Racing: NZ stud negotiating for Auckland Reactor

Former topline pacer Auckland Reactor might have run his last race. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Racing's fallen hero Auckland Reactor could be back in New Zealand next month but a return to the racetrack here looks increasingly unlikely.

The one-time wonder horse of harness racing is at the centre of negotiations between his North American syndicate of owners and a leading New Zealand stud.

While nobody on either side of the negotiations will talk, Herald investigations have revealed the stud is offering $2 million or even more for the 5-year-old stallion.

That would seem a staggering amount considering Auckland Reactor's three racetrack failures in North America which have left him virtually worthless as a stallion in the Northern Hemisphere.

If, by some miracle, he can rise from the ashes and win a major North American race then his owners could once again dream of a commercial stud career in that part of the world.

But considering the fall from grace Auckland Reactor has suffered in both hemispheres since November, for any price even approaching $2 million his owners could be forgiven for chartering a place to carry him back to New Zealand.

While details are murky, it appears the two parties hit a snag last week when the deal was all but done. Negotiations are continuing with a possible solution expected as soon as next week.

In a major shock though, it is understood the New Zealand stud trying to buy Auckland Reactor are doing so with an immediate breeding career in mind.

That would see him pitched into the strongest stallion market in Australasian history off the back of almost exclusively negative publicity this year.

While he will still have a huge fan base in New Zealand and will attract some good-quality broodmares, he would make no more appeal than at least half a dozen other top stallions.

And his Australian commercial appeal is shaky at best after his dramatic and expensive failures in the Interdominions and Miracle Mile.

But there could still be a pot of gold at the end of Auckland Reactor's rainbow.

If he was to return to his best racetrack form he would be a huge player in the best mobile races around Australasia, and has the bonus of the Interdominions being at Addington next season.

Victory in a Miracle Mile, Auckland Cup or Interdominion would erase plenty of negative emotions and the open-class ranks next season do not look strong, with Monkey King a clear standout here and only Tintin In America challenging, while Australia's elite ranks are dominated by geriatrics.

But another racing campaign would mean missing this breeding season so there are risks in either strategy.

The Herald believes no local trainers have been approached about training Auckland Reactor, suggesting once again he is coming home purely as a stallion.

The only thing that does look certain is that unless he can get over his physical problems and find an extra 1.5 seconds over a mile in North America, the best place for Auckland Reactor is back home.

But as racing has shown us for decades, for the owners of once great racehorses, logic is often a stranger.

OVER-REACTION?
* Auckland Reactor is at the centre of negotiations to bring him back to New Zealand.
* The former champion pacer has been a flop in the United States, where he has raced well below his best.
* It is understood that an offer of more than $2 million might have been made for the stallion.
* But it seems unlikely Auckland Reactor would race again if he came home.