Opportunity missed to promote our racing?
New Zealand’s disillusioned racing participants, and some have been kept, but the wheels are moving slowly. When experienced, long-term trainers, owners and breeders suggest the industry’s slide needs to be arrested forthwith or direct action against the New Zealand Racing Board’s governance could result, then things are not looking good. Standing still in a changing world won’t cut it if the industry is to prosper or at very least survive. Grumblings among participants are bubbling and concerns are being voiced similar to earlier in the year prior to a meeting at Ellerslie which temporarily quelled rising rumblings. But disquiet is re-emerging as things move too slowly for those doing the hard yards. The prime example is the race fields legislation - who knows when and if that will get through parliament.
THREE: Kiwi horses to produce the magic in Melbourne
As the Queensland Winter Carnival winds down, attention will quickly turn to spring racing in Melbourne and for Kiwi racing fans it cannot come soon enough. Winx will be the star of the show but the potential success of New Zealand-trained horses could become one of the biggest stories of the carnival. They will not all be there and others will come on the scene but horses like Kawi, Gingernuts, Jon Snow, Volpe Veloce, Melody Belle, Summer Passage, Eleonora, Bonneval, La Diosa and Chocante, just to name a few, are all horses who could potentially taste success.
FOUR: The obsession to be better continues
Shaun Fannin often refers to himself as the apprentice learning the tricks of the trade from the man he calls the master. Take nothing away from Kevin Myers or Jo Rathbone for that matter, but it takes someone as dedicated as Fannin to maximise the opportunity. Fannin is fortunate to be getting the tutelage and opportunities that come from being attached to the Myers stable but it is his own obsession to constantly improve and learn from even the slightest mistakes that will eventually make Fannin one of the great jumps jockeys. He trails Aaron Kuru by two wins on the jumps jockeys premiership but expect Fannin to overhaul that deficit and defend his title from last season. Sunday’s steeplechase win aboard Nells Belle at Te Aroha was example of the class Fannin possesses.