Racing: Moving champ shafting for Negus

MELBOURNE - The temptation to pick Bruce Negus up and shake him is overwhelming.

The men behind champion Courage Under Fire has every right to be displaying levels of anger rarely contained in such a placid human being.

He is losing the horse horsemen dream of; the reason they get up at ridiculous hours to work plenty of slow horses, in the hope one of them will be Courage Under Fire. Negus is losing a friend and waving goodbye to a dream.

On Saturday night he will take New Zealand's greatest pacer to Moonee Valley for the Interdominion Grand Final. It will be the last time Negus takes Courage Under Fire anywhere. Courage Under Fire will go home with new trainer Brian Hancock.

But Negus is not angry. He is not calling owner Greg Brodie, who made the decision, unprintable names. Negus is a walking, talking diplomacy doll.

He was at it again yesterday. Reassuring the media that this is a good decision, in the best interests of the horse, something Brodie is doing so he can see his horse race more often, it was a joint decision.

That last part really makes me want to pick Negus up and shake him. I want to shake some sense into him and the truth out of him.

But I can't for two reasons. Firstly I am not strong enough to pick the round little fella up. The second reason is because Negus has no choice.

Losing Courage Under Fire hurts like hell, but Negus is a horse trainer and horse training is a business. No horses, no money.

He has a whole team of horses at home in Canterbury and many of them are owned by Greg Brodie. With Brodie having put his loyalty cards on the table on Sunday it is understandable that Negus is towing the party line on Courage Under Fire's shock stable change.

What Bruce Negus won't say is that he has shafted. Well, Bruce Negus has been shafted.

He made Courage Under Fire. Sure, God helped by giving the little champion freakish physical talents and a heart like a bass drum but Negus taught him how to use them and then gave him the chance to do so.

He masterminded his world record six Derbys, his New Zealand record 24 consecutive wins. While they look impressive achievements on paper, most people don't know they were achieved while Negus battled another hoof problem with Courage Under Fire. He knew when to push the champ and when to nurse him.

Now Hancock gets spoon-fed the most fattening dish of the racing menu - Courage Under Fire, ready to take on the world, not to mention the Australian Grand Circuit.

The reasons were being bandied about yesterday. Brodie wants to see the horse race more often. There are no real races for him in New Zealand. Brodie originally comes from Sydney and would dearly love to win the Miracle Mile.

Coming from a smart man these are stupid reasons. Greg Brodie is a very smart man who has made lots and lots of money and wants to see his horse race more often.

Well done, now get the pleasure of seeing Courage Under Fire go to Harold Park and race equine cripples. That will be fun.

Sure, with Courage Under Fire based in Australia he can tackle the Grand Circuit. But Kiwi-trained horses dominate the Grand Circuit. Last season Christian Cullen was Grand Circuit champion, this season Holmes D G leads the series.

Courage Under Fire may get a crack at a few early races, like the Queensland Pacing Champs, but he will miss his shot at a truly great race, harness racing's measuring stick, the New Zealand Cup. Nobody would swap a Queensland Pacing Championship for the New Zealand Cup.

As for winning the Miracle Mile. New Zealand-trained pacers own the Miracle Mile. You don't have to be trained in Sydney to win the Miracle Mile, it just means one day less travelling.

If these are the real reasons behind why Bruce Negus has lost Courage Under Fire then they raise a few questions.

Why wasn't Hancock given Courage Under Fire at the start of this season so he could win the Miracle Mile and the Interdoms, so Brodie could see him race more often? Why announce this just days before the biggest race of anybody in the industry's life?

And what has changed in the last month, because Negus left New Zealand expecting to return with Courage Under Fire, openly stating two feature races at Alexandra Park next month were on his programme?

I will tell you what has changed. Courage Under Fire has been beaten, twice.

His first defeat, no fault of Negus's after his battle with the champ's hoof problems, put the wheels in motion.

Harsh words were exchanged, explanations sought. A lot of people who know nothing about Courage Under Fire suddenly had opinions on what went wrong. Such opinions would obviously get back to Brodie.

Under the intense heat of an Interdominion series the seeds of doubt grow quickly. The rumours started two weeks ago and for once they were right.

So a very rich man called Greg Brodie does what he has every right to do in taking one of his posessions off a self-confessed battler called Bruce Negus.

In racing it happens every day, horses change trainer and nobody cares.

But Courage Under Fire is the rarest of champions and Bruce Negus has dedicated the last two years of his life to making him so. Courage Under Fire will gain nothing from this and who knows, he may lose something.

It is a decision that ignores loyalty and logic, that will dull racing's most brilliant star, a decision that shows little understanding of Courage Under Fire's place in New Zealand's racing history. As for the timing, well that is just plain embarrasing.

It may be a business decision made by a businessman.

And as usual in business decisions the richer man gets what he wants and the poorer man gets shafted.

Even if he won't come out and say it.