By MIKE DILLON
The Avondale Jockey Club committee will continue to govern until the club's annual elections in October despite a better than two-to-one vote of no confidence by its members.
A meeting on Tuesday night to discuss an independent business report on the AJC, which is critical of some of the club's actions and described the committee as "dysfunctional", has resulted in few changes.
The AJC committee met the Racing Industry Board chairman Gary Chittick, RIB board member Gilbert Myles, the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Alan Fenwick and business consultant Andrew Strange, who compiled the report commissioned by all three of the above bodies.
An AJC press statement issued yesterday said: "As a result of the [report stating dysfunctional] the committee aired quite liberally their differences yesterday.
"They now wish to assure their members and the racing fraternity that these inquis- itions have now been resolved.
"The committee also advises that they are in a position to move forward and progress the club in a harmonious and amicable manner and in the best interests of the club and its members."
It is understood it was suggested to the committee that if it was happy with its position, it should resign and test that with the members through an election for offices, but this was apparently turned down.
There is no provision in the AJC's constitution requiring the committee to stand down following a vote of no confidence.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing is to appoint an independent to attend AJC committee meetings as a "moderator".
"This is at the suggestion of Gary Chittick," said Alan Fenwick yes- terday.
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Sunline will not race again until the $A2.5 million Doncaster Handicap on Easter Saturday.
Trainer Trevor McKee said yesterday that he'd decided not to run the mare in the $A400,000 George Ryder at Rosehill on Saturday.
"We were holding off waiting to see if Sunline would get a re-handicap for the Doncaster for winning last Saturday," McKee said.
"Now it has been declared she won't be re-handicapped, we'll give Saturday's race a miss.
"If she'd been re-handicapped she would have bypassed the Doncaster and run this weekend and kept to weight-for-age races."
The three-week gap between the $500,000 Coolmore Classic and the Doncaster is ideal, said McKee.
"It was three weeks between the Cox Plate and her final lead-up race and three weeks between her first-up win and the Coolmore Classic.
"She's come through a pretty tough run on Saturday in good style and we wouldn't want to risk her having a hard race this weekend."
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Classy filly Sarwatch will add an interesting dimension to Saturday's $120,000 Japan/New Zealand International Trophy at Tauranga.
The Sheila Laxon-trained Sar- watch will use the race as her final lead-up to a Sydney campaign.
"She's done well since striking a few niggling problems leading into her late summer races," said Laxon.
Racing: No confidence vote not enough to force change
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