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By The Centaur · Posted
OK Justin how about a bit more style and less screaming for your pick in the Wellington Cup. Good advice would be to take your cue from Peter Kelly. (never missed a beat in any of these calls) -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
The trans-Tasman approach – Is racing missing its Australasian opportunity? With the business of racing in Australia and New Zealand, be it bloodstock, breeding, training or wagering, so readily interlinked, Bren O’Brien asks if the industry is missing a trans-Tasman opportunity by being more closely integrated. By Bren O'Brien ● Racing Industry ● January 29, 2026 https://bitofayarn.com Australian-bred Well Written is New Zealand racing’s brightest star. (Photo: Megan Liefting/Race Images). Comment: As his bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster sets another benchmark for the sale, champion trainer Chris Waller is using the buyers’ room at Karaka near Auckland to conduct the business of the biggest stable in Australia. Waller, equally at ease on either side of the Tasman, lifts his eyes up from the spreadsheets on the screen in front of him, as Mulcaster jumps to $950,000 for a fetching Justify colt with the Coolmore brand offered by Landsdowne Park Stud. The well-related and well-presented colt will become the 11th and highest-priced new member of the Waller army for the week. With a stable of this size – Waller has had 1308 starters this season already, at an average of 7.2 per day – there isn’t really time to sit back and soak in the ambience of Karaka. Every minute spent is a minute wasted in Australia’s biggest stable, Advertisement Apart from the hassle of clearing customs and immigration, Waller might as well be working in Auckland as anywhere else. https://bitofayarn.com In many ways, Waller is the poster boy for the Australasian approach to racing. He has parlayed his upbringing at Foxton, around 500km south of Karaka, into becoming Australia’s greatest trainer. The path is a well-worn one. At the same sale 98 years ago, South Island-born Phar Lap found his way, via an American owner, across the Tasman and into the hearts of the Australian nation. Other examples are plentiful and notable, including James McDonald, the latest of a long line of champion Australian-based jockeys who are Kiwis. He will likely end up the greatest of all time when it comes to Group 1 wins. A couple of hours after Waller and Mulcaster’s Justify colt goes through, the price is topped by a Sword Of State colt sold to Australia’s other megastable, Ciaron Maher. The colt, by an Australian-bred stallion who raced and stands at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, secured $1.1 million thanks to a Chinese-based owner. Advertisement Australian buyers spent record amounts of money at Karaka – above $40 million – well over 50 per cent of the aggregate. Another of the big buyers of the week was Kevin Walls, a Kiwi investing on behalf of Queenslanders Ron and Judy Wanless. Local hero David Ellis was again the week’s largest investor buyer, but his Te Akau operation is now firmly Trans-Tasman and many of his purchases will end up racing out of the Cranbourne stables near Melbourne. Bloodstock in Australasia has operated without a trans-Tasman border for a long time.https://bitofayarn.com The suffixes might offer some form of delineation, and the sales companies might want to stamp their graduates as their own, but since the days of Phar Lap, the line between what is an Australian horse and a New Zealand horse is blurred. Well Written is the most exciting horse to come out of New Zealand for some time, some say since Sunline. Unbeaten in five starts, she has a Kiwi trainer but was bred in Australia and is likely heading back there later this year to take on Australasia’s best horses. Queensland trainer Liam Brichley took a Kiwi-bred juvenile to the Karaka Million 2YO, Dream Roca, and emerged victorious. Australian trainer Cindy Alderson has been searching for her first Group 1 winners for many years and went to Ellerslie last Saturday to get it, thanks to Jigsaw. $1.1 million Sword of State colt helps Karaka Book 1 to record heights As the impact of Entain’s investment in NZ racing has become clear, so too have the opportunities for Australians to look across the Tasman. There were seven Australian-trained horses running on Saturday, something that is likely to become the norm. Australian betting on NZ racing on Saturday soared 25 per cent as a result.https://bitofayarn.com Advertisement The flow of benefits is not one-way. At the Ellerslie races on Saturday, Entain executives spoke of how the benefits of technology developed and products honed in the Australian market are now helping the New Zealand industry through TAB NZ and Betcha. It was apparent from the Trackside broadcasts that the picture quality and streaming were noticeably better than what we see here in Australia. A unified national