Breeders upset by diminishing opportunities

Press, 11 June 1977, Page 18

Breeders upset by diminishing opportunities

By

R D. GARDINER

South Island breeders are upset that the number of I stakes races in their area is; declining rapidly when they feel they should, if anything, . be increasing. Over the years South Is-; land families have produced' many fine gallopers, notably,' Phar Lap, Nightmarch, Tul-' ( loch, Cadiz, and in more recent times, Galilee. Baghdad , Note, Analie, Think Big and ' Grey Way. , Four notable South Island families which have received < w o r 1 d-wide recognition through the deeds of their numerous top-class offspring are those of Francolin, Simper. Limelight and Stepfeldt. Many of the best females! of these families have been ! purchased by leading North island studs and con-, sequently have produced many ot the top Australian i and New Zealand stakes j winners. Names such as Ajasco, Jazz. Flight, Fox Myth, Sometime, Suleiman, Ruvee. Sarcelle, Derene. Sky High. Skylight, Royal Flight, Winning Flight. Dixie. Win-i nipeg. Super Flight, Motueka and Gold Flight continue to; keep the value of the de-' scendants from these fami- > lies high. Many branches of these distaff lines have been wi-ji selv retained by South Is-;! land breeders even in face of tempting offers from North

Island and Australian studs. These families can be found' in any selecled sale catalogue but due to the lack of! stakes race opportunities in) the South Island, the Southern branches do not have the commercial value of their North Island counter-' parts. Stakes races for mares are becoming a “must” as New Zealand’s commercial outlet broadens as was illustrated by the interest shown at the last National Yearling Sale at Trentham by prospective! Brazilian buyers. There are' many yearlings at the National Sale each year from South Island families but very few are offered on account of southern vendors. It is necessary for yearlings, if they are to be selected for this sale, to have “black nrjnr” in their nedigrees and the lack of South Island entries can be put

down to the comparatively few chances these youngsters* dams have of gaining this qualification. SEVEN LOST The 1970-71 season provided a total of 28 stakes i races for South Island thori oughbreds, comprising of six , three-year-old races and , thre-year-old races and eighteen open events. By last season (1975-76) seven of them had lost their stakes-race status, the ratio of those remaining being

four for two-year-olds, five': for three-year-olds, and ■ twelve for open-class gallo- < pers. Surely, this does not augur well for South Island! breeders striving to break, into commercial breeding. From the 28 stake races'* in 1970-71, three were lost 11 the next season, the races! being the McLean Stakes fori, two-year-olds, and the open-'! class events, the Islington i and Midsummer Handicaps.; The pattern continued the! next season with the Wai-1 tham Handicap, and the] James Hazlett Stakes beingi dropped and the South Island Futurity Stakes being; deleted.

The following season, 1973/74, the Riverton Cup and the Jockey Club Handicap were lost but the Gore Guineas Trial and the White Robe Lodge Stakes were gained. Nothing was then altered until last season when! the Benson and Hedges! Inter-Island Handicap was deleted and the Metropolitan Handicap dropped with the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup being initiated and recognised as a stakes race. Already this season the Canterbury Challenge Stakes has been lost, thus leaving the worrying thought that there may be only 20 stake* races this season.

The three two-year-old > ■stakes races, the C. J. C.l i Welcome Stakes, and the D.| J. C. and C. J. C. Cham-1 pagne Stakes seem the only , ones worthy of this status. But opportunities for added i three-year-old and open-class stakes races are vast. The initiation of the 'Broadlands filly of the Year | series this season was sucicessful and races among this ; series could be added to the list of S.I. stakes races. Of the seven races in the series, the Nelson Newman Challenge Stakes ($5000), and the C.J.C. Warstep : Stakes ($4000) are high on i the list of possibilities. Out- ! side the filly’s series, the | C.J.C. S.L. Championship' I Stakes ($5000) could also be I considered. . Of the twelve open-class i I stakes races the New Zea-1 I land Cup heads the list. Thej Timaru Cun ($6500. weight-' |for-age), won this season by! j Show Gate,' and the Gerald-1 j ine R.C. S.I. Thoroughbred! !Stakes ($4999) for fillies and] mares stand out as good' candidates for stakes-racei ; status. One can only hope that' i the decline of stakes races ; lin the South Island has! icome to an end and that S.I. | ! breeders and their horses) are given the opportunities] (they deserve. I

i “Stakes races,’’ as re- ' ferred to in this article, I are considered to be the ' top five per cent of races i in any country. They are internationally recognised, and the winners and placegetters in such races have their names printed in heavy type in sales catai| logues.