With Tim Hale in the saddle, the Australian Turf Club will require Nash Rawiller flare to avoid toe-cutters later this week.
The ATC face Racing New South Wales, headed by racing’s Mr Big, Peter V’Landys, geared with blunt shears, to show cause why it should not be forced into administration.
Balance sheets are askew, but racing is undergoing a resurgence prompting the opinion that the horses and those that make them have never been better, emphasised at Kembla Grange on Saturday.
Despite the wet an enthusiastic crowd beamed under the action, centred around The Gong, featuring Gringotts, making light of 61kg with the assistance of Rawiller, the galloping grand-dad.
Kembla followed a successful Broadmeadow for The Hunter the previous week after a scintillating Royal Randwick Spring, under the Hale and ATC management.
Alas the ATC confirmed a $2.59 million deficit after releasing its annual report, revealed the club’s revenue jumped to a historic high of $373.9 million, expenses had also risen to $376.5 million.
Why is prizemoney so high and the ATC so poor?
Of course, the ill-advised attempt to sell Rosehill Gardens, under the previous management, was costly. ATC chief executive Matt Galanos was sacked while Ben Bayot and Natalie Hewson resigned. The affable Peter McGauran, with close ties to Racing NSW, dipped out as chairman.
Surely the new team of chairman Hale, deputy Caroline Searcy, directors David McGrath and Annette English deserve more time to pay, a facility advanced to those with a short fall when illegal bookmakers were major players in the punting roost.
Toe-cutters were enforcers employed by them to collect bad debts. Only wild ducks who would not settle felt the pain.
Severe yes, but terms were available. For every month the settling was delayed, a toe was taken.
The late Bill Mordey, big punter, promoter and sports journalist, reckoned the system had merit. “It gives you 10 months to pay,” he declared.
Hale has told members the ATC “could meet its obligations as they fall due” which, coupled with foal crops being down, and betting turnover wilting, the messengers of misery are in full flight.
Still the turf action is stimulating. Top horses are going longer under the management of modern trainers. Ciaron Maher has done so well with six-year-old Gringotts, winner of the last two Gongs. Gringotts has never been better and that includes a Group one triumph in the George Ryder at Rosehill.
After Hyeronimus found ground, under hoof good enough to win nine out of 10 times, Estadio Mestalla went down by a half-length. Had Rawiller blinked on the winner he does not score. The wrong side of 50, Rawiller measured the distance lost by going wide against his ploy of taking the reputed slower territory inside.
Usually constant wasting and weight reduction saps energy of heavyweight hoops, balanced around tissue paper saddles. But the process, and advanced years, has not wearied Rawiller nor his trademark strength, now coupled with wisdom. Always good, the jockey has graduated to exceptional. I refuse to use the title “champion”. Rawiller wins where other greats would not.
Before Gringotts Rawiller drove Weeping Willow, under 61k, to success with more brawn than brain for Pride.
Ironically even before the top class Ceolwulf, Pride advocated New Zealand as a better hunting ground for thoroughbreds than Europe.
Gringotts gave Maher his second major sprint in two weeks with NZ-breds, as Jimmysstaar, probably Australia’s best sprinter, won the Orr Stakes at Caulfield on November 15.
Estadio Mestalla hails from Ireland and is a hand-me-down to Pride after failing to perform to expectations elsewhere.
GOOD came from The Gong, the race and the crowd, BAD the current ATC situation, and UGLY is in abeyance, awaiting the incision of Racing NSW.
Max
$2million went the poorly conceived plan to sell Rosehill