Key spends on a Drunken Sailor

Prime Minister John Key took time out in Te Rapa to back Drunken Sailor for a place in the Melbourne Cup. Photo / Christine Cornege

It came as some surprise when National leader John Key stood in a TAB on the outskirts of Hamilton and looked at the field of the Melbourne Cup to see his rival, Labour leader Phil Goff, was included.

While Mr Key had basked in the glory of the All Blacks and schmoozed with Sir Peter Jackson, Mr Goff had apparently managed to one-up him by entering the most watched horse race in Australasia.

There he was - number 4: Drunken Sailor.

Mr Key had repeatedly referred to Mr Goff as "spending like a drunken sailor" during the leaders' debate the night before. It was a sequel to his nautical theme last week in which he had referred to himself as the "Skipper" of Battleship National, and Mr Goff as the skipper of P-Class Labour.

That prompted Mr Goff to retaliate that Mr Key's helmsman skills were such that he had run the country onto the rocks.

The horse was paying odds of $51 to win. But for a pragmatic man, Mr Key has a suspicious side. Clearly wary that a win by Drunken Sailor would be an omen for the election, he put a bet on the horse to place, saying the best outcome was for the poor old horse to come second.

Even more spookily, Mr Key had also drawn Drunken Sailor in his office sweepstake - so, being a wise investor, he diversified his portfolio by putting another bet on Niwot.

Unfortunately, Drunken Sailor finished 12th.

But neither of Mr Goff's picks - Precedence and Tullamore - came in and it was no doubt some consolation to Mr Key that the horse which did come second was Red Cadeaux - Labour's colour. Mr Key's usual luck might have taken a day off, but he will not look a gift horse in the mouth.

On his day in Hamilton, Mr Key donned a high-visibility vest and hard hat at the Te Rapa bypass roadworks, joking that he had needed the hard hat for the leaders' debate the night before.

There was some discussion about engineering standards and the earthquake tolerance of the overbridges. But Mr Key's main topic was Sonny Bill Williams and his signing by the Chiefs - the local team for Hamilton.

One construction worker observed that at least with the Chiefs - unlike the All Blacks - Williams was more likely to play a full game rather thanbe made to sit on the bench until the last five minutes as he did with the All Blacks.

Mr Key agreed, saying Williams was "a bit too expensive to play for five minutes".

The Prime Minister then announced that the Sonny Bill Williams policy would be extended to beneficiaries - no longer could they sit on the bench, they too had to go in search of the ball on the field.