October
NovemberInvite, don't overrate
I found Richard Callander’s item (11/10) regarding overrated internationals very interesting. I agree that whilst there have been success stories, many of the internationals have been abject failures, due, as Callander points out, to very easy qualifying conditions, probably put in place by our racing administrators of decades ago to encourage international participation.
Surely the days of pandering to the internationals to get them to participate are over. There is no doubt the Melbourne spring carnival and in particular Cup week is second to none among the great racing carnivals of the world, involving as it does the whole Melbourne community for at least one week, the whole nation on the big day and the whole racing world for the big race, despite its running at about 4am UK time.
The experience and success of Dermot Weld, Aidan O’Brien, Luca Cumani, Frankie Dettori and the Japanese has spread like wildfire through racing communities around the world.
These leaders of international racing have been wonderful ambassadors for the spring racing in Melbourne and racing in Australia generally. Their praise and repeated participation have placed this carnival high on the bucket list for owners and trainers of top-class horses around the world.
It’s not only the racing. The sheer fun, excitement and atmosphere of the social whirl at all levels in Melbourne during Cup week cannot be experienced anywhere else in the world.
It should no longer be necessary to “encourage” international participation, but rather, given the reputation of the carnival, it should be an honour for international stables to receive an invitation to compete, and this should be the only means of entry for an international horse.
If Racing Victoria and the VRC combined to list “target” horses to invite, with an emergency list to replace those who decline, it would give the administrators control as to the number of Internationals allowed to compete, opening up more opportunities for local competitors who are probably far better credentialled than some of the “top-class” horses we have seen over the years.
These have been present only because, as Richard Callander colourfully suggested, they automatically became qualified by winning a four- or five-horse race, named after an ancient monarch, where an elderly gentleman with a walking stick would go faster.
Brighton (Qld)