THE CORNER WITH GARRY CHITTICK

Well, we tried and were defeated, not by much, but it doesn’t need much. A touch of luck and who knows. Good on Jamie Walter and Joe Pride, great value purchasing, plenty of people involved, a training feat to be proud of, and all of the stars aligned.

We had a great four days with 20 of our family and friends sharing the excitement of being involved. Our slot holder, Entain (Trackside NZ), provided a well-managed environment that all participated in which reinforces my view that despite many times single ownership of a horse is very inclusive. I Wish I Win was promoted as our NZ representative, we were proud and happy to be part of such a promotion, and I trust the eleven of you enjoyed his involvement as much as we did. Who knows he may well be back next year.

His last twelve months added to his NZ stakes, total of $10.7m Aus dollars. Peter Moody will not overtax him, he could be around another couple of years yet, incidentally, he is now the ninth-highest Australasian stakes winner, not bad for an unsaleable yearling.

Today I have just read of the meeting of the Australian Thoroughbred Industry representatives with a bipartisan parliamentary group. The endorsement of all parties supporting racing is a recognition of the importance of the sport in the country. To be fair, we too have benefited from various government support, looking at the likely makeup of our incoming group, I see no reason for any change.

I love the TV advertisement “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you always got” Take that on board administrators.

The results of the 2021/22 NZ breeding season are now available confirming my often-expressed view of the complacent view of the need to breed. Under 3000 foals has never before happened in the 50 years I have been involved. Even more dramatic is our offering of new sire prospects, 5 in 2021, 4 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. You don’t need me to explain the consequences of this. Brian deLore tells me the year Sir Tristram went to stud so did 26 others, he was the sole breed upgrader.

Why do I care, can’t help myself, however, my concentration has been disrupted by time-out to check my heart out The belief I was immortal has been put to the test. If there is a Corner next week, you’ll know I passed the test.

Cheers
G