Lily Sutherland is one of the country’s leading jockeys presently sidelined through suspension and is also on the injured list.
John Jenkins is a longtime racing journalist based in Hawke’s Bay.
OPINION
Members of Hawke’s Bay Racing will hopefully find out by the middle or end of this month what the future holds for the club going forward.
An email from the chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Racing Board, Richard Riddell, went out to members on April 16 saying that the board, with NZTR, has been considering how best to get back to racing on the Hastings track as soon as possible.
Riddell said those considerations include a comprehensive re-development plan to set Hawke’s Bay Racing up for racing for the next century. He said those plans are advancing at a pace but are unlikely to be clear until July.
“However, to keep you up to date, we are proposing to hold a members’ meeting in mid-late May. In conjunction with NZTR, we will outline and recommend an immediate course of action to return to racing as soon as possible and, in addition, provide you with information regarding the process being undertaken to achieve the best long-term outcome for racing in Hawke’s Bay.”
Riddell confirmed that the club had sold part of the land that it owned in the Paki Paki area, which has enabled the it to pay down some of its bank debt.
“The short point is that we are making headway to enable the board to focus on applying all resources to our key objective of getting back to racing soonest,” he said.
He added that Hawke’s Bay Racing has established a liaison subcommittee that is tasked with exploring the merits of combining Hawke’s Bay Racing resources with other clubs in the region. The thinking is that it will maximise the opportunities to enhance the racing facilities and support the racing industry in the eastern North Island.
Waipukurau trials a success
The Waipukurau Jockey Club held a successful set of trials on their track on Tuesday, with the racing surface providing excellent soft footing.
There were 12 heats run, over differing distances, and the feedback from trainers and jockeys was very positive.
Waipukurau Jockey Club president Kirsty Lawrence said that, although entry numbers were down on what was expected, she felt the club needed to put on trials to accommodate horses due to the present lack of trial and race meetings in the Central Districts.
Lawrence said that the club needs at least 80 horse entries at the trials to make it viable for the club to run them, given the costs, and only 67 horses competed on Tuesday.
A lot of work goes into staging the trials, and she hopes, for the betterment of racing in the Hawke’s Bay region, that they will be better supported in the future.
Among the most impressive winners on the day were Lucullan, Dolindo and Arksey
Lucullan is an Australian-bred three-year-old by Rich Enuff trained at Awapuni by Peter Didham and was a 4-3/4 length winner in a Rating 60 race at Waverley on April 4.
He contested a 1000m heat at Waipukurau and wasn’t extended when winning by a length in a time of 1:01.88.
Opaki trainer Jim Wallace lined up a promising two-year-old in Dolindo in the opening heat over 850m. The Time Test gelding was slow to begin and gave the leaders a good head start coming to the home bend, but rounded them up well to win by a neck.
Arksey, a four-year-old by Eminent owned and trained by Waverley-based Harvey Wilson, scored a decisive 1-3/4 length win in a maiden catchweight heat over 1200m, coming from second last in a six-horse field on the home turn to power past the opposition in the final stages and record the fastest time of the two 1200m heats.
Huge number of riders not competing
It is thought there is a record number of jockeys sidelined in New Zealand at the moment, either through suspensions, injuries or unavailability.
Thirty riders spread throughout the country won’t be competing this weekend and some won’t be back in action for some time.
The list of suspended riders include five of the top 10 in this season’s national Jockeys’ Premiership in Michael McNab, Lily Sutherland, Masa Hashizume, Tina Comignaghi and George Rooke.
Sutherland is also on the injured list after suffering concussion in a training fall.
The full list of sidelined riders is.
Suspended riders
Michael McNab. Suspended at Te Rapa on April 26 from close of racing on Saturday, May 3, to close of racing on Wednesday, May 21.
Brett Murray. Suspended at Riccarton on April 26 from close of racing on Saturday, May 3, to close of racing on Wednesday, May 14.
Sam Wynne. Suspended at Riccarton on April 26 from close of racing on May 2 to close of racing on Sunday, May 25.
Abdul Najib. Suspended at Riccarton on April 26 from close of racing on May 3 to close of racing on May 23.
