AUSRACING
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Taufan's win a boost to Australian Racing
by Jason Singh

Taufan's Melody created history on Saturday when he became the first Northern Hemisphere trained horse to win the Caulfield Cup. Along with creating history he created his fair share of controversy along the way and even a bit in the aftermath. Most notable have been the comments made by Shane Dye stating that Australia doesn't need the overseas competitors and that their involvement is having a detrimental effect on Australian racing and breeding. If we are to believe the likes of Shane Dye, most of the field of 18 will be made up of European trained gallopers in years to come. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, it is, as back in 1993 an Irish trained horse called Vintage Crop took the Cup back to Ireland. They said the Cup would never be the same again, and they were right, but fears of the Europeans arriving en masse and us never seeing the Cup again proved unfounded.

As knee-jerk as Dye's reaction was, certain points certainly deserve further investigation. Are the European horses really that much better than their Australian counterparts??  Is Taufan's Melody's win good for our racing and breeding Industries? Will the Caulfield Cup become a benefit for European trained horses?

Many have picked up on the fact that Taufan's Melody was essentially a Group 3 horse in Europe and just a third rate horse and here he was winning a Group 1 race in Australia.Whilst it is true that he was just a Group 3 horse, it is also somewhat misleading to say that as a result he is a third rate horse. In Europe, Taufan's Melody was running in races over distances of 2400m - 3200m and most of the big European staying events at these distances are no better than Group 3 events. There are far fewer Group races in Europe than in Australia and that is more the case when it comes to Group 1 events. As for handicaps, the English are even more harsh, and few are even afforded Group status. Two of the big European Cups are the Goodwood and  Doncaster Cups, both won this year by the great Double Trigger. These two prestigious, time honoured events are only classed as Group 2 and Group3 respectively. So whilst Taufan's Melody would have looked out of place in the Arc de Triomphe earlier this year, he would not have been out of place in any of the big staying races in Europe.

Faithful Son on the  other hand is a Group 1 horse in Europe and may well have played a part in the Arc if given his chance, but due to Godolphins wealth of talent, it was decided to send him to Australia. It should be noted that Godolphin sent one of their 'A' team as opposed to any second raters. Given the costs involved in sending a horse to Australia and Godolphins reputation for success, they were not about to send a lesser class animal. It is doubtful though that either Cup will attract a classier horse than Faithful Son in the future as the Arc de Triomphe or Breeders Cup are more attractive options for European owners. Godolphin sent Faithful Son because with Swain, Daylami and Sea Wave, there was plenty of talent to back up the team in Europe and America. Had these horses not been around then it is doubtful whether Faithful Son would have made the trip to Australia.

Taufan's Melody did not beat a high class Caulfield Cup field. In the end he beat an improving mare whose best effort to date is a win in the Listed Cranbourne Cup at her previous start. In that respect Taufan's Melody's win was not one of the classier Cups. At the present Might And Power ranks as Australasia's best horse and even the Racing Post in England acknowledges that he is currently the second best horse in the world, only to Skip Away. Taufan's Melody ranks many lengths  below Might And Power, a judgement few would dispute and so there is no need to get carried away with declarations that the English are classes above our horses. As a whole they are better because the European horses are bred from the best bloodstock the world has to offer, and whilst Australia's lot is improving thanks in part to the shuttle stallion phenomenon, it will never reach the standard of America and England. But it is fair to say that when an outstanding performer like Might And Power comes along, then Australasian horses are the equal of any in the world, a point made out when Better Loosen Up won the Japan Cup, or when Strawberry Road campaigned so successfully in Europe and America. 

But it is unlikely that the Caulfield Cup, like the Melbourne Cup hasn't, will become a benefit for the Europeans. What it has demonstrated though is that it is an ideal preparation race for the Melbourne Cup and now that both Taufan's Melody and Faithful Son have run so well, it is likely that more European trained Melbourne Cup hopefuls will use it as their final lead-up to Australia's greatest race. But the Caulfield Cup, like the Melbourne Cup remains a handicap and so it will remain to be a race won by a horse who peaks at the right time and invariably has improved beyond the weight allotted to him from the time weights are released. Should European horses prove too good again next year, then their weights will rise accordingly in following years.

The Japanese breeding industry is as strong as any in the world but still does not get the recognition it deserves due to the restricted nature of their races whereby very few races are open to foreign competitors. It is a problem that the JRA are endeavouring to change as they appreciate that Japanese horses will only be given their deserved recognition if they race against the Europeans horses. The JRA even offers large incentives for local bred horses who can prove successful in Europe. The reason for these policies is that success against the Europeans brings respect that is otherwise much harder to accomplish. It is a point that is going to become more important in Australian Racing in the coming years as more stallions join the 'reverse shuttle' of Australian bred stallions who stand in Europe. Currently just four stallions, Octagonal, Flying Spur, Baryshnikov and Hurricane Sky are part of that group and all have International pedigree's allowing them to be marketed to European breeders. The greater the involvement of European horses in the Cups and other races (such as the MacKinnon with Annus Mirabilus) the better the ability of Australian bred horses can be judged but more to the point, the more respect that our horses will be afforded, and as a result the more marketable our bloodstock will become on an International stage.

Australian authorities should encourage Australian horses do chase similar goals overseas. Might And Power should be running in the Arc De Triomphe and Breeders Cup before an Autumn campaign taking in the Dubai World Cup. What then of the respect afforded to the Australian horses? General Nediym is one horse that looks likely to chase International glory in Europe next year, his owners recognising that a sprint success in a leading European race would enhance his Stud value many times over.

Thoroughbred Racing is more Internationalised now than ever before with the Japan Cup, the Hong Kong Invitationals in December, the World Cup in Dubai in March and the Breeders Cup meeting in November all key events in the racing calendar. That the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups may even claim to stand along side these events one day is something that Les Benton has worked hard at achieving and Taufan's Melody has only ensured that we are one step closer.