Shocking reunion with the Cup
The Melbourne Cup looked at home as it sat on a fence post on John and Colleen’s Rich Hill stud in Matamata.
Staff were able to manoeuvre the stud’s 2009 Melbourne Cup winner, Shocking, into place for photos next to the cup on Wednesday morning.
The cup and its support crew from the Victoria Racing Club, including New Zealand Melbourne Cup carnival ambassador Maria Tutaia, are touring the country as part of the lead-up to the carnival across the ditch on the first Tuesday in November.
Waikato and Matamata in particular, was considered ‘‘the centre’’ of race horse breeding in New Zealand by the Australian visitors.
Victoria Racing Club tourism and community executive David Kennedy said New Zealand had ‘‘a good strike rate’’ when it came to connections with Melbourne Cup winners.
‘‘The volume of horses that are bred here and win the Melbourne Cup is incredible, 43 out of 156, so you’re looking at more than a quarter of the winners being bred here in New Zealand.
‘‘The Waikato region is the centre of the breeding industry, so most of the (New Zealand) winners have come from this region.’’
Kennedy said Rich Hill’s connection with the cup was also impressive.
‘‘You’ve got Pentire, who sired the Emirates 2015 Melbourne Cup winner, Prince of Penzance. It’s one of the great Melbourne Cup stories, a 100-to-1 chance of winning, it went out jockeyed by Michelle Payne to win. We took delight in bringing the cup back here after that 2015 win.’’
Kennedy said the tour had visited Christchurch, Stratford and this week the Waikato. After Rich Hill, the tour went on to visit Walton School on Wednesday afternoon and Hobbiton was planned for Thursday.
‘‘We also visited the Matamata Racecourse where we had a look at Gingernuts, a Melbourne Cup hopeful,’’ Kennedy said.
‘‘We’re grateful to be here at Rich Hill and John and Colleen are going to show us around their property.’’
Also among the team from Australia was former jockey Scott Seamer, who rode Cambridge racemare Ethereal to win the 2001 Melbourne Cup.
As a jockey he had visited and raced in the Waikato many times but it was his first time at Rich Hill in Matamata.
‘‘We all know how fantastic New Zealand horses are and how well they perform at the Melbourne Cup. Without New Zealand, the Melbourne Cup would not be what it is today.
‘‘This year, we hope the New Zealand horses will feature well in the Melbourne Cup. We’ve been taken over by Europeans a bit but we might see horses like Gingernuts come through and be very competitive.’’
Seamer was keen to see Shocking brought before the tour and media group. He also took particu- lar interest in seeing Pentire paraded in a paddock in front of the cameras, as Rich Hill stud staff shared some history of the stallion.
Seamer said winning the Melbourne Cup in 2001 had opened up doors for his career. He went on to win other Group 1 races and competed around the world.
At his home in Fernleigh, near Byron Bay in New South Wales, Seamer kept busy looking after 10 mares on his property. When it came to Melbourne Cup, there was a tradition to follow.
‘‘I don’t like to have people at home. I just like to sit down, have a few drinks and watch the Melbourne Cup.’’