Rising Romance won the A$1 million Oaks and although we can't lay claim to too much in terms of his heritage, A$2 million Derby winner Criterion is officially bred in New Zealand.
The only reason for all of this is Richard Freedman's comment on Racing Retro four to five weeks back that (paraphrased): "New Zealand is further separating itself from Australia."
In other words, New Zealand racing and all its products are falling further and further behind Australia.
You can never take too much offence from Freedman, who produces no venom in his statements and who is always happy to play the devil's advocate.
All of life is about timing and the time frame for his latest mouthful could not have been more disastrous for him.
Racing across the ditch needs gentle reminders from time to time to eliminate the glaring reality that - in Sydney at least - horses, jockeys and trainers are only as good as the last time they competed.
Chris Waller is already, after only a few years, the best trainer in Australia and is now regarded as one of theirs. And James McDonald is only a handful of wins behind Nash Rawiller in the Sydney jockeys premiership and being tipped for greatness. It won't be too many more wins before he's regarded as an Okker.
The only individual every Australian jockey aspires to copy is Jim Cassidy, another New Zealander.
It was around the Christmas holiday period when one Australian journalist mentioned - obviously off the back of a few long lunches - that trainer Chris Waller was experiencing a mini drought. There are no carnivals on the east coast during that time and Waller aims his horses specifically at carnivals.
That statement was beyond ridiculous at the time and made much more so when Waller produced an unprecedented 1-2-3-4 A$3 million Doncaster result.
Anzac Day seems an appropriate time to write this - "Lest We Forget" can clearly apply to more than just war.
