The Corner with Garry Chittick

I was going to have a spell this week, after all, if I’m going to comment on our favourite sport weekly, I really want to reflect my belief on how much joy I get from being involved. Sure, not everything is peaches and cream with the occasional need to prod those with the responsibility of managing our future.

However, the need to report on the week was stimulated by a positive visit to New Zealand’s leading racehorse syndicator. Mary and I spent most of the day at Te Akau, David is in recovery mode after a surprising need for fairly major surgery. To those of you who only know of David as a managing director of NZ’s leading racing stable, I can assure you he is also a very successful farmer with close to 20,000 stock units to manage.

On the road to recovery, he still took time out for us to enjoy a trip around the property. Lunch conversation with Karyn and David was, of course, racing, racing and racing. We live and breathe racing, Karyn, with past leadership of Te Rapa and too many other roles to document, is a worthy combatant in any debate – it was a worthwhile hour or two.

Among the many issues was the current NSW debate on the Pattern Races. I don’t intend to have a go at any change of direction over there, except to say there is more to a Group 1 than turnover. Easy to say, but the introduction of so-called black type was for easy identification of races of value in sales catalogues. It has become intrinsically of far more value; the sport has enveloped itself with a passion around the measure of success the various levels of results mean to all who race a thoroughbred.

Also, and this is important, our clubs regard the running of a Group or, for that matter, a Listed race as a badge of honour. Think of the clubs that have raised the bar, raised the stakes, and canvassed trainers to participate in their day in the sun. Our local club is like many others, proud of presenting NZ’s Group race for two-year-old fillies – there is no doubt breeders’ participation is encouraged in regions with a local black-type win.

I’ll let NSW sort themselves out, but we now have circulated from NZTR their intention to reassess the suitability of venues running many of our Group races. I know it looks like they are doing something, but they need to be more than careful. The document, which I have, is at best patronising. It appears to have been written by a graduate whose experience has reached only as far as the office door. Now I accept we now have a new CEO, supported by six new General Managers; I recognise they need to leave their mark, but if this is not handled with a great deal of understanding, their mark will only be a smudge.

You can see it was a good lunch.

Cheers,
G

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