Hastings-trained Nedwin is at full stretch as he clears one of the fences on his way to winning last Sunday’s Pakuranga Hunt Cup Steeplechase.
John Jenkins is a longtime racing journalist based in Hawke’s Bay. This is his weekly opinion column.
A new state-of-the-art racecourse and thoroughbred training facility, costing more than $77.3 million, is planned for a Greenfields site on the outskirts of Hastings.
The 44.5-ha property is situated at the end of Portsmouth Rd, at the back of Flaxmere, and will be developed into one of five metropolitan racetracks in New Zealand.
Hawke’s Bay Racing Incorporated members were informed of the proposal at a Members Forum held at the Hastings racecourse on Tuesday evening.
They were told that the Hawke’s Bay company, TW Property, presently owns the land under consideration and will pay $50m for the present Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc. site, in the middle of Hastings, in what is tantamount to a swap deal.
The present Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc. site covers an area of 32ha and TW Property want to redevelop this into urban housing, with plans to build approximately 680 houses there.
The present Wall Rd stabling complex and the float park in Southland Rd, both still owned by Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc., will also be sold to help finance the new venture.
For the deal to move forward, NZTR is seeking $20m in Government funding. This, combined with an additional $7.3m injection from Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc. and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, will help make up the $77.3m needed to build the new complex.
The application for $20m of Government funding has been submitted to MBIE and an outcome is expected later this month. It is also subject to Resource Management Act approvals, including mana whenua consultation.
Following confirmation of that funding, a Special General Meeting of Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc. members will be called where they will be asked to vote on whether to approve the Greenfields proposal.
In the meantime, reconstruction work on the current Hastings racetrack is due to commence within the next fortnight, with re-cambering of the bend going out of the home straight and the one at the 1400m point.
Wide strips of grass and turf will be taken from these two sections and rolled and stored in an area on course. Soil will then be added to the two areas to create a camber and the grass and turf will then be re-laid.
The cost of this work has been budgeted at $2.2m but it is hoped that it will be significantly less and the plan is to have it fit for racing on again by the spring of next year.
Normal racing will then be conducted at the Hastings track for at least three years while the new Greenfields site is completed.
The new racetrack on the Greenfields site will be 1890m in circumference and 30 metres wide and will comprise a sand-based evergreen grass surface similar to those built at Pakenham and the soon-to-be-constructed Moonee Valley surface in Victoria, Australia.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing CEO Matt Ballesty was one of several who addressed the members at Tuesday’s Forum and said the goal is to build five or six Metropolitan Standard racetracks in New Zealand over the next 10 years for racing, training and community use and that Hastings was seen as one of them.
It is hoped to have two Metropolitan tracks in the north, two in the Central Districts and one in the South Island, with possibly another one in the north.
NZTR chairman Russell Warwick said a Metropolitan racetrack will attract better quality horses and jockeys, as well as stronger wagering, and it is definitely NZTR’s intention to hold a Spring Carnival in the Hawke’s Bay region.
It is envisaged that the new Greenfields racetrack will be up and running by the spring of 2029 and will stage at least 19 race days a year.
The new Greenfields site will also have full thoroughbred training facilities, with a plough track, a sand track and the outside of the course proper available for trackwork. There will also be a tunnel that will give access to the middle of the racecourse where there will be stabling blocks to house Hastings-trained horses and those visiting from other centres.
There will be 132 tie-up stalls that can be used on race days with public access for easy viewing.
There will be no grandstand as such but there will be an administration building to accommodate officials as well as facilities for up to 40 jockeys and an events pavilion that could cater for 300 to 500 people, when used as one large area, or reduced to four smaller ones for different functions.
There will also be a raised hill grassed area where marquees will be erected on race days.
The complete racecourse will take up 37.5ha of the 44.5-ha property with the other 7.0ha to be able to be developed for housing at a later time.
Nedwin jumps to glory over the big fences
Hastings jumper Nedwin confirmed a start in the $200,000 Ben and Ryan Foote Great New Zealand Steeplechase (6200m) at Te Aroha in a fortnight with a dominant win in last Sunday’s $75,000 Pakuranga Hunt Cup Steeplechase at the same venue.