Ayush Mudhoo. Suspended at Riccarton on April 26 from close of racing on Saturday, April 26 to close of racing on Sunday, May 4.
Ashlee Strawbridge. Suspended at Pukekohe on April 23 from close of racing on April 26 to close of racing on May 16.
Tina Comignaghi. Suspended at Riverton on April 21 from close of racing on Thursday, May 1 to close of racing on Sunday, May 11.
Donovan Cooper. Suspended at Riverton on April 21 from close of racing on May 9 to close of racing on Wednesday, May 28.
Masa Hashizume. Suspended at Ellerslie on April 19 from close of racing on April 26 to close of racing on Wednesday, May 7.
George Rooke. Suspended at Ellerslie on April 19 and Wanganui on April 27 from close of racing on April 26 to close of racing on Saturday, May 17.
Wiremu Pinn. Suspended at Matamata on April 17 from close of racing on April 26 to close of racing on Saturday, May 3.
Donovan Cooper. Suspended at Ashburton on April 16 to close of racing on Friday, May 9.
Billy Jacobson. Suspended at Ashburton on April 16 from close of racing on April 26 to close of racing on Wednesday, May 7.
Lily Sutherland. Suspended at Wellington April 12 and Te Rapa April 13 from close of racing on April 19 to close of racing on Saturday, May 24.
Injured riders:
Corey Campbell: Out until further notice from April 18.
Lily Sutherland: Out until further notice from April 15.
Ngakau Hailey: Out until further notice from March 18.
Choon Kin Kwo: Out until further notice from March 11.
Tony Allan: Out until further notice from March 10.
Rory Hutchings: Out until further notice from February 26.
Lisa Allpress: Out until further notice from January 18.
Sam Weatherley: Out until further notice from January 25.
Darren Danis: Out until further notice from November 18.
Kendra Bakker: Out until further notice from October 31.
Gareth Lahoud: Out until further notice from September 12.
Jay Kozaczek: Out until further notice from September 8.
Matthew Cropp: Out until further notice.
Unavailable riders:
Sanu Toolooa: Overseas until Wednesday, November 6.
Brandon May: Out until further notice from April 22.
Sima Mxothwa: Overseas until 19 May.
Cummings and Godolphin to split
Superstar trainer James Cummings and global powerhouse racing stable Godolphin are to split from the start of the new racing season, on August 1.
Since leaving Leilani Lodge in 2017, where he worked with his legendary grandfather Bart Cummings, James Cummings has been the head trainer at Godolphin.
But that will soon be over with Cummings revealing he wants to return to Leilani Lodge.
Meanwhile, Godolphin is reimagining its structure in the Australian racing industry and will no longer employ a private trainer from next season.
In a joint statement with head trainer James Cummings on Wednesday, Godolphin Australia managing director Andy Makiv said their decision to move to a public training model was in line with the design adopted by other influential owners and breeders.
Cummings will continue to train some horses for Godolphin, with the all-powerful racing and breeding organisation explaining the decision to spread their team among a number of trainers would provide greater flexibility for the business while maintaining Godolphin’s strong presence in the Australian thoroughbred industry.
“The private training model that we first adopted after the purchase of Woodlands in 2007, with successive trainers, Peter Snowden, John O’Shea, and now James Cummings for the past eight years, has proven to be very successful,” Makiv said.
“Moving away from a private training model gives us greater business agility. We will continue to have the same number of horses in training — it’s fundamental to what we do."
Prior to joining Godolphin, Cummings worked for nearly a decade at the famous Leilani Lodge and took over the running of that stable before joining Godolphin.
Not long after, he had his first Group 1 win and now has a whopping 49 Group 1 winners to his name, plus a stack of other victories.
Cummings, the son of former trainer Anthony, expressed excitement at embarking upon the next chapter of his career.
“The time is right for me to take the next step in my career and launch my own venture as a public trainer,” Cummings said.
“This experience has been incredibly rewarding and has taught me invaluable lessons, both professionally and personally.
“I’m deeply grateful to Godolphin for their ongoing support, and I look forward with great anticipation to this exciting new chapter.”
The move is 'a board decision shared by the firm as a courtesy', trust chairwoman says.