STATE OF THE TROTTING NATION – SOUTH AUSTRALIA (part 3)
I commence this week’s story fresh from my first pilgrimage to Maryborough for Redwood Day. The icy winds were anything but welcoming but some passionate conversations warmed the day. That’s something you can always rely upon whenever trotting people come together. A lively conversation followed after Muscles Yankee filly, High Gait, scored her expected victory in the Redwood Classic, with some unhappy about the 2 cheap quartres she got up front. However, taking on a $1.70 favourite is rarely the best way of taking home a cheque. The Derby provided us with much more excitement and a track record. The 3 scratchings made the favourite & multiple Group 1 winner, Speeding Spur’s task much easier giving him an unobstructed path to the lead. From then it was never in doubt. Taken on mid race by the mercurial Illawong Armstrong, which would have taken the sting out of many, he outstayed his rivals to win clearly in the end. Outside of the winner, the run of the race was by the Bacardi Lindy filly, Amarula. Galloping in the score up losing 20 metres & inconvenienced at a critical stage early in the last lap when the horse in front of her galloped, she sustained a long run navigating tired horses to mount a serious challenge on the home turn. The effort told in the end but her brave third will long be remembered.
I say farewell to Victoria, for now, appreciating the high standard the trotters have achieved but also aware that going forward there will still likely be some bumps in the road. Fresh from my enthusiastic ideas for mares & juvenile racing there, I see the Lightfoot Laurels line up with a field of only 6 and then the Matchmaker Mile, Redwood & Derby Consolations all cancelled. And now just 2 heats of seven 2yo trotting colts & geldings lined up at Maryborough in the hope of gaining a berth in the Breeders Crown. So once again we see our trotters move a step and half forward & a step back. But we are moving in the right direction. At least in Victoria.
Crossing the border in any direction sees another world. A world with little of the passion & enthusiastic embracing of new ideas that we see in Victoria. When it comes to the trotters anyway. Just when one thought South Australia couldn’t descend any further into the mire, its managements found a way via the recent shock lawyer’s letter from SAHRC to HRSA withdrawing its right to race at Globe Derby. Thankfully a stand-off is now in place & if we’re to believe what either party says they are sitting down to the negotiation table genuinely seeking long term solutions. Though there won’t be many putting their hands up for the job of removing the bloodstains from the carpet. All this, battle for power, at the expense of participants who just want to go about their business, enjoy racing & carve out a living. As if it’s not hard enough for them there already. This from the people that are supposed to be supporting their endeavours. Little wonder there’s not many smiling faces over there. Let’s hope this unhappy episode provides the reality check that these gentlemen seem to need. And I say gentlemen because here we are in 2015 with a 6 member all-male HRSA board. SAHRC has made the bold advance of having one woman on the committee among the 6 members. Little wonder they’re both referred to as old boys clubs. And we thought the times were are a changin’ 50 years ago. We were dreamers weren’t we!
A lot of the rot started back in late 2010 when HRSA decided to abolish ‘R’ racing in that state, which one could say was the backbone of racing in SA. There was little industry consultation. It was basically put to participants as a fait accompli. HRSA was warned, by anybody with a voice, myself included, that it was bad idea. After a couple of years of predictable pain they changed back with the then Racing Manager citing pressure from HRV for their original decision. Whatever, took place between HRSA & HRV we perhaps will never know. But the consequences we do know. Field sizes dropped as they were told would happen & have never fully recovered. You can be sure there was an agenda in there somewhere but it had little to do with what were the best interests of the majority of participants.
Prior to that fateful decision the trotters saw capacity fields, the like of which we’ve not seen since. The damage has flowed in all directions right through to the decline of the Gramel Carnival that had long held a proud place on the SA Trotting Calendar.
In spite of their best efforts it’s not yet time to call the coroner. The paramedics have found a pulse. It’ll need some rehabilitation but for the trotters we’ve seen a humble start. Let’s start with the 2yo scene in SA:
- The Foundation Series this year started with a $2k heat showing management is prepared to increase support for juvenile trotting. However, due to lack of numbers the subsequent 3 heats reverted to $1k. This clearly places the ball back in the participant’s court. They have to take some responsibility for the own destiny & support the Series now that there are signs that management is prepared to increase prizemoney if they do.
