BENDIGO
LUXBET.COM 2YO MDN PLATE Race 1 - 1:00pm
1,000 m
SLEEPERS

SALE
DAVID'S MENSWEAR MDN PLATE Race 2 - 1,200 m
ACE ACOSTA
BALUSTRADE
PANTAC SECURITY MDN PLATE Race 4 - 1,400 m
CADENZIA
PROBUS CLUBS OF GIPPSLAND (62) Race 5 - 1,700 m
ABSOLUTE JOY
ROSEHILL
RANVET STAKES Race 6 - 2,000 m
SPEED GIFTED
COOLMORE CLASSIC Race 7 - 1,500 m
DANE JULIA
WESTFIELD PARRA. PHAR LAP STKS Race 8 - 1,500 m
THE COMEDIAN

A New World Of Racing

You understand how much racing has changed when on your desk, alongside a Victorian Inside Racing calendar, sit fixtures for racing in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Royal Ascot.

When I do my race programming on Monday afternoons, not only do I need to concern myself with runners in a an upcoming maiden at Stony Creek, but also which horses to enter for the Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba in Dubai, or what horses I might program for Royal Ascot.

Such is the changing face of world racing. Even the Asian Racing Conference recognised this with their 2007 theme of "Racing Without Borders".

I got my first serious taste of it when Miss Andretti helped me live a dream by winning the Group 2 King's Stand Stakes (1000m) at Royal Ascot.

I had my appetite whetted by the experience last year with Falkirk. A shot across the bow, I call it.

Some people may have questioned taking Falkirk to England, as he was struggling to find the form to win at Group 1 level in Australia, but he was very unlucky not to win the King's Stand Stakes, finishing fourth behind Takeover Target. It was a performance that gave Falkirk more prestige than winning Group 2 or 3 races back in Australia, and set him up for his retirement to stud at owner Nelson Schick's Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand.

But the Falkirk experience gave me an insight of what I needed to do with Miss Andretti. There is no doubt the decision to bypass the Sydney and Adelaide carnivals was important, but risky, as she had at her mercy both the Group 1 The T J Smith (WFA 1200m) at Randwick, and the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville.

She is a wonderful mare when fresh. I knew I could prepare her adequately at Markdel, and if she travelled well to England. All I needed to do was keep her fresh and keen, and top her off with a couple of sharp gallops in England.

Last year with Falkirk, he was a gross entire, and I probably worked him too hard. Those gallops at Epsom, while spectacular and a trainer's dream, can be tough on a horse. It doesn't surprise me that the English sprinters lack the zip of the Australians, because surprisingly, they go out in big teams with the stayers, and they do a lot of long, striding hill work that takes the sprint out of their legs. It is certainly not the way we train our sprinters.

I think we'll see more and more of our challengers in England. Our strength is in sprinters. Choisir and Takeover Target paved the way, and now Miss Andretti is the benchmark. The success of these three outstanding horses tells us that our sprinters are superior. In the future, it is possible we can win at Royal Ascot with sprinters that may not be our very best.

But Dubai is another kettle of fish altogether. To win one of those big races in Dubai requires a horse of the highest level. You must take the right horse. Sunline and Elvstroem in Dubai, and Starcraft in Europe, have shown what standard of horse is needed to be competitive against the best horses in the world.

Last year we took Sean Buckley's Perfect Promise for the Dubai Duty Free (1700m). It was a good exercise. She ran sixth in probably the hottest race in the world, picked up US$100,000, so expenses were covered. But, while she is a very good mare, you probably have to take something a little bit better than her to win.

I will always be looking for the right horses to take overseas, but everything needs to fall into place, and the owner must make the ultimate decision. On many fronts it is a big call when there are such highly valued races at home. That is why the decision of Sean Buckley and David Mueller to agree to the challenge in England with Miss Andretti was brave especially when there was such good prizemoney on her doorstep. Now there are no regrets.

I remember suggesting sending Mahogany to England to Lloyd Williams more than 10 years ago. Lloyd wasn't interested, and Mahogany stayed home and dominated the sprints. He could have been a sprinting sensation in Europe, as he relished being kept fresh.

I tried the same with the owners of Doriemus, but it all became too daunting. I think he was such a great stayer, and as he was virtually weighted out of the handicaps in Australia after winning the 1995 Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double, the staying races in Europe would have suited him. Oh how he would have loved the 4000 metres of the Ascot Gold Cup.

Last spring we seriously considered taking Miss Andretti to Hong Kong for the International Sprint at Sha Tin in December, but to go would have meant missing the Group 1 Salinger Stakes at Flemington, in which she ran a game third with 55kg to Dance Hero. At the time, I thought she would have at least run second to Absolute Champion at Sha Tin. In her Royal Ascot form, she would have beaten him.

Unfortunately for Hong Kong, the success of the Melbourne spring carnival is the reason our representation has been below par in their international races in recent years. I can't see this trend altering because Flemington during Cup week is our Royal Ascot. It is where owners all want to be seen, and to race their horses.

And the more improvement there is in the prizemoney on offer in the sprint races at home for our speed horses, the more you need to be very committed for a one-race attack on Hong Kong. Taking tired horses to Hong Kong as an afterthought is a futile exercise, and in the long run doesn't enhance the standing of our horses (or trainers) when they fail.

It's a shame because Hong Kong is a neighbour that is a prime market for our bloodstock, and their racing is very similar to ours.

Back in the world of reality, the same thinking applies in racing in Victoria. A Saturday class at Pakenham, a class 1 at a Moonee Valley night meeting, or a SuperVOBIS showcase on a Sunday at Ballarat? Not all horses are world champions, but where they are placed is becoming so much more important.

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