February 3, 2017
At a time when many Australian country race clubs would appreciate some reinvigoration, Racing New South Wales and the Australian Turf Club have triggered an avalanche of comment about their bold new project.
No doubt the Nepalese will rush to Randwick on October 17 to see, hopefully, a dozen elite level sprinters in a contest that is named after their famous peak.
Naming the $10 million event The Everest is a distinctly un-Australian effort.
Considering it is meant to attract international interest and support, The Welcome Stranger would have been a better moniker.
At the time of its discovery near Ballarat in 1869, the 66kg bonanza was the biggest known gold nugget the earth had yielded.
Alternatively, The Kosciuszko would have been patriotic choice.
To embark on The Everest mission, an aspiring player just needs to find $1,800,000, which covers participation for the first three runnings.
Payment gives the payer one of 12 slots.
At $600,000 a pop, the entries contribute $7,200,000 towards the kitty which is really a super fat cat.
The press release indicates that “slots are tradeable, commercial instruments and they can be sold, joint ventured or leased, either as a package or as individual slots, at a time prior to a nominated race entry date”.
This endeavour is far from a total innovation.
Racing began as match races with two combatants putting up their own money. The next move was to increase the participation, with each competitor parting with a sweepstake on a winner-take-all basis.
Eventually race clubs or organisations “added money” to the prize pool.
Australian classics such as the Derbies and Sires Produce Stakes maintained the sweepstakes component until a decade or so ago.
With the major prize worth $5,800,000, the odds are 9.6 to one for the $600,000 investment.
The other payouts are, in finishing order, $1,425,000; $800,000; $400,000; $250,000 and $175,000 for sixth to last.
A $100,000 contribution will go the RNSW’s Equine Welfare Fund.
The business makes a loss for the nine that miss a podium placing.
The fine print underpinning The Everest is not available as yet, so sensible owners will wait for that detail before setting their steeds for what is probably the largest gamble offered in the nation’s racing history.
It will be fascinating to see what unfolds if, say, the best sprinter in the land at the time is set to bypass the treasure hunt because of the mandated outlay.
Supposedly there would be prize money sharing arrangements if a “slot-holder” did a deal with the horse’s registered owners.
The announcement regarding The Everest comes before the snow has melted on Florida’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational (1800m, dirt).
The pool for the January 29 extravaganza was US$12 million, and the entry fee was US$1 million.
A CNBC report indicated that contestants who bought slots that went on sale last May were in line for “a share in the net revenue generated by the race from wagering and various sponsors”.
Clearly, there is a deeper financial return available via the American set-up.
Some of the responses to The Everest notion thus far include:
“The timing is offensive to Victoria. The scheduling clashes with the first day of Caulfield’s spring carnival. The Melbourne clubs will possibly work out a retaliatory counter move. The Sydney think tank is deluding itself it believes The Everest will outpoint the first Tuesday in November.”
“The date is far too close to the Breeders’ Cup to draw interest from the USA stables.”
“The Championships programs at Randwick in the autumn have fallen short of expectations. It may have been better to put the idea on ice until that scheme has reached a thoroughly satisfying level.”
“The $2.8 million that must be injected into the prize money funding is not the only extra cost. For starters, a travel allowance will be payable to overseas starters and there is the expenditure involved in Canterbury being the quarantine venue.”
“This concept is just another brick out of the wall that once symbolised the egalitarian tradition of the sport in Australia. These days it is full-on catering for the high end of the wealthy set. It is a tad demoralising for the beginning battlers right now.”
Punters won’t be concerned. It will be just another race to wager on.
The restricted nature of the event means it will not carry Group status.
The highly lucrative Group One sprints during Flemington’s spring week may be too attractive for those with stud bound colts and entires. Most horses cannot peak twice in a preparation. They will be primed for one or the other.
The quality of the composition of the final line up of runners will be fascinating.
* * *
The Law Prevails
Man of Law, the Raheeb gelding raced by trainer Glenn Richardson and the Nanango Race Club President Andrew Green, ruled over his Class B rivals at Warwick last weekend with Les Tilley aboard.
Three weeks earlier, the chestnut made up a lot of ground when beaten just over three lengths in a competitive BM 50 (1000m) on a Firm 2 rated track at Bell.
Surfaces rated a Good 4 or softer have been in play for six of the nine top three finishes achieved by the five-year-old that was once prepared by Tony McEvoy.
Man of Law’s dam is the Star Way (GB) mare Carmina Burana (NZ).
She is a daughter of Benediction (Ire) and therefore a half-sister to Zabeel’s omnipotent son Might and Power (NZ).
Green will be looking forward to a good turnout at Lee Park on 25 February.
The first meeting at Nanango for 2017 coincides with Caulfield’s autumn features, the $1.5m Blue Diamond Stakes, $500,000 Oakleigh Plate and the $500,000 Futurity Stakes.
The day’s main interest could centre around Winx.
The superstar is scheduled to run in the $600,000 Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick.
Her first-up appearance is expected at the same venue in the $250,000 ATC Apollo Stakes (Gr 2) on Saturday 11 February.
Nanango’s spot fashion theme will be Think Pink, and the club will honour the memory of Papilloma.
Ted Fisher and Bill Bishop, the Chatsworth II gelding’s part owners, will be trackside.