- The Parker Classic was increased to $10k and raced on a Saturday night (Gramel Final night) for the first time. 2yo trotters are yet to achieve that in NSW, so well done SA.
- The Classic Series wavered from $3k to $1.5k heats, once again, depending on numbers. The Final was dropped from $10k to $8k, though I suspect had there been a few more starters the $10k prizemoney would have been retained. Again, the ball is in the court of the participants.
- We’re still waiting to see a Foundation Series Final. It’s been long promised and still nothing has happened. Even a modest $3k Final would be some incentive for participants to get a juvenile trotter up & going. The logical placement on the Calendar would be the week prior to the Parker Classic. A $3k Final would at least see the locals not incur a penalty for the Parker to help increase their chances of staving off the inevitable Victorian invader. This one is firmly in the court of management. If they are truly genuine in trying to encourage the juveniles this is something they must do. The outlay is miniscule for the long term benefit.
- Where is SABOTRA when it comes to the trotters? SABOTRA is one of the few remaining lights still connected to electricity in SA thanks to their wonderful support of juvenile pacing. I’m aware SABOTRA has tried to get a 4 & 5yo trot onto the program but the real need is for 2 & 3yo trotters to join the stage of their big carnival in late May that is primarily designed for those age groups. The BOTRA Golden Nursery Carnival is perfectly placed to help develop juvenile trotting. Situated between the Parker Classic & the Classic Series it would provide the perfect link the juvenile trotters so badly need to round out their Calendar. So can we please see SABOTRA join the cause?
As you can see with the addition of a 2yo Foundation Final ($3k) on top of 3 heats ($2k each), a 2yo SABOTRA event ($10k) on top of the Parker Classic ($10k) leading into the 3 heats ($3k each) & Final ($10k) Classic Series, SA would see a modest, but nicely constructed program. It would give their 2yo trotters 10 races for the season. A quality foundation for the future with enough prizemoney to make it worth a trainers while to get out of bed on those cold Adelaide winter mornings. That’s a budget of just $48k for their whole 2yo trotters season. We’re not asking for a lot.
The 3yo trotter’s scene also has its issues. The key to creating a better program for them is dependent upon creating a better program for the 2yo’s. Thus underlining the importance of introducing the above ideas for this coming season. On balance it would be preferable to have a dedicated 3yo trotters Foundation Series, like we see in NSW, rather than have the 3yo’s forced to race against the older horses early in the season. The latter is what we’ve seen so far and the relatively small numbers of 3yo’s racing suggests it’s not working. A 3 heat & Final Foundation Series run parallel to the 2yo Foundation Series over March/April would be an ideal lead up to the SA Derby on the final night of the Gramel Carnival in early May.
The Gramel Carnival has suffered from being shuffled around on the Calendar. Something Harness Racing is very good at doing. Sometimes to its detriment. Though on this occasion it was a response to Victoria’s decision to change its Vicbred dates which has been a change for good for them & created an excellent, cohesive end of season juvenile Calendar in that state. I notice from reading the minutes of past SA Trotters Assoc meetings that it appears the Gramel Carnival is set to stay in its current time slot in spite of some members wanting the move it yet again. The early May time slot is actually as good as they’ll get given the cluttered trotters Calendar and the continuing encroachment from Victoria who has shown little regard for the circumstances of their less fortunate neighbour.
This brings me to the plight of the SA Trotters Oaks which I had helped initiate & sponsored back in 2007. It lasted for 5 years but started on the wave of tristate co-operation. I also sponsored the NSW Trotters Oaks & Derby at the time & John Dumesny, then at the NSWHRC, took the initiative & proposed to HRV & HRSA a bonus scheme of $15k to any trotter that could win either the 3 Trotters Derbies or 3 Trotters Oaks. Each state contributed $5k. Unfortunately the bonus scheme lasted just 2 years before HRV decided to no longer participate. Not long after, as mentioned, the Vicbred Super Series moved to June/July forcing the Gramel Carnival to move from its long held late June position on the Calendar in order to survive. The SA Trotters Oaks unfortunately was not moved with the Carnival & was left as a standalone race with reduced prizemoney ($10k down to $8k) amid the bustle of the Vicbred heats. A decision that ensured its place on the scrap heap.
