Champions Day

[rdytdy 5,521]

 

 

Noms are out and some very good strong fields and some great racing to be witnessed.

However the strength of the Sunline Vase noms for a $250k race is very disappointing. Higest rated filly is 68 in the 8 noms with seven having only won a maiden race and the other still a maiden. 

Only 5 noms for the Kings Plate but it will be a must see race that's for sure.

Really looking forward to being there and enjoying the day. .  

    

 

[scooby3051 13,118]

Awful noms for some races ted...cannibalising the 3yos is a mistake as both the Lowland and this race and to some extent the Derby are mostly poor races....programming needs a major revamp...it's a mess at present.

[Zakhu 626]

57 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

Awful noms for some races ted...cannibalising the 3yos is a mistake as both the Lowland and this race and to some extent the Derby are mostly poor races....programming needs a major revamp...it's a mess at present.

My first thought when I saw the nominations was that I was underwhelmed. But thinking about it, for example the Bonecrusher we have got 3 topline horses and 4 reasonable horses that are capable on their day. Would you rather a small select field or a field of 14-16 where half the field have no chance of winning?

[Pete Lane 1,372]

22 minutes ago, Zakhu said:

My first thought when I saw the nominations was that I was underwhelmed. But thinking about it, for example the Bonecrusher we have got 3 topline horses and 4 reasonable horses that are capable on their day. Would you rather a small select field or a field of 14-16 where half the field have no chance of winning?

My thoughts entirely.

[We're Doomed 5,999]

1 hour ago, scooby3051 said:

Awful noms for some races ted...cannibalising the 3yos is a mistake as both the Lowland and this race and to some extent the Derby are mostly poor races....programming needs a major revamp...it's a mess at present.

The programming has just had a major revamp. That is why we have ended up with several small fields. Which was always likely to happen. Horses can only race once a day. If some of those races had been spread over a couple of days a lot of horses would have raced in two of those races. The F/M s into the Bonecrusher. The 3yo fillies into the Derby etc.

[CVance 45]

1 hour ago, Zakhu said:

My first thought when I saw the nominations was that I was underwhelmed. But thinking about it, for example the Bonecrusher we have got 3 topline horses and 4 reasonable horses that are capable on their day. Would you rather a small select field or a field of 14-16 where half the field have no chance of winning?

yep agree but turnover can become an issue with small fields

[Insider 5,239]

Good sized fields at Trentham last Sunday with heaps of Northerners' descending on the place.

They won their share of races too.

Who said that the Northerners' didn't want to travel to the CD as it was too expensive, especially for Group Races?

1 + 1 doesn't = 2 does it guys?

[Canterbury Man 183]

15 minutes ago, Insider said:

Who said that the Northerners' didn't want to travel to the CD as it was too expensive, especially for Group Races?

Trentham is hardly the CD.

[scooby3051 13,118]

2 hours ago, Canterbury Man said:

Trentham is hardly the CD.

It is covered by CD racing is it not???

[Canterbury Man 183]

29 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

It is covered by CD racing is it not???

Not traditionally - Wellington was a district in its own right.

The CD Districts combine Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Manawatu, Taranaki, Wairarapa and Whanganui.

[scooby3051 13,118]

1 hour ago, Canterbury Man said:

Not traditionally - Wellington was a district in its own right.

The CD Districts combine Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Manawatu, Taranaki, Wairarapa and Whanganui.

No I am talking NOW not your twisted ancient history, now it is part of CD racing...or is that still not clear to you Doug???

[uncleremus 45]

21 hours ago, rdytdy said:

Only 5 noms for the Kings Plate but it will be a must see race that's for sure.

I see Ken Harrison has thrown Oh No No No, a 7 yo mare rated 59, into the noms this morning.  The stakemoney for coming 6th is $3,750.  Any idea how much the nom and accptance fees are?

[chiknsmack 629]

2 hours ago, uncleremus said:

I see Ken Harrison has thrown Oh No No No, a 7 yo mare rated 59, into the noms this morning.  The stakemoney for coming 6th is $3,750.  Any idea how much the nom and accptance fees are?

Nom $201.25, Acceptance $2156.25.

[scooby3051 13,118]

Hope this is not a precursor for the rest of the day...slow speed.

[racingoutsider 389]

On 3/5/2025 at 1:05 PM, chiknsmack said:

Nom $201.25, Acceptance $2156.25.

A length and a half from Crocetti, within a length of SS. Wasn't silly!