The former top hurdler confirmed his arrival among steeplechasing’s top echelon with a four-length victory in the 4300m event and is now a $4.20 third favourite for the 6200m feature on September 21.
The Niagara gelding has now had 48 starts for 15 wins, six placings and $487,843 in stakes. Seven of those wins have come over hurdles, including the 2022 Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle (3200m), the 2023 Great Northern Hurdle (4200m), the 2023 Waikato Hurdle (3200m) and two editions of the Wellington Hurdles (3400m).
Trainers Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal have switched Nedwin to the bigger fences this winter, and he was a three-length winner on debut at Te Rapa in May before finishing third in the Waikato Steeplechase (3900m), fourth in the Koral Steeplechase (4250m) and third in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m).
Nelson said this week the extremely testing heavy10 track conditions last Sunday and the fact that there were six less fences to jump in the race probably put Nedwin at an advantage.
A track inspection at 6.30am on the morning of the races deemed the Te Aroha surface safe for racing but another 10mm of rain fell on the course before the first race and some jump jockeys raised concerns with stewards regarding surface water on the outside steeplechase course. Another track inspection was carried out and it was agreed that this section, where there are three live steeplechase fences, was unsafe for racing.
“He [Nedwin] is a pretty good jumper but the fact that there was a long gallop between fences probably helped him because he’s still got good ability on the flat,” Nelson said.
Race-favourite Fourty Eight led for most of the race but Nedwin and rider Hamish McNeill pressed forward starting the last 900m and were right on his heels rounding the home bend.
Nedwin took command in the straight and forged clear, pulling away for a dominant win over Captains Run, who finished strongly to claim second off a tiring Fourty Eight.
McNeill has no doubt that Nedwin can be among the key chances again for the New Zealand jumps season’s grand finale.
“He’s a top animal and I’m looking forward to riding him again in three weeks,” he said. “He’ll improve off this run because he was having a good blow after the race.”
Nedwin is owned by Nelson and his wife Carol in partnership with Gisborne couple Mick and Suz Gardner and Sunday’s win brought up the 50th black type training success for Nelson.
Nowadays, he trains in partnership with Corrina McDougal and the stable produced two winners at Sunday’s Te Aroha meeting, with Skaw Valley turning his form around when taking out the $20,000 maiden hurdle race over 3100m.
The Rip Van Winkle five-year-old had been pulled up in his two most recent hurdle starts and was subsequently overlooked by the punters, winning at odds of 16 to one.
Nelson credited the vastly improved performance to getting jockey Dean Parker back on the horse and also the addition of a tongue-tie.
“Dean rode him when he went a good race for fourth over hurdles at Te Rapa three starts back and I think the tongue-tie certainly helped,” he said.
Parker settled his mount at the back of the field in the early stages before sending him forward starting the last 700m.
They ranged up five-wide rounding the home bend to challenge the leaders and worked clear with race favourite Malborough Bay jumping the second to last fence.
The latter made a blunder at the last and was lucky to stay on his feet, leaving Skaw Valley clear in the lead and he went on to win by three lengths.
Skaw Valley was recording his second win from 15 starts and his first since joining the Nelson/McDougal stable.
He was previously trained by Matamata’s Pam Gerard and was purchased privately by Nelson, who races him in partnership with his cousin David Nelson, David Holden, Peter Tod, Mike Stovell, Nikki Dallas, Jackie Brougham and Angus and Ginni Macleod. All but the MacLeods are based in Hawke’s Bay.
Deserved success by Graeme John
Hawke’s Bay-bred and owned Graeme John made a return to the winner’s stall with a deserved success in a $40,000 Rating 65 race over 1000m at Riccarton last Saturday.
The seven-year-old Per Incanto gelding was coming off three second placings since resuming from a spell and was considered unlucky not to have won his previous start, over 1200m on the Riccarton synthetic track.
Graeme John was bred by Hastings-based Ian Holloway who races the horse in partnership with two close friends, the brothers Allan and Roland Bartlett.
The horse was originally trained at Woodville by Shane Brown, who prepared him for two wins and six minor placings before he was transferred to the Riccarton stable of David Walsh in May of this year.