New Zealand’s deputy CEO Lachlan Fitt and Cameron Rodger “If you thought The Everest was a big event on the calendar last year, we’ll be looking to grow it even further this time round.”
They say there’s no such thing as a racing certainty, but there's one certainty for me – this year’s Westbury Stud Tarzino Trophy marked the start of a massive Group One season for us here at Entain.
Grail Seeker’s hugely impressive win in the $400,000 weight-for-age feature set the scene for what’s to come in New Zealand. Meanwhile across the Tasman, I Wish I Win couldn’t have delivered a better warm-up run ahead of The Everest next month with his slashing fifth in the Moir Stakes.
We know “Wish” will chew up the extra 200 metres in The Everest at Royal Randwick, and all reports from the Moody-Coleman Racing camp is that he’s come through the race brilliantly. We’ll have plenty of updates for Kiwis between now and October 19, and if you thought The Everest was a big event on the calendar last year, we’ll be looking to grow it even further this time round.
Back at Hastings, alongside Grail Seeker’s big win, Alabama Lass proved her class with a Gr. 3 Gold Trail Stakes victory and Poetic Champion claimed the Listed El Roca – Sir Colin Meads trophy. The latter was ridden by Australian newcomer Matt Cartwright, who went on to claim a treble on the day, including his career-first Group One victory on Grail Seeker.
To have a talented Australian jockey head to our shores exploring opportunities here is another sign of the direction that the New Zealand industry is heading in, and I’m sure we’ll see similar in the summer with Australian horses crossing the Tasman to chase the considerable spoils on offer.
The Tarzino Trophy meeting has traditionally been associated with Daffodil Day, and the Cancer Society TAB silks were to the fore, particularly when current premiership-topping jockey Craig Grylls donned them. He steered home Belles Fate in the special conditions maiden 1200m as well as Charmer in the Rating 65 1300m, which meant we donated $2,000 to the Hawke’s Bay Cancer Society for each of those wins.
The combination of trainer Tony Pike and jockey Sam Weatherley also scored in the last race with Witz End, lifting our total donation to $6,000 for the day. Cancer affects one in three New Zealanders through our lifetime, so it’s great to draw attention to the cause through this worthy collaboration with Hawke’s Bay Racing and the Cancer Society.
Sunday evening saw us head to Mystery Creek for NZTR’s Horse of the Year Awards, a chance to recognise and celebrate the equine and human stars of the track for the 2023-24 season. We were thrilled to sponsor four awards, and our congratulations go to all the finalists and winners of each category.
It was particularly special to see Dawn and Peter Williams’ lifelong industry achievements recognised through NZTR’s Outstanding Contribution to Racing Award and the wonder mare Imperatriz scoop three awards including NZTR’s Outstanding Global Achievement Award (the first time it’s been won by a horse) and the coveted overall SENZ Horse of the Year title.
Entain Australia and New Zealand’s deputy CEO Lachlan Fitt then headed south with me on Monday, where we caught up with the team at White Robe Lodge in Mosgiel and the Otago Racing Club committee at Wingatui.
We then turned our sights to Christchurch on Tuesday, taking in trackwork at Riccarton Park and catching up with Andrew Carston, one of our TAB Racing Club trainers. We also had the opportunity to have a really engaging stakeholder session later that day, before a visit to Gus and Bianca Wigley at Inglewood Stud, where we met their impressive stallion War Decree up close.
War Decree’s son Warmonger was the runaway winner of the Queensland Derby in the final start of his three-year-old campaign and kicks off his spring Cups campaign in the Gr. 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.
In last week’s edition of Raceform you would have read Dennis Ryan’s editorial that this publication is becoming part of the Entain stable at the start of next month. This is a reflection on the brilliant job that Dennis and Don Hancock, along with their wider team, have done over the past five years.
During my travels in this role, I’ve learnt that Raceform is a publication that gets mentioned in positive tones by many in the industry, be they owners, licence-holders, breeders or punters. It is truly an outstanding publication that we are excited to take to the next level.