[chiknsmack 629]

48 minutes ago, racingoutsider said:

A length and a half from Crocetti, within a length of SS. Wasn't silly!

Pick up $1500, but how many ratings points does she pick up? A length and a half from a horse rated 49 points higher; even if you say he didn't run up to his mark and had a much tougher run that gap has to close a bit surely?

Then again, last start she was 3.5L off horses rated ~25 points higher in an open handicap and didn't gain a point, so maybe it's smart placement. She's also a 7yo, so even if she gets a massive ratings bump she's about due for retirement (in many peoples eyes) anyway so who cares?

[We're Doomed 5,999]

One question about Ellerslie. Surely they are the only track in the country, and probably Australia as well, that only lets patrons down to about the 100 metre mark. Any other track in the country would have people lining the outside rail all the way down the home straight. There seems to be heaps of room. Is it just so they can appear to have a few people jammed in just by the finishing post?

I also notice no one seems to sit in grandstands any more. Everyone seems to like to huddle together on the grass where they can't see much. I suppose it makes it cheaper when designing modern facilities.

[stodge 2,544]

In lieu of anywhere else, I thought I'd put my review of Champions Day here.

RETURN TO CONQUER needed the line desperately in the Sistema - forced out wide on the home turn which meant he covered enough ground. I dpn't see him going much beyond 1200m on this evidence. I thought Kevin Stott rode a peach on the second (apart from winning of course). This was a step forward from the fifth in the Karaka Millions. The absence of LA DORADA devalued the race a little (perhaps more than a little).

Desperate stuff at the end of a thrilling Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes. The first five split by a length which tells you all you need to know. Did Ryan Elliot go a fraction early on LEGARTO? Perhaps his hand was forced by the way the race involved but Sam Spratt rode an exemplary race on PROVENCE letting Elliot make his move first and then pouncing inside the final 150m but she wasn't the only one who tried that and Warren Kennedy almost pulled it off on JAARFFI who rattled home only to be denied by the length of a well smoked ciggie. KONASANA was a close fourth and provided a useful form line to EL VENCEADOR (of who more anon). A good race for the bookies overall and a great spectacle.

If you thought the THoroughbred Breeders was a great race, it was, in my view, topped by the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes which saw a fascinating duel between EL VENCEADOR and LA CRIQUE. We know if you give EL VENCEADOR an uncontested lead, you'll live to regret it and Michael McNab must have realised that at halfway as he sent LA CRIQUE on - I suspect that was the last thing he wanted to but he also knew if EL VENCEADOR were allowed to set his own pace, he'd quicken away in the straight.

Wiremu Pinn was therefore forced to sit behind McNab but must have thought on the home turn he'd pick up the filly easily in the straight but LA CRIQUE is a battler and we saw that as EL VENCEADOR came to challenge and the two fought a fantastic battle up the straight with the lead switching but Pinn forced EL VENCEADOR's head down at the right moment and prevailed in a desperate finish. Two very good animals who put on a real show - they were well ahead of the others amongst whom was ORCHESTRAL for whom the race didn't work at all. He got too far back off a slow early and if racing has taught me anything it's that you can give weight but you can't give start.

Having run fourth in the Wellington Cup, TRAV got his day in the sun winning the Auckland Cup defeating the ex-British galloper TAJANIS in a race which saw just two come out of the pack in the straight to finish and the front two were well ahead of INTERPRETATION who ran his usual game race giving 6 kg to the front two. It didn't go well for McNab on TAJANIS - he got shuffled back after halfway and was probably further back than he wanted to be on the turn but he quickened with TRAV in the final 150m but the latter was just too strong to save the bookies.

On then to the feature - the NZB Kiwi and it's NZ$3.5 million price tag which drew a decent field (though possibly not the best which often happens in slot races). Blake Shinn rightly received all the plaudits for the ride on DAMASK ROSE - I wonder if he'd looked at any videos of Ryan Moore riding in America - but of course you need the horse and he had a more than willing filly. It had gone wrong in the Auckland Guineas but I suspect she needs to be carefully trained and doesn't take a lot of races in quick succession. She was very good in the Karaka 3-y-o race and this was even better and, if nothing else, has confirmed her superstar status as a future broodmare.

