For so long, New Zealand racing was the poor cousin of the sport in Australia. Many in the northern hemisphere would struggle to name a New Zealand horse, even though many of the best ‘Australians’ – from Phar Lap to So You Think – were actually Kiwi-breds.
Of all Southern Hemisphere horses, it was New Zealander Balmerino who has gone closest to winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, while three horses carrying the (NZ) suffix – Moifaa, Seagram and Lord Gyllene – have won the world’s greatest steeplechase, the Grand National at Aintree.
As prizemoney has soared in Australia and Asia over the past two decades, New Zealand has been left behind. Many of New Zealand’s best horses have raced abroad, including Hong Kong champions Beauty Generation, Werther, Aerovelocity, Ambitious Dragon and Vengeance Of Rain.
As a result of this exodus its racing product has been decimated. But after years of malaise, New Zealand has suddenly emerged as a racing hotspot once more.
A raft of governance changes recommended by heavyweight Australian breeder John Messara have been implemented while prize money is on the rise again after global powerhouse Entain took over the New Zealand TAB.
The prize money boost, combined with the closure of Singapore and Macau, means there is a greater incentive to keep New Zealand’s best horses at home.
The richest three-year-old race in the Southern Hemisphere will debut in March when the NZ$3.5 million (HK$15.25 million) NZB Kiwi (1500m) – restricted to horses bred, conceived or sold in New Zealand – will be run at Ellerslie.
While big purses don’t always equate to a world class product, global handicappers have also noted New Zealand’s recent renaissance.
The 2023 World’s Top 100 Group 1 races saw two New Zealand races make the list for the first time, with the Railway Stakes and the BCD Group Sprint – registered as the Waikato Sprint – both reaching a new peak for the country at equal 78th.
That was largely on the back of top sprinter Imperatriz, who won both races as part of a stellar 18 months in which she was named Australian champion sprinter for the 2023-24 season. It was the first time a New Zealand-trained horse had been named Australian champion in any category since Sunline was named Horse of the Year and Ethereal voted leading stayer in 2001-02.
The jockey ranks have received an international boost too. The best New Zealand jockey, James McDonald, may no longer be based at home but in his place are the likes of two-time South African champion Warren Kennedy, British Group 1 winner Kevin Stott and Japanese natives Masa Hashizume and Kozzi Asano, tackling talented locals like Craig Grylls, Michael McNab, Lisa Allpress and Sam Spratt.
New Zealand will take another step towards global recognition later this month when it hosts its first World Pool events on Karaka Millions Day. Three races from Ellerslie, including the Railway Stakes, will be available along with two races from Dubai and seven contests from Cape Town Met Day in South Africa.
Racing from Ellerslie will also be beamed around the world on March 8 – New Zealand’s newly minted Champions Day – with the NZB Kiwi and the New Zealand Derby to sit alongside a program that includes Group 1 races from Flemington and Randwick.
On Wednesday, a new partnership was announced with 1/ST Racing – proprietors of Santa Anita Park in California and Gulfstream Park in Florida – that’s designed to encourage top American horses to head to New Zealand and vice versa.
No longer the poor cousin, New Zealand is poised to reach its greatest heights yet in the years ahead ∎
