NSW was the first to experiment with the $1 million bonus during the five-race NSW Carnival of Cups series.
Swayzee almost won the group when he won four legs and finished a close second in the other (in Albury) last year. The champion stayer received a $500,000 bonus for his efforts.
This year, Captains Knock has collected at least $500,000 by winning the first four legs of NSW. On March 20 he will race to earn the full $1 million if he wins the final stage, the Renshaw Cup, in Penrith.
Recently, Victoria followed the NSW initiative, but modified it slightly for two “all-in” bonuses. Unlike NSW’s “staggered” bonus payouts, Victoria’s Summer of Glory bonuses were all or nothing.
Leap To Fame is agonizingly close to a $1 million bonus by half his neck, second only to older sibling Swayzee in the Hunter Cup.
On the same evening, Keayang Zahara received her $500,000 bonus by adding the Great Southern Star in three key lead-up/qualifying races.
These ‘assured’ bonuses are undoubtedly great for the game.
But now that more than one state is involved, they are demanding a joint approach.
No one wins by making important races clash like they have in recent months.
The truth is, we just don’t have the pace and trotting talent to warrant big racing collisions.
As strange as it sounds as Captains Knock races toward a $1 million bonus, his trainer-driver Brad Hewitt and connections.
They had a decision to make: chase the bonus or compete in two of Australia’s biggest races, the Blacks A Fake and Hunter Cup.
The schedule doesn’t allow for either. The legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups are held on the eve of the Blacks A Fake and Hunter Cup.
“I grew up watching a race like the Hunter Cup and you dream about being part of it,” Hewitt said. “We have made our decision, but it is a shame that we had to choose.
“Hopefully everyone can come together and work on a schedule that provides every opportunity for the best horses.”
It seems like a fair question.
But it’s easier said than done.
Each state must take care of itself, but also with an eye to the bigger picture.
If the bonuses are hers
If we want to stay, and it looks like we do, let’s explore all avenues on the calendar to open up as many big races as possible to our best horses.
The Hunter Cup, Blacks A Fake and most legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups would be better races for that.
This is not a finger-pointing exercise, but rather a call to try to get on the same page.
Victoria has renewed the Summer of Glory and extended it to six weeks this year.
Do they need six weeks? Is it a week or two too long? That’s undoubtedly a question they ask themselves as part of the review.
Once that overview is ready, we will sit around the table with HRNSW and workshop dates.
The national CEO conference on March 18 and 19 seems like the perfect setting.
With a little give and take, I’m sure we can make some adjustments to make the calendar better for everyone, including the states themselves.
The more often we get star horses racing against each other and in different locations, the better.
The last few months have shown that we are onto something good here, let’s try to really maximize it.
by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria
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