Donation turned down

[Wandering Eyes]

Starship Children’s Hospital has declined a A$520,000 donation borne out of one of Australian horse racing’s richest events.

Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick celebrated victory on Saturday when I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) took out the A$10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill in Sydney.

The triumph earned the gelding’s connections A$5.25m but, under Racing NSW’s rules for the race, 10 percent of any winnings must be forwarded on to a charity.

Chittick has now revealed he was forced to redirect the funds after his initial plan to send the money home to Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland fell apart.

He said a polite interaction with the Starship Foundation in the lead-up to the Golden Eagle ended without his desired outcome.

“I went straight to the top and just phoned Starship, got put through to about eight different people,” Chittick told NewstalkZB.

“I finally got to someone – they all said ‘thank you for thinking of us, this sounds fantastic, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can’.

“They came back after and said ‘thank you very much for thinking of us and it’s a wonderful gesture but sorry, we can’t take donations that are involved in a sport around gambling’.

“I think it’s gambling, that seems to be the situation.”

Starship Foundation chief executive Aisha Daji Punga confirmed the offer was considered but cited ‘existing partnership obligations’.

“The Starship Foundation is delighted to be the beneficiary of donations from individuals, clubs and organisations – donations which make a very real difference for children across Aotearoa New Zealand,” Punga told the NZ Herald.

“Careful consideration is always given to Starship’s involvement in events and other initiatives where there is an intention to support it and its work.

“In this instance, we were unable to be the nominated charity due to these considerations.”

The organisation has previously accepted donations from Windsor Park Stud, another New Zealand thoroughbred farm, while special thanks was given to Aotearoa Gaming Trust in its 2020 impact report.

Chittick said he is not a gambler himself and saw the victory as an opportunity to bring the money back to his country.

“I didn’t look upon it as gambling, I looked upon it as an opportunity that we had after an incredible race,” he said.

“I really would’ve liked that 10 percent to have come back to New Zealand and really would’ve liked to help out children and families that are in need.”

The funds have been redirected to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of NSW after Chittick sought advice on alternative charities from I Wish I Win’s trainer Peter Moody.

Chittick was unable to attend the Golden Eagle but Moody relayed that the foundation’s reaction after the win was “priceless”.

“He said there were some amazing people there from the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation and it was really heartwarming to see them get such a huge donation,” he told the NZ Herald.

“So the story has a happy ending for them but I am a bit disappointed I couldn’t bring that money back into New Zealand to help people, especially kids, here.”

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