Racing: Sick of racing 'for a sack of kumaras'

SYDNEY - Prominent thoroughbred owner Rob McAnulty has quit New Zealand racing, saying he is sick of "racing for a sack of kumaras".

McAnulty said he had long been frustrated with the lack of prizemoney on offer in New Zealand racing and stated after his smart two-year-old De Beers won at Randwick in Sydney yesterday that he would shift his racing operation to Victoria.

"Within the next month or so it should be spot on. Chris McNab, our trainer, is coming and we will bring 35 horses into Victoria," he said. "It may work, it may not, but we will give it a good crack."

McAnulty said Farm Hills, a winner at Ellerslie on Saturday, was his sign-off from New Zealand racing.

"I have raced my last horse in New Zealand and we went out on a winning note. It's a nice way to go out."

McAnulty, one of New Zealand's most prolific buyers at yearling sales, was critical that thoroughbred racing had to subsidise harness and greyhound racing.

"We have to forget the tri-code system and give galloping its rightful share of the pot," he said.

"Galloping gives 73 per cent of the pot and we get 54 per cent back. We subsidise both the other codes and we race for a sack of kumaras. It's frustrating."

McAnulty said he had been offered horses to train in Victoria by New Zealand owners wanting to have their gallopers race in group races in Australia.

McAnulty was happy with the win of De Beers, a $750,000 Karaka yearling sales purchase, who won yesterday's A$70,000 ($76,000) event comfortably.

The colt is by Quest Of Fame and hails from New Zealand's prized Eight Carat family. De Beers' dam Chimeara is out of Tristalove, making De Beers closely related to the well-performed Mouawad, whom McAnulty raced in Australia.

McAnulty heads an international syndicate which races the colt out of John Hawkes' Sydney stable. New Zealand studmasters Tim Bodle and Mark Chitty are involved.

- NZPA