racing broadcaster has built out such a strong offering that you could argue the Kiwis get a better Saturday afternoon experience of Aussie racing than their channel-hopping cousins across the ditch. In the wagering context, monopoly has its advantages and disadvantages, but Entain CEO Andrew Vouris sees a clear opportunity in New Zealand to continue its growth. Like Waller, Vouris skips between the two countries with ease. In his mind, they appear to be the same business, albeit in different contexts. Both can benefit from each other’s presence. Relatively new New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing CEO Matt Ballesty is an Aussie, who has a global background in casinos and gaming. He recognises the challenges he faces in helping transform an industry are certainly not local. Addressing issues with tracks, venues, horse quality, ownership and technology are items on the checklist of any CEO of PRAs in Australia. Stakeholder engagement is no different in Auckland or Wellington than it is in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.https://bitofayarn.com He regularly compares notes with his old Sky City Entertainment colleague, Aaron Morrison, now CEO at Racing Victoria. There are clear reasons why the trans-Tasman industries operate separately, with regulation being the major one. Also, given that Australia cannot operate with a collective mindset on the future of its thoroughbred industry, it can hardly be expected to suddenly build a bridge to New Zealand.https://bitofayarn.com Karaka Millions 3YO destiny is written for Marsh’s star filly But there are so many ways in which the business of racing in Australia and New Zealand, be it bloodstock, breeding, training or wagering, is so readily interlinked. From a customer perspective, they are essentially the same product, albeit with nuanced differences, and a punter at Randwick or Ellerslie is no different, excepting an emphasis on certain vowels and differing access to bookmakers. It raises an interesting question. Leaving aside legal and regulatory considerations, if you had to start the commercial aspects of Australian and New Zealand racing from scratch, would you keep them separate or fully integrate them? Other sporting codes have benefited greatly from an integrated trans-Tasman approach. Is it an opportunity that the thoroughbred racing industry is missing out on? Disclosure: Bren O’Brien was in New Zealand courtesy of flights and accommodation paid for by Entain Australia and New Zealand. As an independent publication, The Straight gave no undertakings to Entain as to nature of its editorial coverage. -
i think it was hunterthepunter who said he thought brodie was the railway sleeper man.that was a few years ago now.I've never read brodie ever say he was,whether he is or not,who knows. either way,whoever brodie is,hes nearly always on the money.Hunterthe punter used to like guessing who people were. i think sometimes he was right,but often he was wrong,but he never stopped guessing.What did happen to hunterthepunter. Does he have another alias on here these days. One poster sounds like him. Who knows. -
getting back to craig rail. taylor strong has reported craig rail will sign off as a southern caller after the gore gallops on sunday. "i will go back to see my mum and dad,north of melbourne and then decide what i will do'.."i love the job and have come in contact with a lot of lovely people" i looked at some old articles on rail,he started off race calling in queensland and lived there most of his life until harness racing victoria emplyed him full time to call just the victorian harness meetings ,which he did for 15 years.Apparently he had to travel long distances to call the victorian trots,but said he loved his job there. sounds like he may have moved here as southland seems to have been where his wife was from. His wife,tracey ,passed away in may 2023.She was a highly regarded member of the southland greyhound club and worked in the kennels and as a judge.I think her brothers were greyhound trainers in invercargill, anyways,it must be hard for anyone losing a job that they are still good at.Being a race caller,its not as if you can go down the road and apply for another job race calling.The life of a commentator can be full of highs,but obviously its a very competitive job and you can be tossed to the side when you become surplus to requirements. Why hasn't HRNZ acknowledged his contribution?. Surely they should have..Rail ,as are all commentators ,are high profile people within the industry. theres a bloke who has dedicated his life to harness racing and hrnz hasn't even thanked him for his service to the industry as yet. i wonder whats next for Rail.Obviously he doesn't sound like he knows what nor where he will choose to live yet.thats life,who really knows whats around the corner.
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Looks strong today too. High clearance rate.
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