Van Nistelrooy: Finding His Mark

Synchronicity is pretty neat.

I was doing a bit of thinking this week about the impact here of Van Nistelrooy, fuelled of course by his daughters 'almost' group 2 double at Pukekohe last weekend.

You know how sometimes you see a horse for the first time and it stops you in your tracks? I found one of those today, a filly, hiding beneath the trees in the back parade ring at Ellerslie before the sixth, a maiden race over 1400m.

This girl didn't need a spray tan or cosmetic surgery; a lovely rich chestnut, she had the mid section of a Swedish Pilate's instructor; the shoulder of an Olympic butterfly swimmer, and floated - even at a walk, like an angel.

A rye smile came over me when I opened my race book to find she was a filly by Van Nistelrooy. I had to come home and write something.

I don't recall a hue and cry from breeders when Van Nistelrooy stopped shuttling to NZ after the 2006 season.

Sure there was some promising types around but for a two-year-old group two winning son of Storm Cat, breeders had expected, rightly or wrongly , fast early maturing horses. Pit Lane, from the Marauding mare Disco Girl, won three successive races at 2 in Victoria, and then ran midfield in the Hustlers's Caulfield Guineas, but on the whole you'd have been kind saying it was a 'promising' start.

After his daughter Boundless triumphed at long odds in the 2008 New Zealand Oaks, I like many I suspect thought that here was simply another Philco or Regal Empress.

Okay her unlucky second in the AJC Oaks two months later showed that Boundless was actually a high class staying filly. Still, it was very much a one swallow team at that stage.

Unfortunately Boundless couldn't carry on the VN momentum last season for after a close fourth in the Kelt on an interrupted preparation, she failed to fire in Australia and went to the paddock.

But almost on cue the last twelve months has seen the emergence of some high class female sprinter/miler types by the stallion headed by Telegraph place getter Ruud Van Slaats, Anniversary Handicap winner Striker and the stakeswinning Bella Renza.

And another mare who looks capable of joining those stakeswinning ranks is the lightly tried Scarlett Vanhara. A fast finishing and slightly unlucky third in the Breeders Stakes at Pukekohe, the beautifully athletic four-year old, expertly handled by trainer Ross Elliot, should be very competitive in summer races like the Rich Hill and Thorndon Mile's.

I can already hear some of you saying but what about his colts. Fair enough he seems a bit under represented there but if you understand Hong Kong form you'll appreciate just how good a horse More Bountiful is. Voted their Most Improved Horse for the 2007/08 season, the Helen Phinney bred gelding converted that promise to a group one win last season and once again he'll be competitive with HK's best this season between 1400 and 2000m.

Another horse capable of adding to the VN momentum is the three-year filly La Collina who ran just back of midfield in Friday's Levin Classic.

Which leads me to the question as to how are we likely to mark VN. I think sometimes we forget how few stallions actually 'make it'. But what is making it ? I think sometimes we can be too narrow with that definition. Does it always have to mean just stakeswinning progeny?

Some stallions can contribute to the evolution of our breed in other ways, be it as broodmare sires or just simply as propagators of phenotypes. I can already hear some saying but if you can't pass on class what good are you doing the gene pool. Now my school science marks were only marginally better than my french grades but I do believe you are good servant to your breed by simply passing on desirable physical attributes. For it's when these genes are united with the right class factor genes, and sometimes it takes a generation or too, that a high class horse is the result.

So what's the VN's legacy going to be in these parts? Having left a number of high class female performers re known for their toughness and athleticism, these mares will become welcome additions to our broodmare gene pool in the years ahead. And that's where I feel his presence will be most felt.

Despite his improving statistic's I suspect VN won't be rushed back to our shores any time soon but in his own way he's left a mark on our industry.

By the way that sweet looking filly's name is Denali Dancer. She'll keep.

Still A Way To Go

There's little doubt our racing industry has come a long way in regards professional standards over the last 5 or so years. The Australian born Chief Steward whose name just escapes me played a significant part in this, particularly with creating some accountability notably amongst the jockey ranks.

I still saw a couple of things this week that disturbed me, particularly as someone who enjoys a bet.

At Rotorua a well backed first starter hit the running rail that hard - she may have even tried to jump the running rail - she came back to scale with blood pouring from a leg injury.

Yet you read the stewards report and all it states is that " she over raced during the middle stages".

There is a big difference between over racing and hitting the fence that hard. The later has more seriously impacted her ability to finish off the race.

Secondly and yes I talk through my pocket with this one. Yesterday at Hawkes Bay Volgus, who has run on the speed or near enough to it in his three prior starts is dropped out of the gates a distant last. They hack at best up front and the jockey makes no effort to improve until the leaders put the pace on from the 600m at which stage he is four wide in a five horse field. You just don't run sub 33 second 600ms at Hastings unless you are an Excellent.

There is no way in my mind that Volgus was given every chance to win that race. Okay I appreciate that connections have him on a Derby campaign and are probably trying to get him to settle but if he was ridden to instructions yesterday where was the announcement to punters prior to the start that these tactics would attempt to be employed.

As a punter there's still things with NZ racing sometimes that would make you place a bet on a Sicilian Maiden before you d touch a Kiwi race.