New Zealand Cup Day at Riccarton abandoned

Media Release - Saturday November 12

One of the biggest days on the domestic racing calendar, New Zealand Cup Day at Riccarton, was abandoned after race three on Saturday due to safety concerns following a horse slipping whilst free of interference rounding the home turn.

Harmonious, ridden by Lily Sutherland, clearly slipped on a lush patch of turf as she commenced her run into the race at the 400m mark.

A track examination by stipendiary stewards and a delegation of jockeys saw remedial work undertaken on the affected turf to try alleviate the issue of the excess moisture trapped near the track surface.

Despite extensive efforts the situation did not improve and the decision was taken to abandon the meeting.

Leading rider Lisa Allpress was present during the track inspection and admitted she was bitterly disappointed to see racing abandoned but felt there was no other alternative available to officials.

“On the firm surface underneath, the fact that the grass is quite long and with a little bit of rain overnight, it just hasn’t dried underneath which means that there is an area of the track that is unsafe,” she said.

Advertisement

“There is more than just the one slip mark and there are quite a few out there.

“We really tried (to save the meeting) and with daylight saving hours available, we might have been able to put the meeting back, but with the length of the grass and the amount of moisture in it, it just isn’t going to dry out.

“Jockey and horse safety is paramount, but this isn’t a decision made lightly and it is just devastating for everybody.”

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing have advised the remining nine races on the card, including the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), Gr.3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup (3200m) and Gr.3 Lindauer Stewards Stakes (1200m) will be race at the venue on Monday. – NZ Racing Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
Crossbow Takes Aim At Flemington To Score
With quality efforts behind handy horses in his first three starts, trainer Chris Waller crossed the border to Victoria with instant success for the Star Thoroughbreds raced Crossbow, with the well-marked son of Better Than Ready breaking through for an impressive win.
Dual Group Winner Too Darn Good At Flemington
A dual group winner during the Spring of her 3yo season, talented mare Too Darn Discreet showed an electric turn of foot, charging home over the top of them to win the Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale (1620m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Unique Filly a History Maker for Godolphin and Waller
The re-distribution of the Godolphin owned Australian racehorses has been a hot topic in recent weeks as they departed the care of James Cummings to join a wide spread of different trainers and one of those was Chris Waller, whose first runner for the blue army was a winner at Rosehill on Saturday.
King of Roseau Wins G3 Aurie’s Star
Placed in the Listed VRC Poseidon Stakes at Flemington last spring as a three year-old behind Growing Empire, Capitalist gelding King of Roseau returned to the same venue on Saturday to capture the Group III VRC Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m).
Sliding Doors Moment Delivers Feel Good Winner at Rosehill
Two fillies were born at Yulong in 2021 sired by Alabama Express from imported North American daughters of Street Cry, one of them is triple Group I winner Treasurethe Moment and the other is the feel good winner of the day at Rosehill on Saturday.
Impressive New Winner at Goodwood for St Mark’s Basilica
Coolmore shuttler St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) had a number of high profile yearlings sold at the European sales last year and one of them was a filly from Angelic Light that made 600,000 guineas at Tattersalls October Book 2.
Kosciuszko calling Rosehill winner Elson Boy
Dubbo-trained Elson Boy was back in the winner’s circle after a 412-day absence when leading throughout to land the Jockeys Celebration Day Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill in the hands of apprentice William Stanley.
Winning Hat-Trick for Progressive Pierro
Richard and Will Freedman probably have more talented horses in the stable than Pierro gelding Cold Brew, but few have the consistency of this four year-old who landed a winning hat-trick at Rosehill on Saturday.
Glorious Goodwood Day 3 – Flag Start Can’t Stop Wootton Bassett
The Group I Nassau Stakes (1m2f) for fillies and mares was the highlight on the third day of Glorious Goodwood and very nearly didn’t happen at all given the ‘biblical’ rain and a flag start for the five runners that braved the treacherous conditions.
Sires With Winners - Friday August 1
Here is the full list of 35 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.