“We have already had to scratch our one out of that hurdle because the jockey we provisionally wanted had another ride and we couldn’t find a replacement,” says Nelson.
“They had so many nominations we wanted it split into two races so all the horses could get a start but I think that would have meant starting at 10.30am.
“And they already had their 10 races, with the six flat races programmed.”
While a full 14-horse hurdle field is rare in jumps racing these days, the code will not be sustainable with only 12 fit jockeys to choose from. The situation is made worse by star jumps jockey Shaun Phelan indicating he is unofficially retired from riding as his training career gets busier.
The squeeze is also made more difficult by leading Australian jumps jockeys being reluctant to ride here because of difficulties getting insurance cover and full, ongoing support from ACC should they be sidelined by a fall.
Being a jumps jockey requires not only skill but plenty of courage and Nelson says they should get paid more than flat jockeys because they have fewer opportunities, potentially more risk per ride and only a short racing season.
“The shortage of riders is a real issue and I and plenty of other trainers think the jumps jockeys should get $400 or even $500 per ride,” says Nelson.
At the moment jumps jockeys get $242 per ride, compared with $176 per ride for flat jockeys.
“It is risky and they don’t ride as much but we need them in the industry, not only for jumps racing but the other roles they play breaking in horses or riding trackwork and in trials,” explains Nelson.
“If they got paid more maybe we can lure more here from overseas, or get some of flat riders who are here considering doing jumps as well or even former jumps returning to racing.”
Nelson says he and other trainers have reached out to jumps jockeys in England and Ireland to try and lure them to New Zealand for our winter when jumps racing takes a break in that part of the world, but they are hard to convince.
“We spoke to one jockey who obviously rides really well because he finished about 10th in the Grand National and it all sounded good but he had to ask his boss.
“We can understand his boss being reluctant to lose him because these guys and girls are so skilled at riding all types of horses.”
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) operations manager Darin Balcombe acknowledges the problem and says a subsidy to boost jumps jockey’s fees is being investigated.
“We are definitely looking into it and realise if we have money in the budget, it needs to happen sooner rather than later,” Balcombe told the Herald.
“So we will make a decision soon and I think that would be to cover the remainder of this season and next.”
The jumping dramas won’t concern The Cossack tomorrow when he returns to steeplechasing for the first time since his brave third in an epic Great Northern last September.
The Cossack caught the eye with a recent run on the flat and the rain forecast for Te Rapa today and tomorrow should only aid him, even carrying 73kg.
“He is at his best on the really heavy stuff and if we get that he is ready to show his best even though he hasn’t had a jumping race this time in,” says Nelson.
“He is very fit and we have got plenty of work into him so he is the one to beat.”
Nelson warns punters to expect an improved campaign from The Anarchist this winter but still rates The Cossack the best of his two chances in the Waikato Steeples.
The stable also has wonderful hurdler Nedwin in the $60,000 Fairview Motors Waikato Hurdle after two recent lung-openers on the flat.
He is also very adept on heavy tracks but faces a race-fit rival in Berry The Cash, last season’s Grand National Hurdle winner, who looks the better bet with a 4kg advantage in the weights.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
