But there is no guarantee, yet anyway, that either Williams or Shinn can or will return for Champions Day as it clashes with two major meetings in Australia.
The date clashes with the Randwick Guineas, but more importantly two of the crucial lead-ups to the Golden Slipper in Sydney, while at Flemington it is All-Star Mile day with a support card including the Victorian Sires’ Produce and the Kewney Stakes.
The issue isn’t so much about jockeys missing either of those meetings because, after all, the stakes at Ellerslie are far greater, but their concern is missing key future rides.
Both meetings are substantial events and lead-ins to other big-money meetings at those venues through until The Championships in Sydney, which end on April 12.
As much as a Williams, Shinn or even the world’s best jockey James McDonald would love to be at Ellerslie, whether they are willing to risk losing key future rides or upsetting their usual main trainers is a key question.
That is not to say there are not plenty of jockeys in New Zealand up to the task of getting La Dorada, Damask Rose or some of the other big names on Champions Day home first.
But many of the leading local jockeys are also now settling on their regular rides and would be reluctant to get off them for a one-day-only guarantee.
Complicating matters further is the belief among some in the jockeys' room that Opie Bosson, who did the bulk of Te Akau’s big-race riding for the past 10 years, could come out of his recent retirement next season and be back as Te Akau’s regular No 1 rider.
Bosson hasn’t indicated that he will but has been riding trackwork and looked surprisingly trim for a retired sportsman at the Karaka yearling sales on Tuesday, sitting next to Te Akau boss David Ellis.
There is no chance Bosson, should he ever choose to return, could be back race riding by Champions Day but odds may be shortening on an eventual return, possibly next season.
Ellis, who bought and manages Damask Rose and La Dorada, said no jockeys have been confirmed for that pair for March 8 yet and stable racing manager Reece Trumper provided some indication about the extent of their search.
“We are definitely talking to international jockeys about that meeting and could have an announcement in the next week to 10 days,” said Trumper.
The “international” word in that sentence indicates jockeys outside Australasia are being spoken to and with British star Ryan Moore not a possibility that leaves two of Hong Kong’s biggest names, Zac Purton and Hugh Bowman, as the obvious targets.
Either would be a huge attraction at the meeting and with Champions Day containing Group 1 races and being part of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s World Pool initiative, if either wanted to ride at Ellerslie they would probably be granted permission if they could be persuaded to come down.
But that would only be allowed on the proviso they could be back in Hong Kong the next day to ride at Sha Tin. To add one more level of intrigue there is still more than half of the slots in the NZB Kiwi to be filled and it looks likely more Australian-trained horses will be involved.
As an example, say a major Australian trainer such as Chris Waller ends up with a horse in the NZB Kiwi and he has last Saturday’s Westbury winner Konasana in the Breeders Stakes on Champions Day then the conversation may change again.
That’s because any leading Australian trainer may be more forgiving of a Shinn, Williams or even McDonald (you can almost hear the Ellerslie bosses praying for that one) missing a few of their rides in Sydney or Melbourne if they were helping them out in $4m or $5m worth of races at Ellerslie.
One certainty in the lead-up to Champions Day: the mobile phones will be getting as much work as the horses.
