Heavy going means having an Everest to climb
One word will dominate arguably the most important day of the racing spring in Australasia today: heavy.
Heavy rain bringing heavy tracks will be in the forefront of the minds of everybody involved in the mega meetings at Hastings for the Livamol Classic and at Randwick and Caulfield, which host the A$15 million Everest and A$5m Caulfield Cup.
While Melbourne Cup day remains the raceday of the year for most on the fringes of the industry, today is a spring rarity that has massive races here and in the two main states of Australia, which are just as important to New Zealand punters.
The $330,000 Livamol Classic at Hastings is one of our richest weightfor-age races, and the field, already depleted by withdrawals, will have to plough through a heavy10, an almost fitting way to end a wild spring carnival in Hawke’s Bay.
The rain had stopped in Hastings yesterday but with no sun to dry the track, the 2040m is going to be an enormous fitness test and could even bring genuine mudders such as Justaskme and Soldier Boy up to the level of the established Group 1 horses such as Prise De Fer and Vernanme.
The biggest winner from the track conditions, though, should be Mustang Valley, who loves the heavy going, the Hastings track and is in the right form to win the Group 1 to set up her future broodmare career.
“I was worried about her busy last month, but she galloped well on Thursday, so everybody at home is happy with her,” said trainer Andrew Forsman.
Punters could have been well advised to take the early TAB odds about horses they think will enjoy the mud today, as it wouldn’t surprise to see significant scratchings this morning, and with the TAB’s new “no deductions rule”, there could be punters who locked in far greater odds than what their horses start at.
One race punters shouldn’t expect scratchings in is the Everest, the Sydney dash for serious cash which has changed the landscape of October racing like none before it.
While the New Zealand breeding and training industry may be far suited to chasing Caulfield Cup glory, the hype and prolonged exposure to the Everest is impossible to ignore.
No New Zealand-trained horse has started in the Everest but today’s defending champion and warm favourite Nature Strip has a special place in Kiwi hearts, being part-owned here, and trained and ridden by enormously popular ex-pats Chris Waller and James McDonald.
One of the best indicators of how much New Zealand racing has changed in the past 10 years is that on a Group 1 domestic raceday here, if you randomly asked 100 punters to name one horse racing today, Nature Strip would almost certainly be the most popular answer.
Nature Strip was so stunning at Ascot in June and can handle wet tracks so efficiently, the heavy surface won’t bother him and maybe negates any disadvantage of his barrier 12.
Last season’s Queensland Derby winner Pinarello, trained at Cambridge, also races at Randwick today, and while co-trainer Roger James is thrilled with his condition, he will want track improvement, which almost certainly won’t come.
The Caulfield Cup favourite Smokin Romans was bred at White Robe Lodge in Otago and would provide the career highlight of local legend and 85-year-old breeder Brian Anderton if he can win the race.
Also racing at Caulfield and expected to win is Mr Maestro (R3, No 1), while Forsman says Saint Bathans (R2, No 6) is ready for a big race.