset.

The former Group 1 winner, Power Of Tara, is now likely to tick over before a tilt that the spring cups that culminate in the Christchurch Casino NZ Cup on November’s second Tuesday.


Credit: HRNZ Website

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2010 ANTHONY SHEARER/PINK BATTS ORDEAL TROTTING CUP

Master Bomber's win in last Friday's (September 17) Ordeal Trotting Cup (Listed) was just the tonic for harness racing owner Hubert Christey. Gerard O'Reilly married Christey's daughter Jane and now trains the seven year old. Christey suffered a stroke just over two months ago, and with on-going complications the 79 year old has only just been released from hospital.

"Yes he's been through a tough time lately and it was a real pick me up," said Gerard O'Reilly. Master Bomber himself has been the focus of an ongoing problem for O'Reilly also, with a quarter crack the original reason the Rakaia trainer attained the son of Armbro Invasion.
"The father-in-law did a great job and won seven races with him, but he had a nasty quarter-crack and we've had him since December. Kerry (O'Reilly) tried hard to get it right but it just wasn't working so we were forced to tip him out," O'Reilly says. A six week break that included the addition of a bar shoe, constant tubbing and bathing in bluestone (copper sulphate) helped the Bomber make a full recovery from the debilitating ailment.

Master Bomber received a solid build-up this time in with several workouts and trials stripping him fit for the Ordeal. After dropping into the 1-1 early O'Reilly popped in front of the three wide train at the 1400 to get handy again. Forced back in the field turning in, Master Bomber still had plenty of work to do. Leader Ray looked to have stolen a break at the top of the straight but it was to be short lived as Leighton Hest, Roydon Flash and finally Master Bomber made their final assaults, the big Bomber diving late to grab the leading duo in the shadows of the post, beating Leighton Hest by a half head. In a tight finish Roydon Flash was only a head away in third.

The win was just what the doctor ordered for Hubert Christey, it is hoped the long-time harness racing patron will make a full recovery, we wish him all the best. Master Bomber will now be aimed towards a start in the Banks Peninsula Trotting Cup at Motukarara on October 3. "He's won on the track before and should be better for the run the other night," O'Reilly said.

Master Bomber has now won eight of 33 starts and has been placed on 10 occasions with stake earnings of $84,000.


Credit: Steve Dolan writing in Harnesslink

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2010 RENT-A-LOO CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CUP

Paul Nairn is harness racing's most talented trainer of trotters in this country and last Friday night (October 16) the Leeston horseman picked up yet another group victory. Dr Hook made it seven wins from 18 starts, when in the hands of David Butt the son of Dr Ronerail kept many of the country's best squaregaiters at bay, winning the Group Three Canterbury Park Trotting Cup.

It was a typically fluent trotting performance in those famous colours that once belonged to the great Jack Litten and Caduceus.

Anthony Butt found the front very early on with Ray before conceding the lead to cousin David on board the loose favourite. The move posted Stylish Monarch three deep and desperately in need of a clear run in the home straight, but with slick sectionals of 57.7 and 28.6 it was left to Master Bomber to breach the gap, eventually falling short by a neck with Stylish Monarch closing well for third. With the race being run over 2600m this year, the first time since 1986, it wasn't hard for the winner to eclipse Basil Dean's former record of 3.22.4 set back in 1984, Dr Hook stopping the clock in 3.17.9.

David Butt has struck up a solid relationship with Dr Hook after replacing Jim Curtin. "It was a bit of shame for Jim really that he had that wrist problem," says Paul Nairn. "Jim was getting on good with the horse and he's just starting to become a bit more solid, but David's doing a good job with him now and will continue to drive him for as long as he wants." Butt and Nairn have combined to collect some pretty hefty ransoms over the years, Call Me Now, Above The Stars and Stig, as well as Kahdon have all won group one races with Butt in the sulky.

Nairn is loath to compare Dr Hook to any of the other great or even talented trotters he has trained in the past, preferring to let them simply perform to their merits. "I just train them and try to have them as good as I can get them, I don't make to many comparisons and leave it up to the horse to do his thing," Nairn said. A close relation to champion trotter Stig, Dr Hook will now head to Ashburton on Monday for the Trotters Flying Mile on a track that Nairn believe will suit the five year old. "The big track will be perfect for him, he'll get around the bends nicely and he's raced well over a mile before."



Credit: Steve Dolan writing in harnesslink.com 19 Oct 2010

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Prime Minister John Key making presentation to Robert Famularo

2010 CHRISTCHURCH CASINO NEW ZEALAND CUP

Not everyone had given up on Monkey King. Benny Hill hadn't, nor Ricky May, or 'the Addman' - farrier Adam White, and not the Famularo family. And when Hill heard the noise of the crowd when May brought Monkey King onto the track for the Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup, he knew they were not alone. The Monkey faithful were back at Addington. It came again when May took Monkey King level with Smoken Up on the corner of the Cup, and the rumble became a roar when Monkey King drew clear.

For the little black horse, it was his second Cup win. It was easier than last year's when he held out Bettor's Strike by a neck. This time it was decisive, by a length and a half. It was slower than last year because of a stiff easterly wind. And again it came from a show of patience, calculation and confidence by May.

Instead of being off and around in the early stages, he waited. Rather than moving in the middle stages, when he could have, he waited. It was not until the last lap, when others had been and gone, that he made his solo run at the front. At the 800m he was second, in easy striking distance outside Smoken Up and Stunin Cullen, with Sleepy Tripp, Bondy and Kiwi Ingenuity nearby.

