mckenzie

Another interesting aspect is how the NZ Stakes doubling in prizemoney to $1 million will impact other WFA races like the Herbie Dyke, which used to be worth more. And the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes is now on the same day as the NZ Stakes which probably reduces the chances of a Snazzytavi/La Crique/Legarto/Orchestral type match race. I suspect we will see more tweaking to the WFA programme at the end of this season.

Is it just me or is the Ellerslie carnival now missing a bit of the buzz? The Zabeel Classic was a good race but with the Railway moved it feels like New Year's Day is far from the raceday it once was and that they're throwing everything at Karaka Millions night when the overseas buyers and corporates are back in town.

"Speaking of Guineas winners, there has been interest in the Dick Karreman-owned New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Savaglee from stud farms. This column was in Christchurch at the weekend for the New Zealand Cup and 1000 Guineas meeting at Riccarton where talk of the substantial offer to buy the Pam Gerard-trained colt swept around the racecourse. It is understood that Karreman, the owner of New Zealand’s The Oaks Stud, has rejected the purported offer which is said to be closer to $10 million than $5 million. Sire sons of Savabeel include the Newhaven Park-based pair Cool Aza Beel and Mo’unga, Waikato Stud’s Noverre and Cambridge Stud’s Embellish as well as The Oaks Stud-based The Chosen One." https://thestraight.com.au/rowe-on-monday-antino-ka-ying-rising-savaglee/

Interesting that they have said he will be aimed at next year's Melbourne Cup. Hard to think of many horses winning the Cup on their third go after being out of the top 10 on both previous attempts.

Greg O'Connor seemed a little salty about the Aussies winning... "I'm loathe to say it, a day for the Australians" and few other comments while the Aussie presenter was standing right there that seemed a bit unnecessary.

Yes the Karaka Million 3YO going from $250,000 in 2017 to $1 million in 2018 and now $1.5 million has probably contributed to the decline of the Guineas races. Not to mention the Derby being moved to March also changed the dynamics of the 3YO season. In the past the Guineas/Bayer Classic/Derby pathway was the direction top 3YOs often went in. Nowadays the Guineas races don't really fit in with the other feature races.

Could it be some are now being held back and focusing on the NZB Kiwi slot race in March?

It's a shame they couldn't run the Channel 9 Australia coverage for us on an extra channel. As it is we miss a lot of the colour and atmosphere from Flemington because as you mentioned Trackside 1 will likely have Ellerslie, Wingatui, Randwick etc all packed in. Hopefully it won't be as bad as Saturday when they took a race from Doomben and the Cox Plate lead-up got edited so we had the horses being shown in the parade ring before it cut to them in the gates ready to jump.

An exceptional achievement. It makes a mockery of the Halberg Awards that they won't give him any recognition for his success.

McDonald said in an interview earlier in the day that his G1 runners would struggle the way the track was playing and he would speak to Cummings about riding Broadsiding in the lead or close to the pace. Here's the stewards report: Broadsiding Began only fairly and was tightened for room between Evaporate (NZ) and Mayfair. Rider James McDonald explained that after his mount was slow to begin, Broadsiding settled towards the rear of the field as expected and he shifted towards the rail which he felt had favoured runners in the earlier races and to make some ground. He added when unable to improve from the 700m along the rail he shifted wider where he was able to secure clear running upon straightening, and he felt in the circumstances the colt's run was full of merit as he was of the opinion that the surface away from the rail was not the preferred section of the track. A post-race veterinary examination revealed no significant findings.

Also when there is 17-horse G1 coming up at Randwick do we need to go to Morphettville for a Benchmark 62 race a couple of minutes before and miss the commentary from the parade ring for the feature race? And then no interviews after because they're off to Doomben for a no-metro wins handicap. Surely Trackside Premier would be good on a day like today when some just want to see the big meeting coverage and not all these other meetings around Australia?

In the last eight years this is the third time a Hastings Spring G1 meeting has had to be abandoned (2017 Livamol Classic, 2022 Arrowfield Plate, 2024 Tarzino Trophy). Not a great strike rate.

I'm a bit surprised they're not sticking around here for the 1600m-2000m G1 races we have here over the spring & summer with some nice price money now on offer. I thought his runs over those distances at 3 were better than his Derby performances.

Have I missed something? I've never seen a racing club just give away a G1 race like that, especially one they've built up over decades from listed level. Last season the 'alert' to downgrade the race by the pattern committee was removed after Levante beat La Crique so it does seem surprising that now they suggest it's in grave danger of being downgraded. I also found this statement from the pattern committee telling in terms of a warning being given to the Levin Classic: Wellington RC, Levin Classic, from G1 to G2. This race has struggled in recent years due to the impact of the Karaka 3yo Mile on its former mid- January slot. It seems Ellerslie is either taking over the central district G1 races or their programming is badly impacting them.

The future of jumps racing in Australia is set to come under the microscope in the wake of a season which has seen a spike in horse fatalities and a downturn in wagering turnover. Victoria is the only remaining state to conduct jumps racing and it is a loss-maker at a time where racing is facing hugely challenging headwinds with turnover. The average turnover per jumps race in Victoria is roughly half the average turnover per race for non-black-type flat races. After implementing safety enhancements, the average horse fatality rate for the last three completed jumps seasons in Victoria was 2.33 (seven in total). However, this season, which is yet to be completed, has already recorded four horse fatalities in races and another two fatalities in trials. It comes at a pivotal time for jumps racing in Australasia. This week, it was revealed the future of jumps racing in New Zealand hung in the balance and Kiwi racing bosses were including industry participants and even punters in the process of deciding whether the code should be wound up. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) issued a consultation paper laying bare the facts on the struggling discipline. As jumps racing in Victoria comes increasingly under the spotlight, interim Racing Victoria chief executive Aaron Morrison told News Corp that RV would not be following the "public and social inquiry" path than the Kiwis were adopting. Morrison conceded jumps racing was under scrutiny but said the process of RV's annual review would be the same as previous years. "It's the normal review undertaken by Racing Victoria with the AJRA (Australian Jumping Racing Association) looking at a range of data and making a decision in the normal course," Morrison said. https://www.racenet.com.au/news/revealed-future-of-jumps-racing-to-come-under-microscope-20240808

The coverage is much improved, however I'm not a fan of the "Big Saturday" logo that seems to dominate the screen on every cross to the studio.

It's not just our racing industry though, look at the debacle over having functioning ferries across the cook strait. We simply don't have the leadership and attitude in this country to plan for the future and get out of the number 8 wire/ "she'll be right" mentality of quick fixes and kicking the can down the road for someone else to sort out later.

Not sure about some of the results out of this carnival. Some good horses getting spanked by outsiders. Perhaps it's a matter of a lot of them being at the end of their preparations.

She's only 5 so could definitely come back in the spring and win more G1's.

Is it good that NZTR are pumping money into the Karaka Million 3YO? I do wonder if the seemingly lower quality of the Derby in recent years is due to the impact of the Karaka race.

Are my eyes deceiving me or is the prizemoney information for a race no longer displayed?

On the website bring up the menu down the left hand side and click on the little downward pointing arrow next to 'Racing Hub', then click 'Results', then click the meeting you want and it should have an 'Expand All' option.

A rye grass mix that was developed for them. Some info on the structure of the surface in the videos below

Some interesting analysis from Glen Boss

Chris Waller on how the Queen Elizabeth Stakes played out: "I don't know why they let the race unfold like that." "Most of my boys said it was out of their control but I think they all said that."