SYDNEY - The suggestion that Australian racing clubs should pay appearance money to the connections of New Zealand mare Sunline has angered leading Australian trainer John Hawkes.
The champion mare is currently the biggest drawcard in Australian racing. She doubled the expected crowd size at Warwick Farm last Saturday when she won the $A150,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m) and the big question afterwards was when, or if, she would return to Sydney.
Auckland co-trainer Trevor McKee said Sunline would stop over in Australia for quarantine purposes after racing in Dubai later this month.
It has raised the argument in Australian racing circles of the value of a monetary incentive to lure her to race at Randwick during the Sydney autumn carnival.
Hawkes said it was a dangerous idea, believing appearance fees for top horses had the potential to ruin the industry.
"The big would get bigger and the small would disappear," Hawkes told NZPA.
"Racing doesn't revolve around Sunline and a few other horses. You need those sort of horses but one horse doesn't make racing.
"It's the grass roots of racing that keeps it going. That's what people don't realise.
"There's no money over in New Zealand, that's why most of them come here. But all the people are still racing heaps and heaps of horses over there that keeps the racing industry going, not just Sunline."
Hawkes, who runs one of the biggest stables in Australia and was the trainer of the big winner Octagonal, said top horses earned more than enough from prize money.
"Whether it's Sunline or Octagonal or whatever the case may be, in another 12 or 18 months there will be another super star," he said.
"They always come along every few years, maybe not as good as them.
"The racing industry operates 12 months of the year and you just cannot have different rules for certain horses."
Hawkes said if Sunline's connections wanted to enter her in the $A2.5 million Doncaster Handicap (1600m) on April 14, they already had incentive because she had what he considered a light weight of 59kg.
"That was a joke. After seeing the weight, they wouldn't have needed an appearance fee.
"Theoretically, if they [Australian Jockey Club] want her to run, she's got her appearance money."
He said golf and tennis generally used appearance fees for just major events, although he admitted world golf No 1 Tiger Woods was an exception.
Rumours of appearance fees had come up before in Australia, Hawkes said, but it was never out in the open. He said he had never been asked to accept such fees before.
"I'm sure there are odd times when it does happen. When the English horses come out here I think there's a bit of sponsorship going on if you know what I mean.
"Just like with everything, you never really know what's going on."
- NZPA
Racing: Appearance fee makes top Aussie see red
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