Had Shinn tried to go round the field, it might well have been EVAPORATE's day and the second did very little wrong. To be fair, he's been mixing it at the highest level - he may have finished last in the Cox Plate but would any of the rest of this field have done any better? Both CHECKMATE and especially SOUGHT AFTER outran their odds and performed with great credit. It wasn't to be for PIVOTAL TEN - I thpought she was beaten at halfway and for all she has looked fantastic down south, this was the top table and she was found wanting on this occasion.

Finally to the Derby and why the course commentator, who otherwise did a reasonable job, had to keep saying "let's bring it on" at the start of most of the races is a mystery. I can't imagine Richard Hoiles saying that before the start of a Group 1 at Royal Ascot or a Grade 1 at Cheltenham. It sounded cheap and unnecessary, it's a horse race, not a boxing match.

Anyway, back to the 3-y-o over 2400m (nice to see a Derby run over the proper distance unlike the bloody French). However, you then  ruin it by allowing geldings to run - never mind. WILLYDOIT erased the memory of his Avondale Guineas failure with a convincing win under Mick Dee and you could call him the winner on the home turn as he quickened down the inside and basically invited the rest of the field to play catch. THEDOCTOROFLOVE had won the Avondale Guineas but just couldn't quicken to WILLYDOIT over the extended distance. He ran a decent race in second while GOLDEN CENTURY outran his odds in third, again possibly with the extra distance bringing some improvement.

TUXEDO was up with the pace but probably did too much and didn't get home. OCEANA DREAM was another who didn't fire.

It looked a well attended and enjoyable day at Ellerslie - there are no doubt aspects which will improve with time but the "Champions Day" concept is now seen in most jurisdictions as a defined end to the season which informs the preceeding months and the narrative around those months. The programme of Group 1 races leading to Champions Day probably needs refining a little (it evolves) and you have to ensure Champions Day doesn't become the be all and end all so races like the Zabeel Classic aren't seen just as "trials". You could have a points system to encourage horses to contest the championship races with perhaps a NZ$ 2 million winning pot (money for the yard as well) for the horse accumulating most points and having double points on perhaps Champions Day and Boxing Day races.

[arjay 482]

Thought warren kennedy lost the plot in the Derby, poorest ride I have seen for a bit.

[Ohokaman 6,485]

Agree Arjay, it was diabolical, and I doubt Roger James or the Lindsays would be too impressed.

Why you would press on 5 and 6 wide after being slow away, then sit three wide in the lead and expect to be in the finish defies comprehension given Kennedy is one of our top jockeys. The poor bugger ended up 36 lengths last and may have been ruined in the process.

[Idolmite 3,501]

2 hours ago, arjay said:

Thought warren kennedy lost the plot in the Derby, poorest ride I have seen for a bit.

I'm glad somebody mentioned that. I had to have a look part way through the race to see who the rider was, and couldn't believe it was Warren Kennedy. It looked like the ride of a 4kg claiming apprentice after being told "lead at all costs or it's your last ride for me". But it wasn't. It was Wassa. 

[Ned Kelly 189]

Thought the ride on amazing fluke was terrible as well, couldn’t understand what he was thinking 

[Breeder 679]

It was great to see an owner trainer , Peter Jeffcoat (from Opaki), doing well with Don Pedro. Unlucky not get a bit closer to the money. Unlike in the old days there not many like Peter around these days, owning and training just one horse. I don't know Peter but I recognise the name Jeffcoat, so I'm presuming he is from that well known racing family.

[Pheroz 157]

I attended Ellerslie yesterday, fortunate to have a share in a runner in the NZB Kiwi. I have been to Flemington, Royal Randwick and NZs top courses but I felt yesterday had a real buzz, some of it maybe a little overdone, (Wayne Brown landing in  a helicopter at the winning post) but all in all it was a fantastic day. I had heard Chris Wallers comment that you need to make your big days an event, well I think ARC achieved that, I was'nt there for the after party but they were starting to rock later in the day.

I say well done ARC and I hope this Champions Day becomes one of our iconic racedays, the support from trainers, jockeys and owners seemed unanamous and as we heard from George yesterday, many times, Bring it on!

[Idolmite 3,501]

43 minutes ago, Idolmite said:

I'm glad somebody mentioned that. I had to have a look part way through the race to see who the rider was, and couldn't believe it was Warren Kennedy. It looked like the ride of a 4kg claiming apprentice after being told "lead at all costs or it's your last ride for me". But it wasn't. It was Wassa.

And the overhead camera shot showed the amount of interference he caused when reversing back through the field as others were beginning to make their run. Plenty is just how much. Surely some time on the sidelines to think about it?