New Zealand Cup show will go on
Addington chief executive promises a Cup Day and Cup week in some form
The show won’t go on but the New Zealand Cup will. That is the pledge from Addington bosses who vow the famous New Zealand Trotting Cup meeting will proceed, even though Canterbury’s Agricultural Show, the other centrepiece of the region’s biggest week, has been cancelled for the first time since World War II.
The Canterbury A&P Show Association announced the decision yesterday, citing financial uncertainty due to coronavirus and public health concerns as the reason for canning the annual three-day event.
The no-show will be a huge loss for the Christchurch economy, as it brings many people to the region and goes hand in hand with the racing of Cup week at Addington and Riccarton Park.
But Addington chief executive Brian Thompson says while he feels the pain of the show organisers, his club’s Cup Day will definitely go ahead.
“We don’t know what it will look like, of course, but there will be a Cup
We don’t know what it will look like, of course, but there will be a Cup Day and a Cup week at Addington.
Addington CEO Brian Thompson
Day and a Cup week at Addington,” said Thompson.
“Like everybody else, we are hoping the country is back to level 1 by then and we can hold the traditional Cup week and give people an experience they can enjoy.
“But if for some reason we are at level 2 by then, or even a level 1 with restrictions, we will be holding Cup Day, we will just be within what rules are in place at the time.
“We would even hold the races themselves without a crowd if we have to, but thankfully it looks like that won’t be the case.”
Thompson and his team held their first planning for Cup Day this week, with different scenarios bandied around.
“Our dream result will be having Cup Day like usual, and it is still six months away, so hopefully a lot will change between now and then because we want to give racing people, and even those who love the week, to have something to aim at.”
For the harness racing industry, the New Zealand Cup will be even more of a focus after the Inter Dominions, which have followed two weeks after in recent years, were postponed for this year by Sydney harness racing officials.
That could even mean Australian horses who might have stayed home could be lured to the Cup meeting, providing travel between the two countries is relatively open by then.
Thompson would not be drawn on the stake for the great race, or the other Group 1 events of Cup week.
Although it looks certain the 2020 Cup will be worth a lot less than the $750,000 it was run for this season, if the crowds are allowed back to Addington for the second Tuesday in November, they really won’t care.
Off and racing
Racing returned to New Zealand’s tracks for the first time in six weeks yesterday, with greyhound meetings at Addington and Whanganui, and they went went off without a hitch under strict new Covid-19 protocols.
Harness racing returns on May 29 and thoroughbred racing on July 3.