King Canute
For those of you who haven’t heard of the above gentleman, legend has it that he considered himself to be so all-powerful that he plonked himself in a chair (probably a throne), on a beach, and defied the tide to come in. Unfortunately for him, the only thing he achieved was to get wet feet!
It’s probably a long bow, but to me anyway, it seems a similar scenario to what Harness Racing Australia is trying to do to prevent the import of New Zealand horses to their shores, in the form of tariffs and surcharges. Their cause is severely hindered by the regular, and ongoing success of our horses in their races. Never was that more in evidence than during the recent Queensland carnival, which wrapped up last Saturday. Here’s a summary of how things panned out for horses of Kiwi origin on the big final night.
Race 1: Winner out of a NZ Bred mare
Race 3: Winner out of a NZ Bred mare
Race 4 Group 1: Winner bred and first four home raised in NZ.
Race 5 Group 1: Winner, almost unbelievably, a three year-old daughter of Courage Under Fire, who has been dead for 5 years! Second and Fourth horses Kiwi bred.
Race 6 Group 1: Second horse Kiwi bred and raised
Race 7: Winner out of a Kiwi mare and second Kiwi bred and raised.
Race 8 Group 1: Second and fourth, Kiwi bred and raised
Race 9: Second and third Kiwi bred and raised
Race 10: By Kiwi stallion Smiling Shard
Sorry guys, but given those sort of results, not to mention the numerous other entrants making up the fields on the night that emanated from across the ditch, whatever you do to exclude them, is fighting against the tide.
Pete Cook