In fairness to HRSA they’ve been thwarted by VIC at every turn when it comes to their juvenile trotters. Recently we’ve seen them try to run the SA Oaks one week after the Gramel Carnival with open mares race, the Pride of Petite, on the same night to create a Ladies Night feel. At face value a good idea. Mind you there was little marketing done to promote the concept and it appears no analysis done of the national Meeting Calendar, which if done would have sent alarm bells ringing. Cranbourne had scheduled the Aldebaran Park Starlet for 3yo trotting fillies on the same weekend & with $2k more prizemoney. HRSA was alerted to this and did nothing. The Starlet was won by My Arya, trained by Brent Lilley, who has been a long-time supporter of the feature trotting races at Globe Derby. This ensured he & no other Victorians would make the trip to Adelaide. It was never a good idea anyway given the NSW Oaks worth $40k was programmed for one week later. Its traditional time slot. This ensured the proposed new time slot for the SA Trotters Oaks had Buckley’s chance of ever succeeding. By not placing it back onto the opening night of the Gramel Carnival the door was opened for Shepparton to step in. Shepparton moved its Trotters Cup meeting to the first weekend in May this year alongside the 2yo Abrahams Trotters Classic ($15k) & created the new Shepparton Trotters Oaks Trial ($8k) to beef up the trotter’s presence on card. Shepparton is to be applauded for taking this initiative and making it a Feature Race night for the trotters, but it has made things difficult for the Gramel Carnival. The clash with the opening night of that Carnival is scheduled to continue next season. It makes for a hard road back for the SA Trotters Oaks.
That brings us to the Gramel itself. Failing to gain sufficient numbers to make 2 heats these last two years it’s time to accept that the Gramel’s future is now as a standalone race. Obviously trotting people would love to see the Gramel Carnival return to its former glory. It will need some work. The Monday meeting now sees only the heats of the Trotters Legends for the up & comers. I’d move these to the opening Saturday and add the Pride of Petite to join the Gramel Prelude & Maoris Idol Plate. Hopefully, in time, with the development of juvenile racing there as proposed above, the SA Trotters Oaks can re-join them. The Monday can revert to a regular meeting which will please the pacing folk. The final night is already strong with the Gramel, the Derby, the Legends Final & the Parker Classic. Hopefully we may also see the Monte & Trotters Dash reinstated in time. This would see some of the old sparkle return to the Carnival and hopefully see the SA Trotters Derby return to the $20k it reached in 2007 & 2008 when I sponsored it.
On a brighter note the Country Cups circuit has done well & has been a real boost for the higher ranked trotters in SA. They follow on from the $30k SA Trotters Cup over the summer carnival which now sees the winner gain eligibility into the Great Southern Star. Most of the Clubs host a Cup culminating with the Final (the Fred Jones Trotters Cup $12k) in mid-March at Globe Derby. The SA Trotters Assoc has done their part to promote the Series & contribute $2k of the prizemoney for the Final. Unfortunately we haven’t seen the SA Trotters Assoc as proactive when it comes to juvenile trotting.
It’s time for all trotting enthusiasts, the SA Trotters Assoc, SAHRC, HRSA & SABOTRA to unite and get behind juvenile trotting in SA. As all can see it would involve minimal outlay and offers the prospect of renewing an arm of their business that has been allowed to decay from lack of nurturing. A far off dream is the hope of one day seeing the trotters take their part in the Southern Cross but let’s hope we can first see the dream of a spirit of co-operation embrace SAHRC & HRSA before they do any more damage to the sport there.
Check in on Trot Check next time where I’ll turn my gaze north of the Victorian border to NSW where we see a Trotters Assoc on the brink of collapse.
Michael Taylor
Australian Sales & Booking Co-ordinator for Nevele R Stud
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
