Op-Ed: John Hutchinson on The Pattern

Written by John Hutchinson, Scone Bloodstock Services Pty Ltd

Lost in the mists of time, it will come as a surprise to many that the original list of Australian Stakes Races was published in 1971, at much the same time as the European Pattern took shape.

From memory, a representative from each of the major race clubs and various jurisdictions, including North Queensland, convened to put together that first definitive table. It was and still is a groundbreaking achievement while using the only information available to them in a pre-computer age but supported by deep collective knowledge.

In hindsight, it had a few faults... on the back page of the light blue booklet was a list of races deemed stakes races prior to 1971 which included such diverse contests as the Innisfail Cup and the Tasmanian Grand National.

The historical importance of the work led immediately to the way the format for Australian yearling catalogues, at first and now all catalogues changed.

Over the 70s, the list fluctuated from missing in action for a few years prior to 1976 to a totally over the top edition in 1978, where every Australian stakes race was deemed either Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3!

Order was restored with the publication of the 1979/80 list which set out the gradings in the Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Listed system we see today. Previous lists were kept as stakes races but termed Principal races only. But Australia's battle was not over just yet. It took several years before we were admitted to part one of the International Cataloguing Standards Book. There was just over 50 Australian Group 1's back then, which has only increased by about 20 in the 40 years since, some upgraded and some downgraded.

Fast forward to today, and the Australian Pattern Committee is an integral member of the Asian Pattern Committee, which takes in New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates among other nations. The guidelines set for upgrades, downgrades or inclusions are rigid but conform to internationally accepted standards. We are, after a long struggle, on the same footing as Europe and the United States of America.

The framework from that original 1971 list has undoubtedly moved with the times, don't you think?

I disagree that the stud success of the non-Group 1 winning stallions in the past season, Written Tycoon, I Am Invincible and Not A Single Doubt, points to a failure of The Pattern.

All three received their opportunity at stud, first and foremost, by virtue of their black-type successes under The Pattern. Before Written Tycoon, the previous 30 Australian Champion Sires were Group 1 winners. In the United Kingdom, the run goes even longer with Frankel (GB) odds-on this year and in New Zealand, the same goes for Savabeel, O'Reilly (NZ), Thorn Park and Pins over the past decade or so.

That's definitely a pattern!

As many others have mentioned over the past week, having achieved and in order to maintain such global status is the reason The Pattern is critical to Australian racing and breeding. It attracts domestic and foreign investment and participation on an extremely large scale while keeping our industry, and all involved, the envy of the world.

While, as an obviously interested and concerned observer, I am not privy to the politics involved in the current impasse, it is easy to understand and agree that a bipartisan approach is the way forward. As many have suggested, all sectors should be invited to the table.

Finally, let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers of Thoroughbred Daily News AusNZ.

This letter was written in response to an article in TDN AusNZ's Wednesday, August 6 edition, The ongoing challenge of The Pattern.