Turning in, Monkey King soon got down to business. May knew Monkey King could stay better than Smoken Up. He'd seen it happen before - at 5.20pm-ish at Addington this time last year. And he suspected Stunin Cullen had run along too keenly to have a kick at the end. That's when he knew he had another New Zealand Cup on a 'C V' that is already bulging with Cups, Trophies, Group wins, headlines and simply great drives. As simple as it was, this was one of them.

"I was pretty confident at the corner," said May. "Stunin Cullen had over-raced, but I was still expecting him to come at me, and I was going better than Smoken Up. I sent him at the two hundred. I was pretty happy early on because he got past four or five at the start. And that wind was a bit strong so I was happy to wait a bit. I waited until they went as slow as they did. And Benny has done just a big job to peak him at the right time."

Benny's done it before, and this occasion again emphasised how well he does it. "The racing he had this time was planned," Hill said. "The time he went away he won, and twice since then he didn't. At home, I kept an eye on his weight. I like to see their heads down, but I don't feed big." Hill had a racing weight of 430kg in mind for him, and he knew he was within an ounce of it when he "had a little blow" after a solid run in the Cup Trial. "I knew we were back...I knew we were right on track," he said. "It's just a guideline, one tool I have for getting him where I want him." Another is whether Monkey King has the shakes or not. "He's not in the zone if he does."

While Hill and his staff at Dancinonmoonlight Farm knew they had Monkey King just where they wanted him, they knew it was over to the Cup King to handle the start, where within a second or two he could win it as easily as he could lose it. "I just kept him jogging, keeping his mind active," said May. "He loves Addington and loves two miles. For what he's done - two New Zealand Cups, an Auckland Cup, running 1.50, winning the Miracle Mile - he's got to be the best. And one of his best runs was when he was beaten into fourth in the Victoria Cup."

Hill is wary of Monkey King when he is well, as he has been this past week or so. "He can be a little shit at home. He tried to take a nip out of one of our girls the other day and it wasn't feed-up time. And it can be more than a nip. But it's not something you'd want to knock out of him. It's part of his character."

While Hill was over the moon with the Cup win of Monkey King, he was quick to rate the run of Power Of Tara, who rattled into fourth after being near last at the corner. He qualified as an unlucky runner after losing his place inside the last 1000 metres. "I really love the horse and he has settled into out barn so well since he arrived. He has been getting home so well in his races, and is just a neat wee horse. Stephen (McNally) has done a great job with him," he said.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 11Nov 2010

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2010 SEELITE WINDOWS & DOORS NZ TROTTING FREE-FOR-ALL

Ima Gold Digger threw the cat among the pigeons for tomorrow's Dominion when he bolted away with the Group 1 NZ Trotting FFA in national record time at Addington on Tuesday. With the likes of Leighton Hest, Stylish Monarch, One Over Kenny, Master Bomber and the speedster King Charlie all handily drawn on the front line, and the most money of all still coming for Raydon, this race looked too big an ask for Ima Gold Digger from the outside of the second line. But the way things unfolded with a hectic tempo up front, the event actually panned out pretty well for him.

Ima Gold Digger saved energy early by settling well back and Todd Mitchell had him in the three-wide train with cover starting the last lap. Ima Gold Digger was thus a fresh horse when the leading division were beginning to get the stitch, and he bounded clear early in the run home to score by four and a half lengths in the end. The improving Idid It Myway, from the outside of the front line, finished best of the rest, shading Stylish Monarch, Master Bomber, Raydon and Leighton Hest.

But there could be no excuses - Ima Gold Digger had circled the field and trotted the 2600m mobile in 3:13.3, a 1:59.6 mile rate and almost a second inside Romper Stomper's race and New Zealand record of 3:14.2 set three years ago. This was not a day particularly conducive to fast times either, with a blustery easterly making things difficult both on and off the track. What Ima Gold Digger also did is prove his previous 1:56.7 mile win at Ashburton over Dr Hook was no aberration either.

The 5-year-old Sundon gelding has been with Michelle Wallace at Waiuku since January, but he has been with her husband Bernie Hackett at David and Catherine Butt's Woodend Beach stables since the start of October. Wallis joined in for Cup Day, but co-owner and previous trainer Allan Georgeson was absent because "the crowd was too big". Georgeson's wife Lorraine and daugther-in-law Jan were on-hand to accept the spoils.

"He has thrived since being down here, but I think the recent improvement is simply about the fact that he is maturing all the time," said Hackett. "He could get a bit nervy at times before, but he is a much more relaxed horse now. And I daresay we'll see Allan here on Friday now," he added.

Ima Gold Digger, the fourth Group race winner from the broodmare gem Janetta's Pride, following on from prior Sundon foals in Dependable, Jo Anne and Shirley Temple, was of course the outstanding 3-year-old of his season. He won the NZ Trotting Derby, Sires' Stakes and Great Northern Trotting Derby in consecutive starts before coming up short when third at the Jewels, and then resumed in the Trotting FFA won by Speculate last year.

By January he was with Wallis and Hackett in order to get enough 'points' for the Jewels at Cambridge, but he ran into I Can Doosit and Dr Hook there. "He was third or fourth best 4-year-old last season, but he's come back much stronger this time in. After this week we'll take him back home for Christmas racing in Auckland, and then I guess we'll be back here for the Inters."

Glamour mare One Over Kenny got things right on this occasion, but still disappointed in dropping away badly in the run home. "She is over last season's quarter crack problems, but she might still have some other foot issues," said owner Lex Williams. "But her main problem today was the simple fact that she hasn't had the racing to be going any records, and now we have a very short turnaround to the Dominion," he added.

With Springbank Richard, Dr Hook, I Can Doosit and Sovereignty entering the fray for that, and Ima Gold Digger no longer underestimated, the $200,000 Dominion is looking an enthralling and wide open contest.

Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 11Nov2010