Originally Posted by
eliteblood
NSWHRC are putting up $500,000. They could simply invite 8 pacers to turn up on the Saturday and have a one-off event (as they have in the past) or they can try and build a carnival around the race and encourage the good class horses to race in NSW in the weeks leading up to the race (ie. promote harness racing in NSW)
So the AFL should rig the Semi Final to make it Collingwood V Essendon to support a 'carnival of big crowds' rather than wait for Pies V Bombers to meet in the Grand final? The Miracle Mile is the big event here. Not the Cordina Sprint, Newcastle Mile or Coca Cola Amatil.
As a result Sydney fans have had a chance to see Mister Feelgood, Washakie, Lisagain, Raglan, Karloo Mick, Be Good Johnny and now Terror to Love all racing to earn a spot in the MM Which differs from last year how? Washakie won the Cordina beating BGJ. Karloo Mick would start in Sydney regardless... NSWHRC were probably unlucky that Auckland Reactor ran into problems otherwise I expect he would have also been here.
It was a very impressive win by TTL but there is no way that he would be seeded more highly at this stage of his career then Smoken Up or ITMQ. The directors made the right call and, despite the whingeing, they got the right outcome with TTL lining up in the Cordina Sprint on Friday night. I'm not begrudging those two a spot; but on past precedent and the contentiously worded criteria it is hard to fathom how Smoken Up got in ahead of Terror To Love. Wriggle room in the criteria is the only reason. If the criteria was wrote up more strictly and black and white rather than with shades of grey Terror To Love WOULD be in the field and it would be Smoken Up in the Cordina. Smoken Up in the Cordina...you think TTL is a good advertisment for NSWHRC imagine if Smoken Up was there...
I strongly support the NSWHRC move. Basically, if you want a shot at our money then come and help promote the sport in NSW. If not, stay at home like Bitobliss and Melpark Major have. I agree with the format they have made this year. The point isn't that the winner of the Little Brown Jug should get an invite because the race is worth heaps and has a nice name the point is under the guidelines the vast majority of people would have assumed (rightly or wrongly - as above I've wrote about the wording of the conditions) that in all likelihood the NZ Cup winner would get an invite. He didn't. But to make matters worse the horse that ran 2nd did get an invite. You can't tell me if you owned Terror To Love you wouldn't be pulling your hair out and have started scratching your scalp of your freshly bald head trying to figure it out.
I hope they do the same again next year when the prizemoney is set to go at $750,000. The only change I would make is that the field should be made up totally of horses that competed in the designated NSW lead up races.
