Derby coverage lessons for NZ racing

ONE: New Zealand racing needs exposure on mainstream sports platforms

OPINION: If New Zealand racing codes can learn one thing from the weekend’s Kentucky Derby it should be that mainstream TV coverage is a must to keep the sport alive.

All three codes in this country desperately need more punters and more owners – neither of which will be attracted by Trackside because its audience is already exposed to punting and racing horses.

The ESPN coverage is not only one of the greatest racing productions in the world, it is beamed out to millions of mainstream viewers who would not usually be watching the races.

Marketing your product through social media channels is effective, but convincing mainstream broadcasters to run their own production parallel to Trackside would be a game changer. Big race meetings have made brief appearances in the past but not on the main sports platforms. Imagine Karaka Million night on one of the mainstream sports channels with a 90-minute production aimed at showcasing racing to viewers who have no idea what goes on at a premier race meeting.

TWO: Racing horses can be a tough gig

Find a good horse, take it to the races and wait for the wins to rack up right? Sadly not.

The owners of talented filly Savvy Dreams know better than anyone right now that there are more lows than highs in racing horses.

Owners of the Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen-trained filly, who ran third in the New Zealand Oaks, will have run up expenses of around $50,000 to send Savvy Dreams to South Australia for Saturday’s A$500,000 Group I Australasian Oaks.

Expectations were high, and with the winner receiving A$320,000, second earning A$85,000 and A$40,000 for third, there was serious money on offer. Not to mention how valuable a top three placing would have been for her breeding value. But Savvy Dreams reared up and flipped over just seconds before she was due to load and was scratched.

Thankfully she was not injured but with just $1200 banked from a 10th place finish in a warm-up race, the trip is looking like a financial bust. It might look like easy money from the outside but every success comes hard earned in racing.

THREE: Big overseas offers too good to resist

The stocks of New Zealand’s young thoroughbreds continue to be plundered by overseas interests and their big money despite recent announcements of increased domestic stakes.

Saturday’s Sydney winner Dark Universe is an example, and another is Tavidream who will soon depart New Zealand for Hong Kong after a huge offer was recently accepted for the Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs-trained 3-year-old by Tavistock who has won five times from seven starts. Reports are he will race in the same colours as Werther who was purchased at the same age from his Kiwi owners and developed into Hong Kong Horse of the Year.

New Universe produced an electrifying Australian debut in the Freshmark Handicap at Rosehill on Saturday for trainer Chris Waller. As Dark Universe, New Universe raced three times in New Zealand from the Cambridge stable of Chris Wood, for wins at Dargaville and Te Rapa followed by a fifth.

A $40,000 Karaka Yearling Sale purchase by Wood, he was syndicated and was always held in high regard but inevitably the overseas offers came. He caught the attention of expats Waller and bloodstock consultant Guy Mulcaster who bought the horse for a client.

FOUR: Murray Baker racks up another notable milestone

Cambridge trainer Murray Baker has had a season to equal any of the nearly 30 he has been in the game. With co-trainer Andrew Forsman they lead the premiership, and the numbers Baker trains are a far cry from when he launched his career Woodville. He trained his first winner from there while his first big Australian win came in 1987 in Sydney with Palliser and continued this year with Bonneval in the ATC Oaks.

On Saturday Baker hit the milestone of 1400 New Zealand wins when Victory Drive was impressive winning over 2100m at Te Rapa. It was the fourth win for the son of Baker-trained Nom De Jeu winner of the 2008 AJC Derby.

FIVE: Big day for Pukekohe’s Collett family

It was a day to remember for the Collett family, on both sides of the Tasman. For Pukekohe trainer Richard Collett, Selfie ran a gutsy third at Te Rapa and Untamed Diamond proved too good at Rosehill to continue her progression to black-type since arriving from New Zealand.

The 4-year-old mare raced in Listed or Group company three times before Collett added her to his Warwick Farm satellite stable, and a similar step-up in Australia remains the goal.

Collett’s daughter Alysha was in great form at Riccarton where she dominated the premier meeting with two feature wins and a third.