The Kiwi-bred has enjoyed top level success at more recent major Australian carnivals up to 2000 metres through the likes of Mufhasa (NZ) (Pentire {GB}), The Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux {NZ}), Ocean Park (NZ) , Sacred Falls (NZ), Brutal (NZ) and Grunt (NZ).
Among others, Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo {Ire}), Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) and Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) have also been to the fore in the last few seasons.
Kolding, Probabeel and Humidor will be out to further their records in Saturday’s G1 Cox Plate while Melody Belle has been set for the G1 Mackinnon S., in which she was a luckless second last year.
While G1 Caulfield Cup winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) is an exception to the general rule, as the winner of the G1 Winx S. over 1400 metres she is far from one dimensional.
It raises the question if the Kiwi-bred has evolved into a more sharper animal or are other forces in play? TDN AusNZ chatted to three wise heads - successful breeder-owner Garry Chittick, New Zealand Bloodstock Chairman Joe Walls and top trainer Murray Baker – for their opinions.
Too few endurance tests
The driving force behind Waikato Stud before son Mark took up the reins, Chittick believes the lack of distance racing is a major factor.
“Obviously, we were the Cups’ kings, but the problem nowadays is that there are only four races over two miles that anyone wants to win – the G1 Melbourne Cup, the G1 Sydney Cup, the G2 Adelaide Cup and the G1 Auckland Cup,” he said.
“Beyond that, Perth dropped to a mile and a-half, Brisbane dropped to a mile and a-half and so we couldn’t spend our life trying to breed those, we’d go broke. The sorts of horses we are breeding are certainly up to Classic distance so we are giving ourselves that window of opportunity.
“Every horse we have had in recent times with horses of some age has had a runner in the Melbourne Cup so you’re not excluded from producing the odd two-miler out of our mares, but we’re not trying to breed a 100 of them.
“Pins, No Excuse Needed, O’Reilly and Savabeel have all had starters in the Melbourne Cup. We’re not excluded.”
Mary and Garry Chittick
Chittick said with Australia producing some of the best sprinters in the world, New Zealand’s market is 1600 to 2000 metres.
“We try to target a miler, who can quicken, and put him over our mares and we’re going to get horses that go up to a mile and a-half. Our stallions have had plenty of Classic winners.
“When I first started Oncidium was top of the tree and he won the Coronation Cup, which is a mile and a-half, and Tom Williams always said their benchmark was a Coronation Cup winner. To be honest, we couldn’t survive with those types of horses nowadays.
“Even the owners and buyers have changed. If you go back 30 years, the days of Bart Cummings and company, they were graziers and owners were more prepared to give horses time. These days it is the young guys with money in their pocket who are buying, and they want a quick result.”
“If you go back 30 years, the days of Bart Cummings and company, they were graziers and owners were prepared to give horses time.” – Garry Chittick
The shrinking nature of the thoroughbred world had also made a major impact.
“The imported stayers bought from Europe have also changed our market. That’s why we really have to focus on producing Classic-type horses,” Chittick said. “Those horses bought in Europe, and Russian Camelot is the exception to the rule, generally they are not buying 3-year-olds so they are missing that year.
“When Zabeel was in his heyday, and he was a great sire, he had all those races beyond 2000 metres in his back pocket because the imported horses weren’t coming. He wouldn’t be as dominant now with all these horses coming out.
“There’s also a big issue with the ratings. You can go to Germany and buy a Group 2 winner and for some reason or other it’s qualified for the Melbourne Cup.
Sangster (NZ) (green silks)
“You can go back the year of Sangster and he won the VRC Derby, had a bit of an off year, and then came back and won the Auckland Cup, but he still had to go to Melbourne and win one of the qualifying races to make sure he was in the Cup.
“If you’re a trainer like Danny O’Brien, or anyone else, and say come to New Zealand and buy a Savabeel and you may win a 2-year-old race, have a bit of fun at three and later hopefully have a Cup horse, or you can go to Germany and buy a horse and you’ve got a Cup runner straight away.”
Australian influence
Walls, who sold horses for the best part of 50 years as New Zealand Bloodstock’s Head Auctioneer for years and prior to that served as Wrightson Bloodstock General Manager, pointed to the Australian influence as a major factor in the decline of the New Zealand-bred stayer.
“I think what we’ve done, is that we’ve been sucked in, if you like, by Australia’s need to breed speed,” he said. “Australia has always been very good at that and breeds speed, on speed, on speed and has done for many years.
