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von Smallhaussen

Group downgrades

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Easter is an iconic race. Thought with the likes of Rasa Lila, Sakhees Soldier, Mabeel, Julinsky Prince, Abidewithme and Snapshot (6 wins from 8 at the time) plus 12 other runners, that last years edition was Group 1 quality. And the year before that the field was even better. Vespa, Kawi, Allez Eagle, Mighty Solomon, Abidewithme, Addictive Habit, Julinsky Prince, Pondarosa Miss, Chintz  ....

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4 hours ago, Insider said:

The ratings are based on the first four home. Nothing more nothing less. How do the two runnings of the Easter Hcp look after that?

Pretty poor last year with non black type winner's running the quinella and Rasa Lila at that stage best performances was being a G3 winner and G2 placed both in Fillies and Mares races, was a lot of depth behind but I think ratings only done on First 4 home.

Any G1 race that reverts to SW&P conditions know that looking towards the future they are in trouble .

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4 hours ago, Insider said:

The ratings are based on the first four home. Nothing more nothing less. How do the two runnings of the Easter Hcp look after that?

That's interesting. I would have thought the depth of the field was a better indication of the races strength.

Dropping the Wellington Cup to G3 seems a bit harsh to me. Mind you, if they keep the prize money at a reasonable level, they are going to continue to attract the same type of horse who has been lining up when it was G2. It's still the race won by Great Sensation and Castletown, Owners will likely remain keen to have their horses name alongside those on the Cup.

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4 hours ago, Uriah Heap said:

That's interesting. I would have thought the depth of the field was a better indication of the races strength.

 

Yea true. Surely if the first 2 placegetters beat quality horses, then shouldn't that signify a high quality field? I would have envisioned even better fields in the coming years under the new set weight and penalty conditions.

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2016 NEW ZEALAND PATTERN COMMITTEE REVIEW

21 September 2016, 12:05 p.m.

Two races have been upgraded and two downgraded following the New Zealand Pattern Committee’s (NZPC) annual review of the Group and Listed races run in New Zealand in the 2015-16 season.

The Group I Easter Stakes at Ellerslie and the Group II Wellington Cup at Trentham have been downgraded while the Rotorua Stakes has been upgraded to group status and an Ellerslie three-year-old race promoted to listed level.

The NZPC, which follows the Asian Pattern Committee (APC) Ground Rules, uses the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) as its primary assessment tool, taking into account the race rating in the season under review and also the pattern race rating (an average of the three most recent annual ratings).

The race rating is determined by the average peak ranking of the first four placegetters. The recommended benchmark rating for a Group I race is 115, with the tolerance threshold 110.

The Easter had a rating of 109.2 for the 2015-16 season, with a pattern race rating of 107.9 and had failed to meet the Group I threshold in each of the four years under review. The NZPC did consider that the top four starters in the race have consistently rated above 110 in recent seasons, and that this was a potential offsetting factor, but the final decision on Group I races is taken by the APC, which voted to downgrade the race to Group II.

The Wellington Cup (3200m) has been downgraded from Group II to Group III, after failing to meet the Group II tolerance threshold in each of the last three seasons. Throughout the APC region, all races of Group II and below which failed to meet their thresholds were downgraded. The NZPC considers that the widespread public popularity and historical significance of the Wellington Cup will be protected by NZTR’s commitment to unchanged prize-money funding levels.

The Rotorua Stakes, a weight-for-age fillies and mares race, has been promoted from Listed to Group III status and a 1300m three-year-old race run at Ellerslie in early December has been given Listed status. Volkstok’n’barrell and Sofia Rosa have been the most recent winners of the Ellerslie race, which has actually met the threshold rating for a Group III in the last two seasons.

The Group I Auckland Cup has also failed to meet the tolerance threshold in each of the last four years and the 2016 renewal was particularly weak, with a rating of 103.5. However, the NZPC has endorsed the decision of the APC that the race should retain its Group I rating for another year, pending a review of staying races throughout the region, whose ratings have all been under significant pressure.

The NZPC considered it would be deeply undesirable to have no Group I race at 2400m or longer for older horses in New Zealand but noted that regardless of the review outcomes, a significant lift in the race rating will be required in the season ahead.

