Once again the Arima Race Club (ARC) enters another new era with a new management committee being installed headed by a new President, Brian Stollmeyer, who was elected on Sunday and turned out to be a fiercely contested one, with Stollmeyer getting the nod by a mere five votes (39 to 34).
One can only hope that his first move as the new President is to try and build a bridge between himself and the supporters of his vanquished opponent – former ARC CEO Ken Ogeer. One of the biggest challenges is having the views of the various stakeholders as part of the collective, even if that collective is a majority. Life is about compromise and all supporters of the sport can only hope that Mr Stollmeyer will put aside any personal agendas that he and his supporters may hold and work together with everyone for the benefit of the sport at its future.
On the track itself, the Labour Day card delivered all that it promised with the prospect of this country’s fifth Triple Crown winner remaining alive following the win of General JN in the Midsummer Classic. Some purists will point to the fact that the General’s advantage over his rivals was significantly reduced, even taking into consideration that he won easily, which he has been doing consistently.
The performance of the runner-up, the much improved Prince of Bellevue, must give his enterprising trainer, Harold Chadee, confidence to tackle the General in the upcoming Derby. What was interesting was the early speed of Affirmative seem to play into the hands of the runner-up as he stayed on powerfully throughout the straight. With the ammunition at his disposal, Mr Chadee must be plotting an Aidan O’Brien type assault on the third leg of the Classic. His tactics and those of the other trainers will horse to be considered will be interesting. Surprisingly, trainer Glenn Mendez has appeared reluctant to allow his staying filly Streaking Far to dispute the early running in any of the Classics, even though she has appeared quite one-paced at the end of her races. Her best performances have come from the front. He might also be reconsidering his tactics for future races.
One of the big disappointments of the day was the abysmal run of one of the country’s favourite horses, Bigman in Town. The Bigman looked well in the parade ring but ran no sort of race behind the improving young filly Pauseforacoors. He is or was clearly a much better horse than that and while it is easy to forgive any horse one poor run, Bigman is not getting any younger at eight years of age. His next start will be very revealing and it would be no understatement to say that all of the racing public in Trinidad is hoping that the horse can bounce back. This country needs – Bigman in Town – to return to close to his best to inspire a new generation and ensure that the upcoming generation know what it is to race against a great specimen, so let us hope that Team – Bigman in Town – can get it as correct as possible to ensure, we still get more out of that endless quality tank.
Horse racing also needs to put its hand up again, as someone who now appreciates the state of the racing sector a lot better, having been closely involved for just 11 months, it is clear that the divisions that exist are mainly all of a human nature and a lot to do with egos and efforts towards machismo and one-upmanship. However what needs to happen is for everyone to work together, not work against each other, we do not all have to agree, but we should all want the same end game, which is the best for horse racing and not about outdoing each other. Jealously among horseracing men, is why many believe that a woman is needed to maintain stability in the sport?
Interestingly, even on Labour Day, with World Cup football on the menu all over this country, horse racing did not suffer in terms of payments and turnover, and excitement, so unlike others sports, horse racing in this country continues to show its maternal survival skills more than any other.
With the obvious lack of investment in new racing stock, many of the island’s older imported animals are holding the fort for quality in this country, which cannot be in the best long-term interest of the sport. So on that front, hopefully, there will be a pathway found to improve that area but will require great thought and some imitative, which may cost in the short term, but be beneficial in the long run.
Happy Birthday, Katherine.
