I was having a look at the race in Australia this morning and a lot of familiar horses were bouncing out the page at me the likes of BONFIRE, DANDINO and DISCLAIMER. In the past the likes of SEA MOON has tasted life down under along with a few Mike de Kocks horses. So why do owners either send thier horses down to be trained and (without sounding rude-Cyc) why do they keep buying former rejects, very few make a show against our boys and girls as the form shows too when they raced over here obv they have had some special horse BLACK CAVIAR to name one but is it for breeding mainly or what??
Hey Wooly. No offence taken my friend. It's unhesitatingly acknowledged out here that our stayers are a level below those in the Northern Hemisphere. We breed speed. Every now and then we can produce staying animals who can compete at G1 level in your part of the world, but most stay here. Other than glory, there is little reason for our horses to leave here. The prize money in the UK doesn't make it worth while. You need only to take a peek at Red Cadeaux to see what I mean. The gallant old bloke has collected $8,108, 268 during his career to date, and most of that has been in Australia. And he hasn't won a race here. Have a look at the money on offer on any regular Saturday in Sydney and Melbourne, it amazing. The minimum stands at about $80,000. Another thing to remember is the type of horse that needs to brought here. It took a long time for the trainers in Europe to wake to what's needed to win here. For a long time, some wonderful animals, Yeats and the like were brought here, but could not cut the mustard against the locals. They excelled on those big, wide open tracks where races are held up for the best part of the race, then begin to wind up from a very long way out. It separates the men from the boys. In Oz, staying races like the Cup are run differently. Due to the nature of the courses, it becomes a matter of getting out fast so as to not be trapped deep throughout the race, then the pace eases off mid race, then begins to quicken at about the thousand metres. At the half mile those up front are quickening, but also looking to as much up their sleeve as possible. (Remember, they spent energy early.) Those in the mid field and back, after being ridden cold, are now starting to get into the picture. As there is going to be a bend 400m from home, the last thing they need is to be balked in running, or have to concede ground on the corner by coming eight or ten deep. The whole thing is a balancing act. The ideal horse now, is one that can usually have the pace to be in the first 6-8 in running, covered, and then ping home. They have to possess serious gears in the final furlong. And sadly, those kind of horses are often found out in the UK, strength is a key ingredient there. Another possible point to be raised here is the state of the climate. Often horses grow another leg when placed in sunny conditions. Quite often you'll see a local horse who has been sent North to Queensland to escape the Southern Winters, will blossom with the break, as apposed to those who stay at home. It does look as though many do indeed discover untapped talent. If you have a look at a lot of the form, you'll see that horses quite often fall off the form line after their initial season here. The average Sydney Race meeting is peppered with ex European staying horses that have gone off the boil and are no better than the locals. That said though, the money on offer makes it worth the effort. If a horse spends it's career racing on the metropolitan tracks in Sydney and Melbourne, there's every chance they'll win in excess of $500,000. Horses that win a million dollars are a dime a dozen. If you had a decent horse, you'd be crazy to not to send it down our way. Come on down Squire, the weather is wonderful. The breeding scene down here Wooly is as mentioned, about speed. We have a 2 year old race here called the Golden Slipper. It's run over 1200m and is worth $3,500,000. The winner is usually valued at anywhere between $20 - 50 million and often ends up being packed off the stud nice and early. Some never race past age 2. We are looking to inject some strength in our stayers, Horses like the Galileo entire Adelaide are being introduced as well as some of those tier two European stayers. They don't attract the fashionable mares though, they go to the expensive stock. Not everyone can afford the premium sires. The late High Chaparral, Street Cry and the like are used for the black type mares chasing distance. All that said though, three quarters of the top 20 in the Leading Sire list, is made up of sprint getters.
Great analsys Cyc very informative! Apart from the Melbourne cup etc.. Me like I'm sure many others will not watch Oz racing. I know that the U.K. Raiders and the Europeans do struggle with races down here , just look Obriens record down under, mopped up the majority of G1s worldwide yet hast sent runner down for years (I know he has a couple this time.) So it's a bit like the French racing a whole different style! You say the prize money is from the sounds of it another level compared to the UK just look at Red Cadeaux- one of the few uk horses to get Australian racing or maybe he just performs better when he thinks he's on holiday but I do understand why they send thier horses down as they will probably get more money finishing in the places in a weaker G3 rather than Winning a handicap/listed race in this country? Am I right. The Americans too lack any quality in the staying division they too from the looks can just breed sprinters. But then look at the horses in the uk, people in this country are not breeding stayers anymore there is not the same amount of money in it, apparently the BHA are introducing from next year stayers maiden races to get people breeding them! But thanks for the info cyc very interesting
I don't know too much about the average Group prize money is in the UK, but Saturday in Melbourne there is a non listed 2 year old race worth $250,000, a G2 worth the same, a G3 worth $150,000, a Listed worth $150,000, a G2 $250,000, G2 $200,000, another G2 $200,000, a G1 worth $3,000,000 (the Cox Plate) and another G3 worth $150,000. Sydney this weekend is just the usual prize money. One $40,000 race, 7 races each worth $85,000 and one non listed race worth $150,000. Most of the European horses brought by Australians are done so in the hope of being staying, Group horses.