The NZPC discussed the WTRR ratings assigned to NZ horses at some length and is concerned on a number of different grounds with the ratings of some NZ three-year-old races in particular. Accordingly, the NZPC has requested that NZTR establish an expert review of the WTRR ratings assigned to NZ horses and races at three years and below. The NZPC understands that the APC has agreed to consider the outcomes of this review.

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The following is an excerpt from a newsletter I receive from a very knowledgeable NZ racing scribe on this topic:

Take a bow once again Butch Castles and Desmond Coppins….I see the pattern committee has now downgraded the Easter Handicap (NZ’s oldest race and once best mile by so far it was not funny from G1 to G2…..now that Castles and some misguided miscreants tried to change this race to the Champions Mile (copying Hong Kong ffs) and then the date…..well that soon go shat on……can you believe now that the Easter Handicap is a G2….and not always on Easter weekend ….my goodness…..what a disgrace………and that brown-nosing Coppins at the Wellington RC (where farkin Castles came from the bullshitting blimp) have been outraged ever since the Wellington Cup got downgraded to G2…..well grab hold of the toilet seat at Trem-Fim because some turbo-laxative action is about to happen ala Dumb & Dumber and Jeff Daniels as Harry…..it is now a G3 race and a wilderness highweight like the NZ Cup….you cannot make this up….because it is true……..and how they never downgraded the Auckland Cup defies belief…..that race has been excrement for 4 years….it is gone after next year to G2 if the field is old jumpers again….that will teach Butch and the Auckland RC clowns that moved the Cup……my goodness.

 

You cheat, lie, keep up appearances, spin, act like Trackside hosts, interview more often than not mates and riders/stables with awful strike rates, then the chickens will not come home to roost and so will vermin, grubs, Wai-Kat-To people (is there any filthier?)……NZ racing is infested with vermin…..the lying is out of control….the conflict of interest is off the charts….stud and breeding plants are everywhere and these people should never ever be trusted.

 

I think it is safe to assume NZ racing is headed to third world status…..if not already there….the RIU has a rotten trio at the top….the NZTAB cannot take too many bets before the website or system collapses……Trackside has an entire staff of liars and silly looking and speaking people beholden to saying and doing anything…..NZTR is a joke and Greg Purcell, well, my goodness, how far backwards can a sport go under one person?.....and finally the NZRB…..John Allen should be forced to resign, as he said he would if the turds kept hitting the fan, and under his tenure so far the co-mingling of big Aus Quaddies has stopped and races downgraded and Trackside is getting worse and the RIU has no integrity at the top…..and turnover is collapsing with the only increase being pokies, which is addiction central.....just leave now John Allen and let another monkey have a go on the organ grinder and peanut selling stall that is NZ racing….!

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1 minute ago, gubellini said:

Phantom if we had horses like The Phantom racing in New Zealand none of these races would be getting downgraded. All our top horses are racing in Australia and Asia. Can't see the situation being turned around.

Can you blame people with the way things are...I know if I had a decent one it would br gone quick smart...no hesitation.

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18 minutes ago, rdytdy said:

Who ever it is Phantom, he is not that knowledgeable. The Easter Handicap is not NZ's oldest race as he purports.  

Oh trust me he would be by far the most knowledgeable form analyst in New Zealand, Please don't leave us hanging. What IS the oldest race in NZ then?

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His response:  Tell him I know NZ form better than anyone else...he does not deserve to know anything else.

I should reiterate his comments are meant for the people on his list not the wider public. Maybe I shouldn't have posted it but I just feel his voice is one which needs to be heard as like you he is EXTREMELY passionate about New Zealand racing and shares your concerns at the direction in which the sport is heading.

 

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2 minutes ago, Phantom said:

Ok according to this link the Wanganui Cup was first run in 1877.

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WH19070309.2.26 

According to my source, the first Easter Handicap was run in 1874, three years earlier. 

I don't know the oldest race but the NZ Cup was first run in 1865

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13 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

I agree with him on one point the Easter has been Donald Ducked, how can you run an Easter not even at Easter.... they are farking geniuses....:D... and moving the Auckland Cup and Derby has been an unmitigated disaster... ruined a great carnival.

This coming Easter Sunday and Monday we have Tauranga, HB, Riverton and Taupo to excite us.

As for the Auckland Cup....just loved those two days New Year's and the day after. Never been back to Ellerslie since they canned them (apart from for a JCA hearing).

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