Even with reports that Peter V’Landys, racing’s most powerful man or committee, will bow out at the end of the year to concentrate on Rugby League or the more pressing matter of Wayne Bennett dropping the dynamo Jye Gray as full-back in favour of Latrell Mitchell from the mighty Rabbits, the Tancred Stakes and Australian Cup takes prominence.
In the Tancred at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday classy Dubai Honour will be out to continue the trend of Internationals playing a major role on the Australian turf.
Once they had to be given financial encouragement more than prizemoney and at present it’s cost effective to have the benefit of the European breds trained here.
William Haggas, though, who prepares Dubai Honour at Newmarket in the United Kingdom, has the knack of travelling horses worldwide and getting the best out of them.
Local racing now is riddled with imports: the Group one Tancred having only three Colonials, all from New Zealand, from 14 acceptors.
Flemington’s Australian Cup, another Group one also worth $2.5 million, is more attractive with only three from abroad, three from New Zealand, as well as Aussie-breds, including Pride of Jenni, and is better because of it.
With Pride Of Jenni, a Horse Of The Year, it has more local appeal, a flashback of the Australian Cups of yore, particularly with her breakneck style of front running enticing Vo Rogue memories.
Perhaps the Tancred will produce superior horses, Dubai Honour for one, but Chris Waller has six, including an Irish-bred River Of Stars, a mare making her Australian debut who could be exceptional.
Of course the Sydney Turf Club, responsible for the popularity of Rosehill, depleted under the Australian Turf Club governance, opened the flood gates for the Europeans albeit only a trickle at the time that became a tsunami.
Go back to Jim Fleming, the STC chairman, on the boil in pursuit of promotions. He gambled to lure some of Europe’s best to compete in the $1 million (big bucks then) H.E. Tancred International in 1988.
“To make the journey Northern Hemisphere trainers needed to keep horses in work throughout their winter and then quarantine for 37 days before they embarked on a 30-hour flight to Australia where they would spend a further 14 days in Australian quarantine on their arrival,” Gary Lester disclosed in “the Essential Club”.
“It was an added expense and workload for horse and connections that few were prepared to undertake so few internationals made the trip although subsidised.”
Three horses arrived for the inaugural Tancred International: Highland Chieftain, Le Glorieux, and Vaguely Pleasant but were only cannon fodder for outstanding three-year-old Beau Zam, developed by The Master, Bart Cummings.
Still Fleming was delighted and declared the club would continue. Alas glowing discontent bubbled about the cost which led to the end in 1990 and Fleming being deposed as STC chairman.
But the lessons learned from Tancred International was the pathway to the Melbourne Cup invaders, better, if more delicate from abroad, adding class but taking the True-Blue flavour out of Australia’s most popular race.
Mind you they had far better facilities than those who arrived in 1988 to a quarantine centre in Sydney. Was it Eastern Creek?
Like the first invaders to Melbourne who had the benefit of Sandown and Werribee, Dubai Honour is acclimatised at Canterbury and as he has shown on previous visits, Haggas knows what is required.
Dubai Honour takes on Vauban, a nerve-nut French bred, getting the benefit this campaign of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Before joining Tulloch Lodge Vauban produced a couple of Melbourne Cups failures but scored in the recent Sky High at Rosehill. Prior to the race the gelding looked like he would evaporate in the heat. I have never seen a horse so hot and bothered win.
Certainly the gelding will get more comfortable weather for the Tancred although the wet conditions make Arapaho, a rising nine-year-old with the benefit of Bjorn Baker’s expertise, a strong consideration.
Still the Australian Cup, won 12 times by The Master, Bart Cummings, is more appealing. In 1989, with the Tancred International costing a stack, the prizemoney had risen to $1 (US) million, Vo Rogue in the Australian Cup led throughout to beat Super Impose, Australia’s greatest miler, over the 2000 metres. The following year the Queenslander won again from Better Loosen Up, who triumphed in the Japan Cup.
Are there any better horses, from here or abroad, racing on Saturday?
Geldings then held pride of place but now fillies and mares have come into prominence. Pride of Jenni, pulled out of retirement, is very good but seven. Some say she rated her “best ever” scoring at Caulfield last start. But my “go to” expert, Dan O’Sullivan, of The Rating’s Bureau, reported she “made a spectacular return to racing with her fourth-best career performance and easily her strongest first-up effort over 1800 metres especially after setting her customary strong pace in front.”
(Incidentally O’Sullivan rated Arapaho’s last start effort in the Sky High Stakes superior to Vauban and not much under Pride Of Jenni. “Arapaho is one of the several Bjorn Baker horses in career best form surpassing his previous peak,” he commented.)
However, due to the way I see the Australian Cup being run I am going for the Cummings family to continue dominance with the Aussie-bred mare Zardozi.
Adding to his grandfather’s tally, brother Eddie (Duais in 2022), and the last two with Cascadian, James Cummings, due to the assistance of Craig Williams on Den Knowledge, can score with the mare.
Williams, a brilliant tactician, will keep in touch with Pride Of Jenni, make her expand too early, giving Zardozi, under Jamie Melham, the last and hopefully successful burst, displayed by Jye Gray against Penrith on Thursday night.
Gray is Hugh Bowman size but hits the line like I hope Arapaho will in The Tancred.
And the possible departure of V’Landys divulged in the Daily Telegraph? It doesn’t augur well for the attempted sale of Rosehill.