“If you look at our pedigrees we bred stayers and did win a lot and had a gene pool of horses that could stay. If you go back 20 years or more we got brainwashed into thinking we had to compete with the Australians and breed more speed.
“We haven’t necessarily bred less good horses but what we’ve done is lost the ability to breed horses that compete at 2400 metres and beyond.”
“We haven’t necessarily bred less good horses but what we’ve done is lost the ability to breed horses that compete at 2400 metres and beyond.” – Joe Walls
The market and availability of stallions able to pass on endurance qualities had also changed.
“I also think through the earlier times we were forced to breed from staying horses from the UK that actually no-one else wanted. We were able to buy them at reasonable prices and many of them were successful as stallions in New Zealand,” Walls said.
“We’ve moved away from that because it’s difficult to convince studs in New Zealand to buy those sorts of horses to breed stayers.
“Most will tell you they can’t afford the wait - trainers don’t want to wait that long and neither do owners and when they go to the sale ring after a couple of years it’s difficult to sell the progeny, no-one wants them because they’re too stout.
“If you look at the results, we can still breed a horse like Verry Elleegant, who is by Zed - a stallion no-one wanted, he was a station sire at one time.
Verry Elleegant's (NZ) sire Zed (NZ) | Standing at Grangewilliam Stud
“Shocking is doing a good job because he was a stayer and we still have some of the High Chaparral breed to give us the opportunity to breed horses at the extreme distance. What we buy now are high-class milers.
“Now, there’s nothing wrong with that because with the right mating you can breed a good horse at 2000 metres or maybe up to a mile and a-half. To breed a Cup horse is a different kettle of fish entirely.
“The Poms breed Cup horses because they use their Derby and Oaks winners and Ascot Gold Cup winners and the Germans do the same. They breed very good stayers.”
“The Poms breed Cup horses because they use their Derby and Oaks winners and Ascot Gold Cup winners and the Germans do the same.” – Joe Walls
Walls said New Zealand was still breeding horses of Australian carnival quality, but with a change in distance effectiveness.
“The Australians would still love to come and buy stayers off us if we had the stallions that were proving they could get horses to win Cups. They would be here in a shot.”
Joe Walls
Offshore forces
Champion conditioner Murray Baker, who has won 21 Australian Group 1 races and more than any other Kiwi-based trainer, bemoans the number of young prospects lost to overseas stables and cited the influx of European stayers as another major challenge.
A multiple National Premiership winner, his efforts have been recognised with inclusion in the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame and last year his deeds were acknowledged with the Outstanding Contribution to Racing Award during the Horse of the Year Awards.
Baker has been a regular visitor to Australia for decades and enjoyed rich success with the likes of Eagle Eye (NZ) (Grosvenor {NZ}), Prized Gem (NZ) (Prized {USA}), The Phantom (NZ) (Noble Bijou {USA}), Lion Tamer (NZ) (Storming Home {GB}), Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), Nom Du Jeu (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}), Bonneval (NZ) (Makfi {GB}), Dowry (NZ) (Bahhare {USA}), Harris Tweed (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}), Jon Snow (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), Mongolian Khan (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and a personal favourite Dundeel (NZ).
“Of course, a lot of the younger horses get sold on the way through with the Australians always after the promising stayers,” Baker said.
“I think we are still breeding the right type of horses to win the big races, it’s just that the Australians are always on the look-out because they don’t breed them like we do. They pick them up at the sales and out of the trials and as tried horses.”
Murray Baker
Poor domestic scene
For the majority of New Zealand owners, selling is the way to realising a financial result with the domestic racing scene offering poor levels of stake money.
“There is no better country in the world to bring up a young horse, especially a stayer,” Baker said.
“Trainers here take their time, but there is an ever-increasing supply of horses now for trainers in Australia.”
Baker and training partner Andrew Forsman are currently campaigning The Chosen One (NZ) (Savabeel) in Australia. He opened his preparation with a victory at Flemington and was unplaced in the G2 Herbert Power H. after being caught three wide at the back of a slow pace.
He bounced back to run third in the G1 Caulfield Cup and, with Verry Elleegant, will attempt to turn the tide and join Prince Of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) and Efficient (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) as the only Kiwis to land the G1 Melbourne Cup in the last 18 years.
Baker also said the influx of quality European stayers was another major factor for the homebreds to cope with. “I think most of them are pretty good and they are well-trained.”
